The Process of Technical Writing
The technical writing process consists of four main phases.
These are planning, writing, delivery, archiving. These phases
are not necessarily set in stone and some variations do exist.
Every writer is different and they each have their own way of
writing that is distinct. For those who are just beginning to do
some technical writing however would be well advised to use
these phases as a way of organizing their writing.
The planning stage of technical writing consists of gathering
information. In this stage of the technical writing process you
will determine which documents and other information that you
will use for your writing. This is also where you will determine
how the documentation will be delivered to the customer. In this
stage you can also create any templates that are needed.
The writing phase in technical writing is where you write your
documents. This is where you should also make a list of glossary
of terms as you write. This can be left to the end but it always
easier to do this as you go along. When the writing is complete
you should always take the time to read over your material and
correct any mistakes that you can detect. The most common
mistakes are spelling errors. Someone else could find the harder
to detect grammatical errors that you let read your writing.
This of course is a good idea. You should always have someone
else read your writing to pick up on any mistakes that you may
overlook.
The third stage of the technical writing process is called the
delivery phase. This is the method by which you will present
your writing to others. This may be done through text form.
Today, with the increasing use of computers people are deciding
to save their writing on CD or floppy disk and sell the writing
in this format. Today people are just as will to buy a CD than
they are a book. Printed materials should always be presented
well. This should be done in a binder or folder of some sort.
The material should be organized and it is a good idea to use
tabs to separate sections so that people will make it easier to
read.
The fourth and final stage of the technical writing process is
the archiving phase. This includes naming the document and
putting the archive number on the document. If you work for a
company then your company may have their own way of archiving
documents and you could use this system. Once this is all
complete you are done.