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Five Keys to Starting a Successful Technical Writing Project
Most tech departments have awful documentation because they don’t take the time to plan it out.
Identify your audience
The first step in starting a successful documentation or written communication project is to identify the audience. Ask yourself, “who are my readers?”
Generalize your intended audience as a group — their role, education level, skill level and experience level with the system.
This helps set your tone and format. Are you writing for a group that supports the system, is educated and technically competent? Or is this a group that uses the system, is not educated and not technically competent?
Figuring this out up front will help tailor the documentation to the specific audience.
Identify your purpose
The second step is to identify the purpose of your communication. Ask yourself, “what do I want my readers to do or accomplish?”
Put yourself inside the head of someone in your intended audience. Think about what you want them to be able to do once they read your communication. This is your communication’s purpose.
