Posts Tagged ‘Software Documentation’
Conversational Style in Technical Writing
Posted by: lexpower on: September 7, 2010
Do you think it is ever appropriate to use the word you in technical documents? At one company, where I was working as a contract freelance writer on a technical-writing project, the company’s lead technical writer decreed that no one was to use the word you in any technical document. Ever. Under any circumstances. For [...]
What Does Your Audience Really Want?
Posted by: lexpower on: January 20, 2010
Recently someone asked me what readers look for in a document. You know: are there any special “must-haves” or “sure-would-be-nice” features that make reading and using documents easier and more enjoyable? Over the years I’ve thought about this topic, researched it and have also discussed it with other writers. Here are some major themes, which apply [...]
Project Time Estimates
Posted by: lexpower on: October 12, 2009
How do you estimate the time needed to write a document? As an example, let’s talk about the user manual, a type of document that is long, complex and typically rather tricky to finish on time and on budget. The first step is to get team consensus on the planning and design questions (see earlier [...]
