Almost every technical document that gets the job done has six major characteristics:
It addresses particular readers. Knowing who the readers are, what they understand about the subject, how well they speak English, and how they will use the document will help you decide what kind of document to write, how to structure it, how much detail to include, and what sentence style and vocabulary to use.
It helps readers solve problems. For instance, you might produce a video that explains to your company’s employees how to select their employee benefits, or a document spelling out the company’s policy on using social media in the workplace.
It reflects the organization’s goals and culture. For example, a state government department that oversees vocational-education programs submits an annual report to the state legislature in an effort to secure continued funding, as well as a lot of technical information to the public in an effort to educate its audience. And technical documents also reflect the organization’s culture. For example, many organizations encourage their employees to blog about their areas of expertise to create a positive image of the organization.
It is produced collaboratively. No one person has all the information, skills, or time to create a large document. You will work with subject-matter experts—the various technical professionals—to create a better document than you could have made working alone. You will routinely post questions to networks of friends and associates—both inside and outside your own organization—to get answers to technical questions.
It uses design to increase readability. Technical communicators use design features—such as typography, spacing, and color—to make a document attractive so that it creates a positive impression, helps readers navigate the document, and helps readers understand it.
It consists of words or images or both. Images—both static and moving—can make a document more interesting and appealing to readers and help the writer communicate and reinforce difficult concepts, communicate instructions and descriptions of objects and processes, communicate large amounts of quantifiable data, and communicate with nonnative speakers.