Note: my primary service is SR&ED consulting. Follow link for details.
- Does your product need a manual that your users can understand?
- Are the finer points of using your product complex, subtle and highly technical?
- Are your end users technicians, engineers or scientists?
- Is your staff too busy to explain every last thing to your writer?
If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then you have just found a valuable service.
If you answered “yes” to all of the questions above, you’ve found the perfect man for the job!
Here are some qualities my clients most appreciate.
- Reliable
- Deliver on commitments
- Clearly communicate commitments and timeline
- Clearly communicate technical information
- Very high quality work
- Willing to accept clients preferences over my own, but will press client when I feel some point is unclear
I know because I have asked them.
Good documentation answers the common questions users have, and some less common questions as well. The goal of good documentation is to give readers familiarity with your product, i.e. a level of comfort and familiarity with the equipment so they can start using it properly. The more complex and technical the product, the more this is true. The more sophisticated the audience, the more they will expect, and the more detail required in the manual. Details in this type of documentation must not only be precise, but accurate too.
Producing great documentation takes a lot of attention to detail, and familiarity with the product. I specialize in gathering detailed information with a minimum of load on technical staff. When I ask questions, they are good, specific questions which only the product designers can answer. By being specific, I make it as easy as possible for engineers and designers to answer the questions I put to them.