What is technical writing?
Technical writing is a medium of communication between technology and its users. Advancements in technologies have increased complexities. The more complex a technology is, the more there is a need for communicating the technicalities.
In layman’s language, technical writing refers to explaining the technology so that even a non-technical person can utilize the innovation. This field has grown manifolds in the last few years owing to increasing dependency on technologies and the rising need for support. The effectiveness of technical documentation can be measured in terms of the support it provides to the customers.
At Metapercept, the focus on information gathering and audience analysis plays a key role in the entire documentation process. It is so because the understanding of the audience and the technology helps in choosing the right words and tone for the document. The right tone and language can help the client save time and cost, which otherwise would have been spent on raising and solving tickets.
Effective technical documentation also ensures the adoption of the product. On the users’ front too, technical writing helps in saving time seeking support. The number of technology developers to non-technical users is very less. The users outnumber the developers by a huge percentage, thereby emphasizing the need for documentation.
Key factors to remember for technical writing
A style guide is important
Understand the behavior of your audience and refer to a style guide. It will help in exponentially increasing the user experience of the product.
Technical knowhow
One can afford to have a non-technical background but can’t compromise with technical understanding. To be the communication medium between a product and its users, one needs to understand and be able to use the technology.
Language skills
Language can be tricky in technical writing, especially when a document is to be published across multiple regions and platforms. One should be quick enough to work on these minute changes when publishing the documents.
This being said, technical writing can also cater to a technical audience only, as is the case for API documentation. Here, a technical writer can assume that the audience already has a certain level of knowledge. So, the purpose of the documentation is to offer the details of the API, such as code snippets, error codes, output formats, etc.
Therefore, irrespective of the technical soundness of the audience, technical writing bridges the gap between the product and its users.
Metapercept’s team has gained expertise in technical writing for products and services from multiple domains. Their experience and skills allow them to deliver all kinds of technical documentation projects in minimum time. For queries, contact us.
Join Metpercept’s Technical Writing Buddy Up Program to become a technical writer. Explore the opportunity for an internship with hands-on experience in technical writing.