In everyday life, when we think of writing, we often imagine writing Instagram captions or envision someone writing a book.

However, is writing confined to certain areas? Absolutely NOT!

Writing is an ever-expanding discipline that transcends boundaries and caters to every domain, be it advertisement, journalism, social media, and more. 

Nevertheless, in this post, our focus will be on a specific genre of writing used by organizations for their products, as well as the individuals responsible for this type of writing.

What is technical writing?

Imagine that you have no experience making soup but have the intention to do so. Due to a lack of cooking knowledge, your soup might turn out to be a disaster. However, if you had a user manual that provided you with a step-by-step soup recipe with proper ingredients, you would not have to remain hungry.

In this scenario, consider a product (software or hardware) instead of soup, and technical documentation instead of a recipe manual.


Technical writing involves documenting various topics that assist users in accomplishing tasks related to a product. These topics typically include:
  • Product features and usage
  • Tutorials
  • Troubleshooting guides
  • Code samples, if applicable

Who does technical writing?

People who possess an understanding of a product and are responsible for documenting it are known as technical writers.

However, technical writing is far from being a simple task of writing a few words about a product. Trust me when I say that it is not as straightforward as it may seem.

     Quote technical writers repeat to themselves


Technical writers are expected to explain the product in the simplest way possible, which requires them to have a deep understanding of the product from its core.

The key responsibilities of a technical writer involve the following:

  • Interacting with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to learn about the product.

  • Using the product and gaining a comprehensive understanding of its features.

  • Visualizing oneself as a user and considering the reasons to choose the product.

  • Identifying use cases of the product.

  • Following a style guide and creating an initial draft of the document.

  • Performing a self-review of the document to ensure its readability and understandability for users.

  • Scheduling a review call with SMEs to collect feedback.

  • Incorporating feedback from SMEs and making necessary revisions to the document.

  • Publishing the document and verifying that it appears as expected on the web page.

  • Monitoring users' feedback on the document and making further improvement if required.

Indeed, that is quite a demanding workload!

Summary

In this blog post, we introduced the concept of technical writing and the role of technical writers. 

Technical writing involves documenting technical information such as product features, troubleshooting techniques, and tutorials. Technical writers collaborate with subject matter experts to understand and document product features, enabling users to quickly onboard with the product.