What’s your technical communication focus?
The role of a technical communicator constantly evolves. Years ago, we simply had to write a few documents and our job was considered done. These days, especially in the software industry with its massive flux in terms of concepts and products, things are not so straightforward.
New technical communicators need a wide range of skills and talents. Almost every technical communicator has a different focus to their job. We are editors, writers, videographers, user experience designers, graphic designers, and project managers, amongst a host of other roles.
Let’s look at a few technical communicator focuses and see what they are like!
The Classical Technical Writer
The classical technical writer prepares, delivers, and maintains technical documentation.
- Focus on language 4/5
- Focus on technical correctness 5/5
- Required technical knowledge 2/5
- Project management skills 1/5
The Editor Technical Writer
This is a technical writer involved in editing documentation. This is usually a native speaker of the language in which the documentation is being produced. The Editor Technical Writer is heavily specialized in their chosen subject and has an excellent knowledge of language. If you have found the spelling and stylistic mistakes in my post so far, you probably have your editor glasses on! 🙂
This type of technical writer is so involved in editing that they naturally seek out possible mistakes in the documentation. Their job is to find typos, spelling errors, grammar mistakes, context issues, and any other linguistic or stylistic error that hurts the meaning of a document.
- Focus on language 5/5
- Focus on technical correctness 1/5
- Required technical knowledge 1/5
- Project management skills 1/5
The Software Documentation Technical Writer
What is the difference here between the classical technical writer and the technical writer who is involved with software documentation?
In the software development world, the bar is much higher - the expectations in terms of knowledge and skills that you need to have as a technical communicator are much broader. But the expectation in terms of language skills is slightly lower. Many technical writers forget this, or they just take their experience from the classical technical writing job and wonder why they suffer in the software development world.
The technical writer in the world of software documentation should be part of the software development team and act as a fully staffed member of this team. This means that they need to understand the software development lifecycle and have increased technical knowledge, in combination with their technical communication skills.
- Focus on language 3/5
- Focus on technical correctness 4/5
- Required technical knowledge 4/5
- Project management skills 2/5
The User Interface Technical Writer (or UX Copywriter)
A technical writer, who is involved in software documentation and reviews the user interface texts.
Have you ever seen an application that is so intuitive that you don't need to read the software documentation to use it? I hope so! One of the reasons the application is so well crafted and easy to use is because the technical writer has done a great job in analyzing and defining the texts on the screen as well as the information provided by the application. As an end-user, you don't feel the need to read any documentation, unless there is a complicated procedure that you need to perform.
This on-screen information is often referred to as embedded help, embedded information, UI text, or user interface text.
This type of technical writer is sometimes referred to as a copywriter but shouldn’t be confused with the copywriter marketing role. The task of this technical writer is to review the user interface texts and provide pertinent information where it is needed directly on the screen.
- Focus on language 3/5
- Focus on technical correctness 4/5
- Required technical knowledge 1/5
- Project management skills 2/5
The Instructional Video Technical Writer
This technical writer's focus revolves around the development, production, and delivery of video content that guides and helps the user. The technical writing aspect comes from script writing and deciding on the right information to include to help the user. Very often the technical documentation is used as a basis for the video script.
- Focus on language 3/5
- Focus on technical correctness 4/5
- Required technical knowledge 1/5
- Project management skills 1/5
The Support Technical Writer
The focus here is on the support aspect of the work. The technical writer is a part of the support team and creates the KBAs (Knowledge Base Articles), which help the user to solve frequently encountered problems.
Again, the technical communicator is writing, but this time they are much closer to the world of the customers who report problems, and the communicator is perceived as a part of the support organization.
- Focus on language 3/5
- Focus on technical correctness 5/5
- Required technical knowledge 3/5
- Project management skills 3/5
The Producer Technical Writer
This technical communicator focuses on processing, organizing, and producing the content.
They may be involved in the writing aspect but are more focused on the information architecture and/or production of the content, making sure that it matches the company style guide as well as the branding guidelines.
- Focus on language 1/5
- Focus on technical correctness 1/5
- Required technical knowledge 5/5
- Project management skills 4/5
The XML Technical Writer
This technical communicator knows how to write in XML and focuses on how to properly structure and organize information. They are involved in writing structured documentation, which makes it easier for the information to be post-processed, organized, and formatted in different ways depending on the actual needs of the product itself.
This is usually specific to the software development world, where parts of a product can be combined in different ways, requiring the documentation to be dynamic and flexible. Software documentation often uses DITA XML (Darwin Information Typing Architecture XML) as a standard language for structuring content.
- Focus on language 3/5
- Focus on technical correctness 4/5
- Required technical knowledge 3/5
- Project management skills 2/5
The Graphic Designer Technical Writer
In many companies, the technical writer creates visuals that guide and help the user. They develop graphics, visuals, and infographics. The technical communicator often requires specific tool knowledge alongside their technical know-how.
- Focus on language 1/5
- Focus on technical correctness 2/5
- Required technical knowledge 3/5
- Project management skills 1/5
The Project Manager Technical Writer
In this focus, the technical communicator also works as a project or people manager. They are the ones who know how to lead projects to successful results through a combination of organization and people skills.
- Focus on language 1/5
- Focus on technical correctness 1/5
- Required technical knowledge 4/5
- Project management skills 5/5
The Localization Technical Writer
This focus pays attention to the localization and/or translation aspects of the content. The technical communicator understands that the product is used differently in different regions. They may write content, facilitate localization/globalization of content, and sometimes manage the translation aspects of content.
- Focus on language 5/5
- Focus on technical correctness 2/5
- Required technical knowledge 1/5
- Project management skills 4/5
Summary
As you can see, if you want to be a modern technical communicator you need to understand the above focuses. To be a successful technical communicator, you need to know which skills, in which exact combination, are important for your chosen role.
What do you think? Did we leave out a particular style of technical communication? Does your role require many of the above focuses? Let us know in the comments below!
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