A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a variety of delivery media (electronic, printed, audio-visual, and even touch).[1] Example types of information include online help, manuals, white papers, design specifications, project plans, and software test plans. With the rise of e-learning, technical writers are increasingly hired to develop online training material.
Technical writing is sometimes defined as simplifying the complex. Inherent in such a concise and deceptively simple definition is a whole range of skills and characteristics that address nearly every field of human endeavor at some level. A significant subset of the broader field of technical communication, technical writing involves communicating complex information to those who need it to accomplish some task or goal.
In other words, technical writers take advanced technical concepts and communicate them as clearly, accurately, and comprehensively as possible to their intended audience, ensuring that the work is accessible to its users.
...trained to reveal almost nothing about themselves in their writing. This makes them freaks in the world of writers, since almost all of the other ink-stained wretches in that world reveal a lot about themselves to the reader.
Engineers, scientists, and other professionals may also be involved in technical writing (developmental editing, proofreading, etc.), but are more likely to employ professional technical writers to develop, edit and format material, and follow established review procedures as a means delivering information to their audiences.
History of the profession
According to the Society for Technical Communication (STC), the professions of technical communication and technical writing were first referenced around World War I,[2] when technical documents became a necessity for military purposes. The job title emerged in the US during World War II,[4] Although it was not until 1951 that the first "Help Wanted: Technical Writer" ad was published.[5] In fact, the title "Technical Writer" was not added to the US Bureau of Labor Statistic's Occupational Employment Handbook until 2010.[6] During the 1940s and 50s, technical communicators and writers were hired to produce documentation for the military, often including detailed instructions on new weaponry. Other technical communicators and writers were involved in developing documentation for new technologies that were developed around this time. According to O'Hara:[7]
War was the most important driver of scientific and technological advance. The U.S. Army Medical Corps battled malaria in the jungles of Panama, the Chemical Corps pushed chemical advances in explosives and poisonous gases (and defenses against them), the Manhattan District of the Corps of Engineers literally made quantum leaps in the understanding of physics, and the Air Corps pioneered aviation design.
Since the early days of the profession, technical writers have worked in teams with a pool of other technical writers. To this day, most organizations still employ a team to produce and edit technical writing for an assigned product or service. As a member of a team, technical writers work independently to research their assignments. Regular one-on-one meetings with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and internal research references (e.g., mechanical drawings, specifications, BOMs, datasheets, etc.) provide the technical writer with the necessary checks to ensure a document's accuracy. Once the accuracy of a document has been reviewed and approved by the assigned SME, technical writers rely on their writing team to provide peer reviews. The peer review focuses exclusively on content format, style, and grammar standardization. The goal of the team's peer reviews are to ensure an organization's technical writing "speaks with one voice".
During World War II, one of the most important characteristics for technical writers was their ability to follow stringent government specifications for documents.[7] After the war, the rise of new technology, such as the computer, allowed technical writers to work in other areas, producing[7] "user manuals, quick reference guides, hardware installation manuals, and cheat sheets." After the war (1953–1961), technical communicators (including technical writers) became interested in "professionalizing" their field.[6] According to Malone,[6] technical communicators/writers did so by creating professional organizations, cultivating a "specialized body of knowledge" for the profession, imposing ethical standards on technical communicators, initiating a conversation about certifying practitioners in the field, and working to accredit education programs in the field.
The profession has continued to grow—according to O'Hara, the writing/editing profession, including technical writers, experienced a 22% increase in positions between the years 1994 and 2005.[7] Modern day technical writers work in a variety of contexts. Many technical writers work remotely using VPN or communicate with their team via videotelephony platforms such as Skype or Zoom. Other technical writers work in an office, but share content with their team through complex content management systems that store documents online. Technical writers may work on government reports, internal documentation, instructions for technical equipment, embedded help within software or systems, or other technical documents. As technology continues to advance, the array of possibilities for technical writers will continue to expand. Many technical writers are responsible for creating technical documentation for mobile applications or help documentation built within mobile or web applications. They may be responsible for creating content that will only be viewed on a hand-held device; much of their work will never be published in a printed booklet like technical documentation of the past.
Technical Writers and UX Design
Historically, technical writers, or technical and professional communicators, have been concerned with writing and communication. However, recently user experience (UX) design has become more prominent in technical and professional communications as companies look to develop content for a wide range of audiences and experiences.[8]
The User Experience Professionals Association defines UX as “Every aspect of the user’s interaction with a product, service, or company that make up the user’s perception of the whole.”[9] Therefore, “user experience design as a discipline is concerned with all the elements that together make up that interface, including layout, visual design, text, brand, sound, and interaction."[9]
It is now an expectation that technical communication skills should be coupled with UX design. As Verhulsdonck, Howard, and Tham state “...it is not enough to write good content. According to industry expectations, next to writing good content, it is now also crucial to design good experiences around that content."[8] Technical communicators must now consider different platforms such as social media and apps, as well as different channels like web and mobile.[8]
As Redish explains, a technical communications professional no longer writes content but “writes around the interface” itself as user experience surrounding content is developed. This includes usable content customized to specific user needs, that addresses user emotions, feelings, and thoughts across different channels in a UX ecology.[10][8]
Lauer and Brumberger further assert, “…UX is a natural extension of the work that technical communicators already do, especially in the modern technological context of responsive design, in which content is deployed across a wide range of interfaces and environments."[11]
UX design is a product of both technical communication and the user identity. Effective UX design is configured to maximize usability according to unique user backgrounds, in a process called design ethnography.[12] Design ethnography closely analyzes user culture through interviews and usability tests, in which the technical writer directly immerses themself in the user environment and gathers UX information from local users.
Skill set
In addition to solid research, language, writing, and revision skills, a technical writer may have skills in:
A technical writer may apply their skills in the production of non-technical content, for example, writing high-level consumer information. Usually, a technical writer is not a subject-matter expert (SME), but interviews SMEs and conducts the research necessary to write and compile technically accurate content. Technical writers complete both primary and secondary research to fully understand the topic.[citation needed]
Characteristics
Proficient technical writers have the ability to create, assimilate, and convey technical material in a concise and effective manner. They may specialize in a particular area but must have a good understanding of the products they describe.[14] For example, API writers primarily work on API documents, while other technical writers specialize in electronic commerce, manufacturing, scientific, or medical material.[14]
Technical writers gather information from many sources. Their information sources are usually scattered throughout an organization, which can range from developers to marketing departments.
According to Markel,[15] useful technical documents are measured by eight characteristics: "honesty, clarity, accuracy, comprehensiveness, accessibility, conciseness, professional appearance, and correctness." Technical writers are focused on using their careful research to create effective documents that meet these eight characteristics.
Roles and functions
To create effective technical documentation, the writer must analyze three elements that comprise the rhetorical situation of a particular project: audience, purpose, and context.[16] These are followed by document design, which determines what the reader sees.
Technical writers strive to simplify complex concepts or processes to maximize reader comprehension. The final goal of a particular document is to help readers find what they need, understand what they find, and use what they understand appropriately.[17] To reach this goal, technical writers must understand how their audiences use and read documentation. An audience analysis at the outset of a document project helps define what an audience for a particular document requires.
When analyzing an audience the technical writer typically asks:[17]
Who is the intended audience?
What are their demographic characteristics?
What is the audience's role?
How does the reader feel about the subject?
How does the reader feel about the sender?
What form does the reader expect?
What is the audience's task?
Why does the audience need to perform that task?
What is the audience's knowledge level?
What factors influence the situation?
Accurate audience analysis provides a set of guidelines that shape document content, design and presentation (online help system, interactive website, manual, etc.), and tone and knowledge level.
Purpose
A technical writer analyzes the purpose (or function) of a communication to understand what a document must accomplish. Determining if a communication aims to persuade readers to “think or act a certain way, enable them to perform a task, help them understand something, change their attitude,”[16] etc., guides the technical writer on how to format their communication, and the kind of communication they choose (online help system, white paper, proposal, etc.).
Context
Context is the physical and temporal circumstances in which readers use communication—for example: at their office desks, in a manufacturing plant, during the slow summer months, or in the middle of a company crisis.[16] Understanding the context of a situation tells the technical writer how readers use communication. This knowledge significantly influences how the writer formats communication. For example, if the document is a quick troubleshooting guide to the controls on a small watercraft, the writer may have the pages laminated to increase usable life.
Document design
Once the above information has been gathered, the document is designed for optimal readability and usability. According to one expert, technical writers use six design strategies to plan and create technical communication: arrangement, emphasis, clarity, conciseness, tone, and ethos.[16]
Arrangement
The order and organization of visual elements so that readers can see their structure—how they cohere in groups, how they differ from one another, how they create layers and hierarchies.[16] When considering arrangement technical writers look at how to use headings, lists, charts, and images to increase usability.
Emphasis
How a document displays important sections through prominence or intensity.[16] When considering emphasis technical writers look at how they can show readers important sections, warning, useful tips, etc. through the use of placement, bolding, color, and type size.
Clarity
Strategies that “help the receiver decode the message, to understand it quickly and completely, and, when necessary, to react without ambivalence.”[16] When considering clarity the technical writer strives to reduce visual noise, such as low contrast ratios, overly complex charts or graphs, and illegible font, all of which can hinder reader comprehension.
Conciseness
The "visual bulk and intricacy" of the design—for example, the number of headings and lists, lines and boxes, detail of drawings and data displays, size variations, ornateness, and text spacing.[16] Technical writers must consider all these design strategies to ensure the audience can easily use the documents.
Tone
The sound or feel of a document. Document type and audience dictate whether the communication should be formal and professional, or lighthearted and humorous. In addition to language choice, technical writers set the tone of technical communication through the use of spacing, images, typefaces, etc.
Ethos
The degree of credibility that visual language achieves in a document.[16] Technical writers strive to create professional and error-free documentation to establish credibility with the audience.
Qualifications
Technical writers normally possess a mixture of technical and writing abilities. They typically have a degree or certification in a technical field, but may have one in journalism, business, or other fields. Many technical writers switch from another field, such as journalism—or a technical field such as engineering or science, often after learning important additional skills through technical communications classes.[18]
Methodology (document development life cycle)
To create a technical document, a technical writer must understand the subject, purpose, and audience. They gather information by studying existing material, interviewing SMEs, and often actually using the product. They study the audience to learn their needs and technical understanding level.
A technical publication's development life cycle typically consists of five phases, coordinated with the overall product development plan:[19]
Phase 1: Information gathering and planning
Phase 2: Content specification
Phase 3: Content development and implementation
Phase 4: Production
Phase 5: Evaluation
The document development life cycle typically consists of six phases (This changes organization to organization, how they are following).
Audience profiling (identify target audience)
User task analysis (analyze tasks and information based on the target audience)
Information architecture (design based on analysis, how to prepare document)
Content development (develop/prepare the document)
Technical and editorial reviews (review with higher level personnel—managers, etc.)
Formatting and publishing (publish the document).
This is similar to the software development life cycle.
Well-written technical documents usually follow formal standards or guidelines. Technical documentation comes in many styles and formats, depending on the medium and subject area. Printed and online documentation may differ in various ways, but still adhere to largely identical guidelines for prose, information structure, and layout. Usually, technical writers follow formatting conventions described in a standard style guide. In the US, technical writers typically use The Associated Press Stylebook or the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS). Many companies have internal corporate style guides that cover specific corporate issues such as logo use, branding, and other aspects of corporate style. The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications is typical of these.
Engineering projects, particularly defense or aerospace-related projects, often follow national and international documentation standards—such as ATA100 for civil aircraft or S1000D for civil and defense platforms.
Environment
Technical writers often work as part of a writing or project development team. Typically, the writer finishes a draft and passes it to one or more SMEs who conduct a technical review to verify accuracy and completeness. Another writer or editor may perform an editorial review that checks conformance to styles, grammar, and readability. This person may request for clarification or make suggestions. In some cases, the writer or others test the document on audience members to make usability improvements. A final production typically follows an inspection checklist to ensure the quality and uniformity of the published product.[20]
The physical working environment of most company-employed technical writers typically entails an open office with desktop computers and individual desks. A technical writer's workspace is largely dependent on their industry. A 2018 Intercom census of mostly American technical communicators showed that the majority of respondents worked in technology and IT.[21] Prevalence of various industries in technical writing is correlated to geographic location, and the industries that are most common in certain regions of the world. A study of technical communication careers in Europe showed that the majority of technical communicators work in IT.
Remote Work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
In the wake of the stay-at-home suggestions from the World Health Organization in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employees around the world experienced a shift in work environment from in-person to remote and/or virtual. As of 2023, after social distancing policies have been loosened, many organizations have decided to maintain the option for employees to work remotely. In the particular case of professional technical writers, this change forces an alternative approach to communication with subject matter experts, colleagues, and project managers who are directly involved in the technical communication process. Employees who work remotely typically rely on virtual, at times asynchronous, communication with collaborators, and spend working hours either at home or in an isolated office.[22]
Career growth
There is no single standard career path for technical writers, but they may move into project management over other writers. A writer may advance to a senior technical writer position, handling complex projects or a small team of writers and editors. In larger groups, a documentation manager might handle multiple projects and teams.
Technical writers may also gain expertise in a particular technical domain and branch into related forms, such as software quality analysis or business analysis. A technical writer who becomes a subject matter expert in a field may transition from technical writing to work in that field. Technical writers commonly produce training for the technologies they document—including classroom guides and e-learning—and some transition to specialize as professional trainers and instructional designers.
Technical writers with expertise in writing skills can join printed media or electronic media companies, potentially providing an opportunity to make more money or improved working conditions.
In April 2021, the U.S Department of Labor expected technical writer employment to grow seven percent from 2019 to 2029, slightly faster than the average for all occupations. They expect job opportunities, especially for applicants with technical skills, to be good. The BLS also noted that the expansion of "scientific and technical products" and the need for technical writers to work in "Web-based product support" will drive increasing demand.[23]
As of May 2022, the average annual pay for a freelance technical writer in the United States is $70,191 according to ZipRecruiter.[24]
Michael Halvorson, American technology writer and historian, is a university professor and the author of 40 books related to computer programming, using PC software, and the history of technology.
George Saunders, American author of Tenth of December: Stories (2013) as well as other short story collections, essays, and novellas, wrote his first short story collection, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996), while working as a technical writer and geophysical engineer for Radian International, an environmental engineering firm in Rochester, New York.
Amy Tan, American author of The Joy Luck Club (1998), The Bonesetter's Daughter (2001), and other critically acclaimed novels. Tan began writing fiction novels while she was a technical writer.[28]
Richard Wilbur, American poet. Worked for Boeing, as he mentioned in conversation.
Marion Winik, American author and essayist, worked as a technical writer from 1984-1994 at Unison-Tymlabs, Austin, Texas.[29]
Similar titles
Technical writers can have various job titles, including technical communicator,information developer, technical content developer or technical documentation specialist. In the United Kingdom and some other countries, a technical writer is often called a technical author or knowledge author.
Software documentation is written text or illustration that accompanies computer software or is embedded in the source code. The documentation either explains how the software operates or how to use it, and may mean different things to people in different roles.
Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design ; authoring, including standardised code and proprietary software; user experience design ; and search engine optimization. Often many individuals will work in teams covering different aspects of the design process, although some designers will cover them all. The term "web design" is normally used to describe the design process relating to the front-end design of a website including writing markup. Web design partially overlaps web engineering in the broader scope of web development. Web designers are expected to have an awareness of usability and be up to date with web accessibility guidelines.
Documentation is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use. As a form of knowledge management and knowledge organization, documentation can be provided on paper, online, or on digital or analog media, such as audio tape or CDs. Examples are user guides, white papers, online help, and quick-reference guides. Paper or hard-copy documentation has become less common. Documentation is often distributed via websites, software products, and other online applications.
Technical writing is a specialized form of communication used by many of today's industrial and scientific organizations to clearly and accurately convey complex information to a user. An organization's customers, employees, assembly workers, engineers, and scientists are some of the most common users who reference this form of content to complete a task or research a subject. Most technical writing relies on simplified grammar, supported by easy-to-understand visual communication to clearly and accurately explain complex information.
Technical communication is communication of technical subject matter such as engineering, science, or technology content. The largest part of it tends to be technical writing, though importantly it often requires aspects of visual communication. Technical communication also encompasses oral delivery modes such as presentations involving technical material. When technical communication occurs in workplace settings, it's considered a major branch of professional communication. In research or R&D contexts, it can overlap with scientific writing.
Audience analysis is a task that is often performed by technical writers in a project's early stages. It consists of assessing the audience to make sure the information provided to them is at the appropriate level. The audience is often referred to as the end-user, and all communications need to be targeted towards the defined audience. Defining an audience requires the consideration of many factors, such as age, culture and knowledge of the subject. After considering all the known factors, a profile of the intended audience can be created, allowing writers to write in a manner that is understood by the intended audience.
A subject-matter expert (SME) is a person who has accumulated great knowledge in a particular field or topic and this level of knowledge is demonstrated by the person's degree, licensure, and/or through years of professional experience with the subject. For example, a PhD in chemistry could be easily declared as a SME in chemistry, or a person with a Second Class Radiotelegraph License or equivalent issued by the national licensing body could be considered a SME in radiotelegraphy. A person with a master's degree in electronic engineering could be considered a subject-matter expert in electronics, or a person with many years of experience in machining could be considered a SME in machining.
User interface (UI) design or user interface engineering is the design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, home appliances, mobile devices, and other electronic devices, with the focus on maximizing usability and the user experience. In computer or software design, user interface (UI) design primarily focuses on information architecture. It is the process of building interfaces that clearly communicate to the user what's important. UI design refers to graphical user interfaces and other forms of interface design. The goal of user interface design is to make the user's interaction as simple and efficient as possible, in terms of accomplishing user goals. User-centered design is typically accomplished through the execution of modern design thinking which involves empathizing with the target audience, defining a problem statement, ideating potential solutions, prototyping wireframes, and testing prototypes in order to refine final interface mockups.
Professional writing is writing for reward or as a profession; as a product or object, professional writing is any form of written communication produced in a workplace environment or context that enables employees to, for example, communicate effectively among themselves, help leadership make informed decisions, advise clients, comply with federal, state, or local regulatory bodies, bid for contracts, etc. Professional writing is widely understood to be mediated by the social, rhetorical, and material contexts within which it is produced. For example, in a business office, a memorandum can be used to provide a solution to a problem, make a suggestion, or convey information. Other forms of professional writing commonly generated in the workplace include email, letters, reports, and instructions. In seeking to inform, persuade, instruct, stimulate debate, or encourage action from recipients, skilled professional writers make adjustments to different degrees of shared context, e.g., from a relatively accessible style useful for unsolicited contact letter to prospective clients to a technical report that relies on a highly specialized in-house vocabulary.
A medical writer, also referred to as medical communicator, is a person who applies the principles of clinical research in developing clinical trial documents that effectively and clearly describe research results, product use, and other medical information. The medical writer develops any of the five modules of the Common Technical Document. The medical writers also ensure that their documents comply with regulatory, journal, or other guidelines in terms of content, format, and structure.
A content designer is tasked with communicating information in the best way possible. An effective content designer is expected to be skilled in language(s), psychology, user experience (UX), graphic design, and the technical requirements of front-end development. A content designer is an expert across various media, and is skilled in drafting compelling text, images, and videos.
User experience design, upon which is the centralized requirements for "User Experience Design Research", defines the experience a user would go through when interacting with a company, its services, and its products. User experience design is a user centered design approach because it considers the user's experience when using a product or platform. Research, data analysis, and test results drive design decisions in UX design rather than aesthetic preferences and opinions, for which is known as UX Design Research. Unlike user interface design, which focuses solely on the design of a computer interface, UX design encompasses all aspects of a user's perceived experience with a product or website, such as its usability, usefulness, desirability, brand perception, and overall performance. UX design is also an element of the customer experience (CX), and encompasses all design aspects and design stages that are around a customer's experience.
Ann Rockley is a content manager. She is the founder and President of The Rockley Group, based in the greater Toronto Area. She regularly presents papers and workshops on subjects involving the efficient creation, management and delivery of content for organizations in North America and Europe. She was the lead analyst for The XML & Component Content Management Report on Content Management Systems Watch.
Structured writing is a form of technical writing that uses and creates structured documents to allow people to digest information both faster and easier. From 1963 to 1965, Robert E. Horn worked to develop a way to structure and connect large amounts of information, taking inspiration from geographical maps. He coined the term "Information Mapping" to describe his method of analyzing, organizing, and displaying knowledge in print and in the new online presentation of text and graphics.
In systems design, user analysis is the means by which scientists, engineers and technical writers determine the characteristics of users which will influence the development of software systems or other technological products. During the process, developers in technical fields gather information about users of their products through interviews, focus groups and other forms of qualitative research. This is typically performed by forming use cases based upon the actual work flow tasks which the users will perform while using a given piece of technology. Such analyses are vital to the composition of software documentation.
Technical translation is a type of specialized translation involving the translation of documents produced by technical writers, or more specifically, texts which relate to technological subject areas or texts which deal with the practical application of scientific and technological information. While the presence of specialized terminology is a feature of technical texts, specialized terminology alone is not sufficient for classifying a text as "technical" since numerous disciplines and subjects which are not "technical" possess what can be regarded as specialized terminology. Technical translation covers the translation of many kinds of specialized texts and requires a high level of subject knowledge and mastery of the relevant terminology and writing conventions.
An API writer is a technical writer who writes documents that describe an application programming interface (API). The primary audience includes programmers, developers, system architects, and system designers.
Form and Document Creation is one of the things that technical communicators do as part of creating deliverables for their companies or clients. Document design is: "the field of theory and practice aimed at creating comprehensible, persuasive and usable functional documents". These forms and documents can have many different purposes such as collecting or providing information.
Levels of edit describes a cumulative or categorical scheme for revising text. Beginning as a tool to standardize communication between writers and editors at a government laboratory, the levels of edit has been adopted and modified by the general public and academics in professional communication and technical communication.
The rhetoric of health and medicine is an academic discipline concerning language and symbols in health and medicine. Rhetoric most commonly refers to the persuasive element in human interactions and is often best studied in the specific situations in which it occurs. As a subfield of rhetoric, medical rhetoric specifically analyzes and evaluates the structure, delivery, and intention of communications messages in medicine- and health-related contexts. Primary topics of focus includes patient-physician communication, health literacy, language that constructs disease knowledge, and pharmaceutical advertising. The general research areas are described below. Medical rhetoric is a more focused subfield of the rhetoric of science.
References
↑ David Farbey, Technical writer career information at the official website of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
↑ O'Hara, F.M. (2001). A brief history of technical communication. In STC’s 48th Annual Conference Proceedings (pp. 500–504.) Arlington, VA: Society for Technical Communication.
1 2 3 Malone, E. A. (2011). The first wave (1953–1961) of the professionalization movement in technical communication. Technical Communication, 58(4),285-306. Retrieved from https://www.stc.org/techcomm/
1 2 3 4 O'Hara, F.M. (2001). A brief history of technical communication. In STC’s 48th Annual Conference Proceedings (pp. 500–504.)Arlington, VA: Society for Technical Communication.
↑ Lauer, Claire; Brumberger, Eva (2016). "Technical Communication as User Experience in a Broadening Industry Landscape". Technical Communication (Washington). 63 (3): 248–249.
↑ Johnson-Eilola, Johndan; Selber, Stuart (2013). Solving Problems in Technical Communication. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. pp.190–191.
↑ Cleary, Yvonne (29 July 2021). The Profession and Practice of Technical Communication (1sted.). New York: Routledge. pp.131–132. doi:10.4324/9781003095255. ISBN9781003095255.
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7 ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7 - Working Group 2 develops international standards for software documentation
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