What technical writing is (and what it isn’t)
When I mention that technical writing and editing are part of what I do for a living, I occasionally hear this reaction:
“Oh God, technical writing? Writing long, complicated documents sounds awful!”
In fact, I very much agree. Writing long, complicated documents does sound awful. But that’s not what technical writing is about! Yes, technical writers write documents, especially to inform readers. Typical examples include educational articles, research reports, and instructional materials such as professional policies, procedures, and user guides.
Nevertheless, technical writers don’t write long, complicated documents. Rather, they research long, complicated documentation, and then they rewrite the information into a format that’s readable and understandable for non-experts. The goal is to transform recondite facts and figures into communication that’s clear and concise—in short, user-friendly.
Technical writing as user-friendly communication
Why worry whether or not communication is user-friendly? If you’re a manager or employee, the answer is obvious: Unclear communication confuses workers and causes workflow problems.
For instance, when I began technical writing in the banking industry, a manager asked me to rewrite procedures for employees who worked in accounting. These employees used financial applications and software to report out-of-balance bank accounts. However, they all complained that the documentation for these applications and software was confusing. Consequently, newer employees made mistakes on the job, because they couldn’t understand the procedures.
It didn’t take me long to see why. One of those so-called procedures read like this:
- Open template.
- Update accounts.
- Upload file.
That was it. No further explanation, no step-by-step instructions, nothing more. Now, imagine you began your first day of work as an accountant and that was the procedure given to you. You wouldn’t know what the heck to do.
Technical writing communicates values, not just facts
Well, after learning more than I ever planned to know about financial accounting, I converted that linguistic muddle into a clearer overview. It started like this:
In this procedure, you will learn how to update the “Weekly Template,” which is a report to identify out-of-balance accounts. To update this template, you will need to complete the following tasks:
- Open the spreadsheet titled “Aging Report,” and make sure it includes a column of account data labeled “Aging Items.”
- Open another spreadsheet titled “Weekly Template.”
- Copy the column of “Aging Items” from the “Aging Report,” and paste the account data to the “Weekly Template.”
- Save the “Weekly Template,” and upload it to the Accounting System.
That was just a short introduction I wrote. Next, I wrote step-by-step instructions with screen-shot illustrations, explaining exactly when and where to open each spreadsheet, what columns and rows to copy and paste from one spreadsheet to another, how to save the template and upload it to the Accounting System, etc. My goal was to write a procedure that would make sense to new employees.
In due course, my work paid off. After I finished rewriting the procedures, the employees said the new documents were much clearer and more helpful. As a result, 100% reported that the new procedures helped them effectively use the applications and software required to do their job (compared to 57% before I showed up). After their next audit, they also saw zero mistakes in their workflow.
Experiences like this one helped me realize that technical writing (any kind of writing, really) isn’t just about writing down facts. It’s about conveying values too, including the value of clarity.
Seeing technology as a relationship
So technical writers write documents—especially for educational and instructional purposes—but they don’t write long, complicated documents. Instead, they write clear, concise documents that a layperson should be able to understand.
I knew that about technical writing going into the profession. What I didn’t know—not at first—was an insight about technology that came to me over the years. Essentially, what technical writers do is communicate how users can best work with technology to accomplish a task. In a way, the job isn’t unlike that of a psychology counselor, who coaches people how to work together to fulfill their relationship needs. Instead of counseling one person to work with another, technical writers inform users how to work with technology.
Psychology Counselor vs. Technical Writer
In other words, technical writing taught me to see technology in a unique way. Technology is not a mere thing we happen to use. It’s also a relationship we have to manage. Technical writing is, of course, one way to manage this relationship. As a form of user-friendly communication that values clarity, it teaches users how to work well with technology.
The user-centered approach
People, after all, should feel like they’re the ones using technology. They shouldn’t feel like technology is using them. The Society for Technical Communication calls this philosophy a user-centered approach, in which we write about technology and technical data by “providing the right information, in the right way, at the right time to make someone’s life easier and more productive.”
At the end of the day, here’s how I see the profession: As a user-centered approach, technical writing helps users build a harmonious relationship with technology. For those who work in technical communication or a related field (like usability or information design), let me know if you share similar convictions, or check out other Professional Topics on this site.