Technical Documentation: What It Is and How to Do It Well

Ever felt puzzled by a confusing error message, found yourself testing a new software program with difficulty, or wished for a simple guide to understand the instructions for your latest gadget? If you have, then you’ve experienced the world of technical documentation, and it can be frustrating.

Technical documentation refers to comprehensive written guides and materials that explain the design, development, and usage of a system, software, or product, facilitating understanding, troubleshooting, and maintenance for users, developers, and other stakeholders.

Why is this important? Whether you’re someone who knows your way around technology, a junior dev figuring things out or someone who is just trying to keep up with the digital world, clear technical documentation is crucial for your success. It gives you the tools to understand new tech, solve issues, and make the most out of the products and processes you encounter.

In this article, you will learn the different types of technical documentation, explore their applications, and walk away with essential tips for crafting your own user friendly technical guides.

Table of Contents

• What is Technical Documentation?
• How to Write Good Technical Documentation
  • How to create an easily navigable structure for technical documentation
  • How to make technical documentation accessible, jargon-free, and easy to understand
  • How to know your audience and ensure the right level of depth in technical documentation
  • Include examples, visuals, and interactive elements
  • Why is it important to periodically update technical documentation?
• Conclusion

What Is Technical Documentation?

Technical documentation serves as the bridge between complex systems and the people who interact with them. It’s an umbrella term that covers any written material that explains the functionality or inner workings of a product, service, or process. Technical documentation is written by technical writers in collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs), and it comes in various forms:

• Project documentation: Consists of plans, specifications, and reports that track a project’s development, like software development lifecycle documents or engineering blueprints. It is usually meant for internal use of an organization’s teams.
• Product documentation: Aimed at the end user, offering guides, tutorials, and FAQs that explain how to operate and troubleshoot a product, such as user manuals for smartphones or software help files.
• Process documentation: Outlines standardized procedures for internal operations, like quality control checklists or training materials.

The quality of technical documentation can greatly impact the user experience and productivity, irrespective of whether these users are your external customers or internal employees. Here are a few other reasons why you should focus on creating good technical documentation:

• Empowers users and developers: Clear instructions enable users to maximize product potential and equip developers with the knowledge to maintain and improve it.
• Boosts efficiency and collaboration: Easily accessible documentation reduces time spent on explanations and enables seamless teamwork.
• Documents internal knowledge: Documented decisions and processes build a historical record that is valuable for future reference and training.

How to Write Good Technical Documentation

Now that you understand what technical documentation is and why it’s important, it is time to learn some of the ways in which you can improve the quality of your technical documentation. This section will not go into the basics of how to write technical documentation but rather focus on some key tips you can use to improve the quality of your technical documentation.

How to create an easily navigable structure for technical documentation

The first thing any reader would notice when they come across your technical documentation is its structure. It is usually not possible for a reader to go through the entire documentation for a product or service to find what they are looking for, so having a structure that is easy to navigate and allows convenient searching of commonly used concepts or pages becomes very vital.

Research from the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) shows that well-structured navigation and scannable headings significantly reduce cognitive load.

There are other benefits of keeping a simple, easily navigable structure for your technical documentation:

• Reduced cognitive load: A well-organized document minimizes the mental effort users have to apply to search for information.
• Improved findability: Clear headings, subheadings, and navigation elements direct users to specific sections quickly.
• Enhanced scannability: Readers can easily skim the document to grasp its overall flow and identify relevant sections.
• Increased engagement: Users are more likely to persist and complete tasks when they can find what they need easily.

Some changes you can make to your document’s structure to improve it include the following:

• Clear table of contents: Provide a comprehensive overview of the document’s content and hierarchy.
• Informative headings and subheadings: These act as anchors, guiding users to relevant sections.
• Logical hierarchy: Information should be organized progressively, from general concepts to specific details.
• Strategic use of formatting: Set in boldface key terms, use bullet points for lists, and use white space strategically to improve readability.
• Integrated navigation elements: Use breadcrumbs, sidebars, and internal links to allow users to jump to different sections easily.

The Firebase documentation is a great example of a good structure that makes it possible to navigate through a huge knowledge base easily. The entire documentation for all products is first categorized based on the purpose of the services (ie app development, release and monitor, or engagement):

Then as you go into each category, you find detailed docs arranged based on the individual services and the platforms that they work on:

Without such a hierarchy, it is very difficult to find what you’re looking for when you’re working with one of the many Firebase services.

How to make technical documentation accessible, jargon-free, and easy to understand

Technical documentation usually consists of information that is entirely new to its target audience. In this case, it becomes all the more important to present the information in a way that allows readers to understand it easily. Excessive use of tech jargon and complex language can make it difficult for new readers to quickly read and grasp the concepts.

The Microsoft Writing Style Guide and Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) recommend using short sentences, active voice, and familiar vocabulary to improve readability and reduce barriers to comprehension.

Here are a few key points you can keep in mind to make your technical documentation simpler:

• Use plain language: Avoid overly technical terms and opt for everyday equivalents. For example, replace utilize with use and parameterize with set.
• Embrace active voice: It makes your writing more engaging and easier to follow. For example, instead of saying “The button is to be clicked,” say “Click the button.”
• Define key terms: Introduce and explain technical terms the first time they appear. Consider using a glossary for quick reference.
• Write concisely: Focus on essential information and avoid unnecessary details. Remember, less is often more.
• Collect feedback from real users: Get feedback from people who represent your target audience. Their perspective highlights areas needing simplification.

How to know your audience and ensure the right level of depth in technical documentation

Customizing your content to your audience’s specific needs and knowledge level is crucial for creating clear and impactful documents.

According to Usability.gov, developing user personas helps align documentation with real-world user needs, improving clarity and reducing misinterpretation.

This approach enhances the quality and effectiveness of your writing, ensuring it resonates with the audience and serves its purpose effectively.

Tailoring the writing style and depth to your audience’s understanding prevents confusion and frustration. Beginners require more explanation and context, while experts appreciate conciseness and technical details. Providing the right level of detail saves users time and effort, allowing them to quickly find and apply relevant information.

To do this, you need to first know your audience. Start by defining user personas and creating profiles representing different user types. Then conduct surveys, interviews, or usability tests to understand their needs, expectations, and technical knowledge. You could also look at user support tickets, forum discussions, and app analytics for insights into the user challenges and information needs.

Once you have a clear idea of who your audience is, customize your technical documentation to their technical understanding. Here’s a quick list of tips to help you get started:

• Beginners: For beginners, focus on basic principles, provide step-by-step instructions, and clearly define technical terms. Be generous with visuals like screenshots and diagrams to enhance understanding.
• Intermediate users: For a more experienced audience, offer more detailed explanations, introduce relevant technical vocabulary, and provide troubleshooting guides for common issues.
• Advanced users: If you’re aiming for an advanced user base, you can assume prior knowledge, delve into complex technical details, and offer reference materials for further exploration.

In some cases, it might be hard to put your audience in just one of these categories. The Twilio documentation is a great example of this case. Twilio’s users encompass all technical levels, so Twilio provides a detailed glossary of concepts while offering interactive tutorials and guides to help everyone get started at their preferred pace:

The key is to know your users.

Include examples, visuals, and interactive elements

Technical documentation can often feel like a text-heavy slog, stranding readers in a sea of words. That’s where visuals, examples, and interactive elements become crucial. They aren’t just there for decoration; they’re powerful tools that can turn your documentation from boring to interesting, making it easier for readers to understand and remember the information.

Educational psychology research, including Richard E. Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Theory, shows that combining visuals with text can increase comprehension and retention by up to 89%.

Visuals and interactivity in technical documentation can help in catering to different lifestyles. As not everyone learns best by reading, visuals, like diagrams, screenshots, and videos, can explain complex concepts more intuitively, appealing to visual learners. More often than not, a wall of text can be intimidating.

Integrating visuals creates interesting breaks, making the document more scannable and engaging. Interactive elements like quizzes, simulations, and clickable tutorials allow readers to experiment and learn by doing, solidifying their understanding. Therefore, you should consider using visuals, examples, and interactive elements in your technical documents.

Remember not to overdo it. Always make sure that your visuals and interactive elements directly relate to the content and enhance understanding. Invest in high-resolution images and clear diagrams. Blurry or poorly designed visuals can hinder comprehension. When working with visuals, ensure all of them have alt text for screen readers and consider color contrast for visual impairments. Interactive elements should engage, not overwhelm. Always balance their complexity with the target audience’s skills.

The Stripe documentation is one of the best examples of using interactive and visual elements to the fullest while not overdoing it.

For instance, their Quickstart page on Stripe-hosted payments features a follow-along tutorial with interactive code blocks and preview windows to help you visualize what your integration’s final result will look like right on the documentation page itself:

Building such documentation requires great effort, but it pays as well. The key is to understand how your document can benefit from visual and interactive elements and make use of them effectively.

Why is it important to periodically update technical documentation?

Creating technical documentation isn’t a write-it-once-and-forget-it task. Agile methodologies emphasize iterative improvements, and ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management Systems) requires documentation to remain accurate and up to date.

Outdated information in technical documents leads to confusion, frustration, and wasted time for users. Updating ensures that users have the right instructions and procedures at their fingertips. Additionally, new features, bug fixes, and changes in workflows need to be reflected in the documentation for users to stay on top of things. Regular updates demonstrate your commitment to maintaining high-quality resources and building trust and credibility with users.

To make sure you’re updating your technical documentation effectively, here are a few tips you can follow:

• Establish a schedule: Set a regular review and update cycle based on the pace of change in your product or process.
• Use version control: Implement a system to track changes and maintain previous versions for reference.
• Seek user feedback: Actively look for feedback from users about outdated information or areas needing clarification.
• Apply small, focused updates: Break down updates into manageable chunks, addressing specific changes rather than rewriting the entire document.

Conclusion

This article covered what technical documentation is, its various types, and its practical use cases. You also learned handy tips on how to create effective technical documentation.

If you want to dive deeper into this topic, check out websites like the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and the Microsoft Writing Style Guide for detailed guidelines and best practices around technical documentation and communication.

Books such as The Art of Technical Documentation by Katherine Haramundanis and Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry by Sun Technical Publications offer more in-depth insights. These resources can help you continue to refine your skills in creating user-friendly and effective technical documentation.