When it comes to database management, documentation is a common problem in many organizations. With an influx of data constantly coming in, developers often find documenting every process and change to be time-consuming. Consequently, an organization’s database tends to become outdated and disorganized, which defeats the purpose of documentation. Since developers would rather focus on coding instead of documentation, technical writers are very beneficial in creating any documentation an organization needs. With the help of these professionals, the responsibility shifts to someone whose job is to communicate and produce high-quality documentation.
Here are five reasons why you should hire technical writers to help manage your database documentation today:
Field of Specialty
Some technical writers specialize in every industry from cybersecurity, IT, environmental, healthcare, and more. So, when it comes to database documentation in your respective industry, there are tech writers who are trained in that field and have the knowledge needed to make sure that documentation is accurate. Tech writers have the expertise to document and analyze databases according to the relevant industry. Businesses often have the misconception that hiring a tech writer means wasting time explaining what they need. On the contrary, when you hire a tech writer familiar with your field, it enables easy interaction with software developers, therefore resulting in the production of high-quality technical content for your business.
Audience
Database documentation is not only for developers. Everyone across the entire organization needs to clearly understand any information they have access to. Technical writers know writing techniques and document solutions to assist a wide range of audiences, whether they be technical or non-technical team members or external audiences. Explaining to a senior executive about the different types of NoSQL databases and their uses, for instance, will be easier to digest coming from a technical writer than a developer, who may explain it in terms that are too technical.
Skills
Technical writers have a range of skills to help you efficiently manage your database documentation. They often have strong written and verbal communication skills along with research abilities to search, locate, organize, and analyze information. This enables them to create effective and high-quality documentation about a topic, as well as quickly gain a level of understanding of what they are writing about. Other skills may include knowledge of markup, programming, and database languages, in addition to types of databases and documents formats, such as XML, YAML, or JSON.
Documentation
Technical writers can provide training manuals and user documents to help employees learn and operate database management systems. With the assistance of documentation writers, they can also update existing documents for better clarity and improve accessibility for all users, which in turn saves time and money.
Technology
As the demand for database solutions grows, technical writers continue to be well versed in the latest database documentation tools. Technical writers can help a business maintain their database networks and the documents needed to know how to use them. A tech writer can also help you select the best tools suited for your needs.
Compliance & Security
With technical writers at the helm of documentation management, they can keep track of every change in a database network as soon as it happens. Therefore, they can update documentation and systems so that they always coincide with compliance laws. Also, technical writers have access to compliance technology to make ensuring compliance easier, whether it’s complying with HIPAA, GDPR, or other notable regulatory compliance requirements. With technical writers helping, your business can stay compliant, thus avoiding fines, penalties, or worse, financial or reputational ruin.
Conclusion
As digital data continues to grow due to the advancement of technology, consider these five tips for hiring technical writers to help improve your database documentation. With the assistance of professionally trained technical writers, your database can stay organized and help you access, store, and retrieve information more efficiently.
How can EDC help?
At EDC, we can help develop data management plans. These plans help determine how to manage, analyze, and store data acquired during every stage of your business. With a customized plan, you can reduce the amount of time you spend managing data. You can also improve the quality of information, and implement a growth strategy to help reach future business goals.
Whether you need a team of consultants to produce a complete line of documentation or a single technical writer for a brief project, Essential Data’s Engagement Manager will lead the project from start to finish. At Essential Data Corporation, we guarantee the quality of our work. Contact us today to get started at (800) 221-0093 or [email protected]
Written by Kimberly Jones