- Identify your audience.
Identify the average person who will be using each piece of your documentation, and write for their experience level. Not your level of experience, but theirs. - The purpose
Write down why your average user would need to use your documentation.
User documentation is designed to help the user to do something. - Name it
Create titles for each of your documentation pieces. - Plan, create a:
* table of Contents for each piece of documentation
* estimate of number of the number of pages per document section
* sample layout of your document - Writing
Create the first draft as quickly as you can.
Do not get hung-up on spelling/grammar/”look and feel” at this stage. - Editing
Start only when you have finished writing. - Proofreading
Only when you think it is finished, ship it out for proofreading and reviewing. - Printing
Get it out the door. There will always be one more tweak.
Resist the urge to make it perfect, instead, get it published. - Maintenance
Set review dates for your documentation.
If your documentation is not being used, don’t keep working on it.
My next documentation post on Tuesday, will discuss the Four Key Pillars of Writing User Documentation.
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