Tech Writers: Simplifying Complex Topics (Explained)
In today’s dynamic business landscape, technical writers are indispensable. They have a talent for making products, processes, and services understandable to everyone. This ability to translate complex ideas into clear, concise content helps businesses save money, work more efficiently, and keep customers happy.
But what makes tech writers so good at simplifying the complex? It’s their unique mix of knowledge, skills, and expertise. They use streamlined writing and research methods to break down intricate topics.
What Do Tech Writers Do For Businesses?
As businesses expand, integrating process documents into your workflow becomes crucial. Think of a process document as a roadmap for your business. Whether developing new strategies or refining existing ones, process documentation serves as a best practice guide for building and executing them.
The information about how your company operates is vital for both daily activities and future growth. Technical writers emphasize the importance of documenting business processes, ensuring everything is mapped out correctly. This optimization helps avoid mistakes and delays, enhancing cost-effectiveness, productivity, supplier relationships, and customer satisfaction.
Imagine attempting to juggle all these activities without any way to organize or map them out—it would be nearly impossible! Successful businesses hire professional technical writers to make their operations smoother and more efficient.
Why Businesses Need Tech Writers
Accurate documentation is crucial for recording, storing, and accessing essential data for any successful business. From company-wide user manuals to detailed product documentation, technical writers ensure that critical information is always available when needed.
Successful businesses recognize the value of investing in professional technical writers. While it might be tempting to assign writing tasks to developers, engineers, or managers, their primary expertise lies in building products, not explaining how they work. This is where technical writers come in. They possess a unique skill set focused on clarity, organization, and the end user’s perspective.
Technical writers don’t necessarily need to be part of the product team to understand the intricate workings of a product. In fact, their outsider perspective can be advantageous. It allows them to anticipate better how different users will interact with the product, forming the foundation for creating expert documentation.
Technical Writers Are Fast Learners
Professional technical writers excel in documentation because they start projects with a broad knowledge base. Typically educated in STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, math, or a combination—they often have experience in medicine, computer science, and other tech-based areas.
What makes technical writers unique is their ability to be both generalists and specialists. While they may not be subject matter experts (SMEs), they are fast and flexible researchers who enjoy delving into the specialized technical aspects of any topic. As writers, they thrive on exploring unknown territory, making them well-suited for this work.
The topics that technical writers need to understand can be highly complex. One project might involve pharmaceutical instructions for a new drug, requiring knowledge of FDA regulations. Another could involve ISO certification documentation for internationally shipped goods. There is no limit to a technical writer’s domain.
In any situation, a technical writer focuses on quickly learning relevant material. They carefully consider which information to include and omit throughout their research process. When your job is to simplify instructions and develop clear guidelines for multiple audiences, being selective about how you spend your time is crucial.
Tech Writers Are Great Collaborators
When a tech writer begins a project, they engage with all the company’s teams and relevant departments. Listening to subject matter experts (SMEs) and asking pointed questions helps them gather all the information needed to understand their task. Although tech writers are often seen as siloed workers, they are strong collaborators and team players.
Tech writers can easily join these conversations because they stay updated with industry trends. Great tech writers are also avid readers and researchers. They keep up with the news, scan trade blogs, and listen to popular and niche podcasts. They should have their finger on the pulse of the latest reports, statistics, and ideas discussed in leading business and technology publications.
When tech writers join a new organization, they are familiar with industry developments and know how to speak the language. They enjoy collaborating with SMEs and other experts within the organization. With a solid understanding of the subject, they focus on learning the technical details needed to produce expert documentation for the business.
How Tech Writers Excel at Information Management
Working cross-functionally enables tech writers to develop highly efficient techniques for their work processes. One such technique is “single sourcing,” where writers reuse sources across multiple documentation projects. Experienced tech writers maintain databases of collected information, which aids them during the research phase.
Tech writers spend approximately 80% of their time researching through reading or interviewing. Throughout this process, they take detailed notes on the specific needs of their audience. This preparation ensures that when they begin writing, they clearly understand the target audience and various strategies to capture their attention.
For example, a skilled tech writer can take the same technical information about an API and create three distinct documents: one for end-users, one for tech professionals, and one for business leaders. This task is complex because “clear and simple” language varies for different groups. However, tech writers excel at accumulating knowledge, making them highly efficient.
Why Technical Information Needs to be Simplified
The Explosion of Digital Information
The global economy has produced an astronomical amount of digital information, showing no signs of slowing down. By 2025, the worldwide volume of data is predicted to reach 181 zettabytes. This immense volume of information requires thorough documentation.
The Role of the Tech Industry
The tech industry is primarily responsible for this massive trail of digital records. Over the decades, technology has disrupted supply chains and radically altered industries from aerospace to finance, energy, and IT. As technology has rewritten the rules of business, the roles and responsibilities of technical writers have also evolved.
Evolving Responsibilities of Technical Writers
It’s no longer sufficient for a technical writer to know a few standard formats for instructional manuals. Instead, they must be able to document complex processes for highly specialized and varied audiences. This might involve writing reports, briefs, user guides, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The Need for Expertise and Quick Turnaround
These projects demand expertise and a quick turnaround, sometimes within an hour. If a business has a technical writer in-house or employs one as a consultant, they can rely on that writer to handle the job efficiently. These tasks accumulate, and savvy companies leverage them to increase profit margins.
For Simplification of Data
Simplifying technical information is crucial because it makes complex concepts accessible to a broader audience. Clear and concise documentation helps avoid misunderstandings and ensures that the information is usable by people with varying expertise.
Tech Writer Case Study: Standard Operating Procedures
Hiring a tech writer saves companies valuable time, reduces costs, and allows critical design team members to focus on tasks like product development. For example, in this case study, Essential Data’s technical writers developed detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for seven unique manufacturing machines at an aerospace manufacturing company.
These SOPs were compiled into a comprehensive training manual for new hires, enabling the company’s clients to cross-train existing employees on new and different machines. This level of documentation was groundbreaking and delivered real business results. The manufacturing company was able to train new hires 50% more quickly, reducing the training period to three months.
Tech Writers Produce Real Business Results
The more experienced and diverse the tech writer, the better they can serve their organization. Tech writers play a crucial role in your company’s success through streamlining business operations, increasing efficiency, and contributing to the bottom line. Their ability to translate technical industry jargon into readable material is key to this process.
In business, it’s often best to let specialists perform the tasks they excel at. Tech writers should handle the technical writing, just as software engineers design the products, computer programmers build them, and product managers keep everything moving smoothly.
When there is clarity around tech writing, the result is a customer, client, or fellow employee who knows how to use and work with their tools effectively. You can rest assured that your data will be clear, accurate, and valuable.
How Essential Data Corporation Can Help You
Whether you need a single software technical writer or a full team of consultants for comprehensive documentation, we guarantee exceptional quality in every project. Our clients benefit from close collaboration with an Engagement Manager from one of our 30 local offices—at no additional cost—throughout the process.
Join our satisfied clients and discover the impact of expert technical writing. Contact us at (800) 221-0093 or [email protected] to discuss your technical writing needs.