B y T e c h n i c a l C o m m u n i c a t i o n L t d

T h e P r o f e s s i o n a l T e c h n i c a l W r i t i n g P r o v i d e r

www.technicalcom.co.il

Technical Documentation Menu

Importance

When you enter a restaurant, you are guided to the table

reserved for you. The waiter places before you a menu

from which you select the dishes you like.

We present this Technical Documentation Menu from

which you can select the items most suitable for your needs.

We present this menu with the idea that:

The better your customers understand the details of the purchased product or service, the more they can identify new opportunities to buy additional products and therefore increase sales.

Menu Lists

The menu lists the following documentation types:

In the final section, entitled Jump start, the menu deals with the question of when is the right time to start the documentation process.

As you consider the various documentation options listed below, consider too the risks of not maintaining records about the procedures and knowhow of your organization, and its possible effect on your relationships with your customers.

Product Tree

Purpose and Use

The product tree shows how the product is put together. It contains the BOM (Bill of Materials) with information on how to identify each item, and the hierarchical structure of the product.

Output

BOM linked to inventory records with usable manufacturing instructions and schedules.

Consequences

Without a product tree, manufacturing instructions must be regenerated each time and control of parts and materials is ineffective. You cannot shift resources, parts or materials between products, nor can you take advantage of accurate records to minimize inventory and maximize logistical efficiency.

User Guide

Purpose and Use

The user guide, also called the Operator’s Manual; is written for skilled and computer literate operators. The manual can be used on-the-job at the work site.

Output

Printed user guide or electronic books as in PDF files, or both, which workers can use on-site.

Consequences

Without a guide, the user will be frustrated

and discouraged from using the device or

system. The help desk will be overloaded

with calls that could otherwise be avoided

Confidence in your company's expertise

may be at risk.

Installation & Maintenance Manual

Purpose and Use

These are special-purpose manuals to help

trained users install, configure and maintain

a device or system at a work site.

This type of manual also contains troubleshooting

measures and the login procedure for vendors’

technicians for remote monitoring.

Output

Printed user guide or electronic books like PDF files, or both, which can be used at the work site.

Consequences

Without a usable manual, the user will be frustrated and unable to install the device or system. The help desk will be overloaded with calls that could otherwise be avoided. Customer confidence in your company may be shaken.

Technical Manual

Purpose and Use

These are special-purpose manuals to help technicians

install, configure and maintain a device or system at a work site.

Output

Printed user guide or electronic books like PDF files, or both,

which can be used at the work site.

Consequences

Without a usable manual, the technician will be unable to install and maintain the device or system. Consequently, the R&D team will be called in frequently. There will be extended periods of downtime which will frustrate the buyer and the purchasing organization.

Quick Guide

Purpose and Use

Quick Guides are in general two pages long and are designed to help users with a very particular task. These provide the minimum essential information required to start working on the application or device.

Output

A brochure which can be carried by the user or technician, in which information can be located at a glance.

Consequences

Without a quick guide which he or she can carry to locate information at a glance, the user will be frustrated and have to search elsewhere—requiring more search time—for the information.

The help desk will be overloaded with callsthat could be otherwise avoided. Confidence in your company may be jeopardized.

Online Help (OLH)

Purpose and Use

The main idea behind online help is that the user is able to enter a specific query as soon as the difficulty arises, focus precisely on the heart of the problem, and most important of all, obtain the solution instantly, while simultaneously keeping the program open and running. The current trend is toward hands-on online help rather than a textual help manual.

Output

Context-sensitive help systems accessible by means of Web technologies which provide enhanced login / access capability.

Consequences

Competitors offering such help access will have a marketing edge, and their application will be used more extensively resulting in more sales.

Without OLH, the user will have to exit the application to look for help from other sources such as the user guide. The help desk will be overloaded with calls that could be otherwise avoided. Confidence in your company's expertise may be jeopardized.

Software Documentation

Purpose and Use

Programming logic cannot be complete without documentation.

Output

Software document with comments and explanatory notes.

Consequences

A poor program with good documentation can be fixed and updated later. A good program with poor documentation cannot be used.

Product Training Kit

Purpose and Use

Transfer skills to the workplace.

Output

In general each training kit contains:

Presentation

Text file for the trainee which details the information given during the presentation.

Instructor’s file listing pedagogical guidelines for the instructor.

Consequences

Customers or workers not properly trained will lag behind in productivity and their performance will fall short of that of their trained colleagues.

Jump Start

There is disagreement about when to start the documentation project. Some prefer to start after the product is ready for delivery. However, at this late stage, little time is left for documentation and verification, and the quality of the documents may be adversely affected.

A better method is to start documentation at a point when the product is nearly—but not quite—final. This approach guarantees that deadlines can be met without compromising document quality.

Free Consultation Program

Successful documentation project need good management and practical millstones.

You can join our free consultation program to determine what document type or types answer your requirements.

For consultation and to set up a realistic documentation plan please contact us via our

website www.technicalcom.co.il