Developing Quality Technical Information

The authors are all long-standing and respected members of the information development community at IBM. Although the authors have served in various roles throughout their careers, information quality has always been and continues to be their primary focus.   Michelle Carey is an information architect and technical editor at IBM and has taught technical communication at University of California Santa Cruz Extension. Michelle is the co-author of the book DITA Best Practices: A Roadmap for Writing, Editing, and Architecting in DITA. She is an expert on topic-based information systems, software product error messages, grammar, embedded assistance for user interfaces, and writing for international audiences. She also writes computational linguistic rules for a grammar, style, and terminology management tool. Michelle enjoys teaching, grammar, herding cats, and riding and driving anything with a lot of horsepower.   Moira McFadden Lanyi is an information architect and technical editor at IBM. She has experience with topic-based writing, DITA, embedded assistance, user interface design, and visual design. She created 99% of the artwork in this book. She is a co-author of the book An Introduction to IMS. Moira enjoys visiting San Francisco with her family as often as possible, cooking fresh, healthy meals, and watching her courageous son ride his unicycle and surf.   Deirdre Longo is an information architect and strategist at IBM. She has been a pioneer for embedded assistance in IBM: defining the scope of that term, developing standards for embedded assistance, and modeling how to work effectively in cross-disciplinary teams. She has taught webinars for the Society of Technical Communication (STC) and published articles on information architecture topics in STC’s Intercom. She is an avid yoga practitioner.   Eric Radzinski is a technical editor and information architect for industry-leading mainframe database software at IBM. He is a co-author of The IBM Style Guide: Conventions for Writers and Editors and is well versed in topic-based writing, embedded assistance, DITA, and writing for a global audience. Eric makes his home in San Jose, California, with his wife and their three children.   Shannon Rouiller is an information architect and technical editor at IBM. She has experience with quality metrics, topic-based information systems, DITA, videos, embedded assistance, and user interface design. She is a co-author of the book Designing Effective Wizards. Shannon dabbles in sports photography and likes to solve puzzles.   Elizabeth Wilde is an information quality strategist at IBM, developing strategies and education for developing high-quality content. She develops Acrolinx computational linguistic rules that enforce grammar, style, and DITA tagging rules. She teaches an extension course in technical writing at the University of California Santa Cruz. Her hobbies include growing cacti and succulents and collecting tattoos.  

Preface    
Acknowledgments   
About the authors    
Part 1. Introduction   
Chapter 1. Technical information continues to evolve   
Embedded assistance  
Progressive disclosure of information   
The technical writer’s role today   
Redefining quality technical information   
Chapter 2. Developing quality technical information   
Preparing to write: understanding users, goals, and product tasks   
Writing and rewriting   
Reviewing, testing, and evaluating technical information   
Part 2. Easy to use   
Chapter 3. Task orientation   
Write for the intended audience   
Present information from the users’ point of view   
Focus on users’ goals   
Identify tasks that support users’ goals   
Write user-oriented task topics, not function-oriented task topics   
Avoid an unnecessary focus on product features   
Indicate a practical reason for information   
Provide clear, step-by-step instructions   
Make each step a clear action for users to take   
Group steps for usability   
Clearly identify steps that are optional or conditional   
Task orientation checklist   
Chapter 4. Accuracy   
Research before you write   
Verify information that you write   
Maintain information currency   
Keep up with technical changes   
Avoid writing information that will become outdated   
Maintain consistency in all information about a subject   
Reuse information when possible