Content Types And Deliverables: What Are They?
Draft.dev creates technical content for dozens of developer tools companies , so process optimization is critical for our success. But process optimization isn’t just about being more efficient. It also helps us deliver consistently high-quality content to our clients, and allows us to bring on new clients more quickly.
Defining what content type a specific article will be—and what deliverables clients can expect to receive as a result—is a key component of this process.
In this article, I’ll break down some of the types of technical content and deliverables we currently offer at Draft.dev and why we use them.
Content Types
Different articles fall into different content types, and these content types determine how we produce each article.
If an article is supposed to be a tutorial, it will include clear, step-by-step instructions for the reader. If the reader can replicate what was done purely from the provided instructions, this article has done its job.
This article by Draft.dev author, Lucien Chemaly is a good example of a tutorial.
On the other hand, articles that are meant to introduce a concept to the reader (rather than provide instructions), are considered “guides.” These might be high-level overviews of a technology or collections of best practices for specific types of work.
This article on technical documentation best practices by our writer, James Walker, is a good example of a guide.
Knowing what type of content each piece is meant to be helps the writer understand the goals of the piece, and it helps us set accurate client expectations. You can read more about the specific content types we use on our Content Types page.
Deliverables
While content types help set the overall article tone and structure, the deliverables define the actual pieces of work that come with the article.
We currently offer one or more of the following options when defining content deliverables:
- Screenshots
- Stock images
- Rough architecture diagrams
- Code samples
- Demo application in a GitHub repository
Typically, articles will use 2-3 of these deliverables. For example, tutorials often include screenshots and code samples, while guides might have an architecture diagram and a stock image. It’s all about efficiently communicating what should be included.
Let’s break down some specific content deliverables.
Screenshots
Screenshots shine when text can’t explain what’s going on, or when a text-based explanation would be too complicated to read. If you’re comparing five different performance testing tools for an article, screenshots would help the reader to distinguish different sections.
Imagine you’re writing a tutorial where you’re teaching the reader to place four buttons in a grid on the screen. You could just include code samples since if the reader copies that code they’ll get the desired result. But oftentimes readers aren’t just copying and pasting your code—they’ll write it themselves as a way of training muscle memory. Including a screenshot of how the buttons should look will let the reader verify if they’re correct.
Stock Images
It doesn’t always make sense to have a screenshot or code samples in an article. This is typically the case for guides or persuasive writing pieces. However, an article without any images or illustrations can sometimes become tedious to read. If that’s the case, we’ll ask for a stock image to be included to hook the reader from the beginning.
Rough Architecture Diagrams
Writing about some topics can get complicated—fast. This complexity can quickly become too much for the reader, so rough architecture diagrams are extremely useful.
As you probably noticed, we specified rough diagram. While our talented writers are excellent engineers, they’re typically not illustrators—at least not professionally. If you do want a professionally illustrated diagram included, we can provide that. Reach out to learn more.
Code Samples
We sometimes ask our writers for code samples. This is common for tutorials where the writer provides step-by-step instructions. In this case, explaining a concept isn’t usually sufficient—we want concrete examples of how something should be written so the reader can replicate it.
Demo Application
In cases where there is substantial code included in an article, we will ask our writers to create a well-organized public Github repository to house the project files involved. Clients can then fork or transfer the repo to their internal team if they’d like to maintain the project.
Why are Content Types and Deliverables Important?
Content types and deliverables significantly help define our expectations for both our writers and clients. Adopting these standard options has allowed us to more consistently deliver quality content without sacrificing speed of delivery.
To learn more about working with us at Draft.dev, schedule a discovery call by clicking here.
By Karl Hughes
Karl is a former startup CTO and the founder of Draft.dev. He writes about technical blogging and content management.
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