Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors, 3rd Edition

About

Features

• Reflects the changing and growing role of technical communicators in designing more usable products and embedding the right help at the right time, exactly where users need it
• Brings together IBM's proven guidelines and checklists for creating exceptionally effective content
• Helps you meet 9 core quality characteristics: accuracy, clarity, completeness, concreteness, organization, retrievability, style, task orientation, and visual effectiveness
• Extensive "before-and-after" examples show how to avoid or fix problems

Description

The #1 Guide to Excellence in Technical Communication—Fully Updated for Embedded Assistance, Mobile, Search, Multimedia, and More

Direct from IBM’s own content design experts, this guide shows you how to design product interfaces and technical information that always place users front and center. This edition has been fully revised to help you consistently deliver the right content at the right time.

You’ll master today’s best practices to apply nine essential characteristics of high-quality technical information: accuracy, clarity, completeness, concreteness, organization, retrievability, style, task orientation, and visual effectiveness.

Coverage Includes

• Advocating for users throughout the entire product development process
• Delivering information in an ordered manner by following progressive disclosure techniques
• Optimizing content so that users can find it from anywhere
• Streamlining information for mobile delivery
• Helping users right where they are

Whether you’re a writer, editor, information architect, user experience professional, or reviewer, this book shows you how to create great technical information, from the product design to the user interface, topics, and other media.

• Thoroughly revised and updated
• Extensive new coverage of self-documenting interfaces and embedded assistance
• Updated practical guidelines and checklists
• Hundreds of new examples

Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

The Evolution of Technical Information: Introduction to a Handbook for Writers and Editors

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 1 and Index)

Table of Contents

• Preface    
• Acknowledgments   
• About the authors    
• Part 1. Introduction   
• Chapter 1. Technical information continues to evolve   
• Embedded assistance  
• Progressive disclosure of information   
• The technical writer’s role today   
• Redefining quality technical information   
• Chapter 2. Developing quality technical information   
• Preparing to write: understanding users, goals, and product tasks   
• Writing and rewriting   
• Reviewing, testing, and evaluating technical information   
• Part 2. Easy to use   
• Chapter 3. Task orientation   
• Write for the intended audience   
• Present information from the users’ point of view   
• Focus on users’ goals   
• Identify tasks that support users’ goals   
• Write user-oriented task topics, not function-oriented task topics   
• Avoid an unnecessary focus on product features   
• Indicate a practical reason for information   
• Provide clear, step-by-step instructions   
• Make each step a clear action for users to take   
• Group steps for usability   
• Clearly identify steps that are optional or conditional   
• Task orientation checklist   
• Chapter 4. Accuracy   
• Research before you write   
• Verify information that you write   
• Maintain information currency   
• Keep up with technical changes   
• Avoid writing information that will become outdated   
• Maintain consistency in all information about a subject   
• Reuse information when possible    

Updates

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