User Manual in support of Science Research

Writing user manual or help for analytical tools, in support of science research is always a challenge for writers, not only for its technical accuracy but also in terms of knowledge transfer. This involves good amount of knowledge percolation, and precision in language before it goes for the technical correction.

Some of the custom research analytical tools consist of numerous algorithms for computing the data to suit the requirement of the analysis. Evidently these tools are meant for highly knowledgeable audience who would like to use these tools in pursuit of achieving unknown facts. The analyzed data may be used to make hypothesis in the area of research or made it public for some other to validate, make relation and further predictions.

The basic aims of user guide or help is to lead user to familiarize different functionality and features of the tools to achieve desired result. However, when the analytical tool is a niche product, the job of a technical writer becomes tough. The confusion begins when technical writers do not know the knowledge level of the audience. Even when they know, it is sometimes misleading. For example, if you consider that all the analytical scientists and researchers have computation algorithm knowledge then it might not hold true to the whole class. Most of the time, it may incidentally become true that audience for whom you are writing user manual finds it useful and have no doubts performing the tasks they desired to do.

But most of the times it will not be so, some of them in spite of knowing and able to perform the tasks will come back to you to verify that how they are doing is the right way. Some of them will come back to you seeking knowledge looking beyond the beauty. Some will have comparative tastes to analyze the results derived differently with different tools. These audiences will seek detail knowledge of the logic and algorithm. Sometimes they will have a quest to know the comparative analysis of the similar tools available in the open market. The fact is, scientist and researchers like to verify and validate before they accepts anything. That’s how the science evolves.

These are too many things to do. The question is: can your user manual or help answer all these questions? Ideally it should not, but looking at another perspective it can carry as much knowledge as possible. But, how much, is yet again a question. Nevertheless, even if you have mega size manual, there will still be some message for you.

However, saying so, involves great amount of energy to compile the required content into the user manual. This is the primary job of a technical writer but it requires evidently all the stakeholder to contribute in to making of the manual. It is like sewing the cloths with fine needles.

Task looks Herculean, but it helps audience a lot in case of developing a tool in cutting edge technology. That is the primary goal of a user manual. Never to forget, one satisfied user can bring you ten more other users for your product.

Technical Writers: Can you justify your job?

Technical writers are in the profession of disseminating the technical knowledge in structured format for the consumption of the user, which is aimed to realize a specific task or use. The present situation is, where the industry is filled with the technical writers who come from different backgrounds. Most of the technical writers are engineers, some of them have taken the technical writing course and some of them have made transition into this field from direct mass communication and journalism. The document produced by these technical writers has mixed quality as good, bad and ugly. However, most often the complaint received from the customer is that the documents are not user friendly.

If analyzed, most of the time the language is not very appropriate, clear and grammatically correct to explain the features and functionality. Some times the information presented does not have flow; sometimes many of the information are missing from the document. In nutshell we have not grown to a level to claim ourselves expert in the field of technical writing. One can say that this field is still in the nascent stage in India. Largely true, because our curriculum does not include this subject and we do not intend to take it as a career. Most of the people today who opt for writing career become journalists and join media related jobs.

The apathy is that most of the people who are today’s technical writers are not from the writing background, nor do they have inclination towards writing. It’s sheer job opportunity, which has drawn them to accept the job. Many of them working after a brief period have made a decision to shift to other fields and remaining are carrying on the task to continue their job. It’s quite ridiculing that the job what you do everyday is the job you do not like to do but you are bound to do because you are paid for that. Or, the job what you do is not your cup of tea. All these factors add to the immature technical writing produced by some of the unskilled technical writers, which brings bad name to the community.

The job what you hold today, is not just the job what you can hold because of the fact that you can write little bit of English. If you do not love your job then in fact it will not take you anywhere. You first be writer before you become a technical writer. As a matter of fact, you have to be first a writer to be a medical writer, political writer, and technical writer or fiction writer. If the writer is missing in you then nothing else can help you to become technical writer. Therefore, not only writing, but good quality writing is desired to be in this profession.

Can transition add value?

For many of the aspiring creative writer working as a technical writer might seem a good option because it is going to be paid well. If you are transitioning from your current non-writing position to technical writing because it's a hot market, you like technology, and/or you want to do away with your freelance tag, perhaps you are thinking right. But in case you just like writing, then you should think before you step in.

Writing and editing user manuals, help documents, technical bulletin and API document could be painful if you don’t love doing so. Technical writing is demanding and you will be tried writing different sort of technical stuff, which might not satisfy your liking for writing what you are looking for. So, before deciding to choose a career into technical writing, you must evaluate yourself.

Some would prefer to go for highly satisfying writing career of their liking even if it pays them less. Some would love to write about technology and enjoy doing so. Some would find technical writing as boring and unimaginative. Some would find technical writing as very interesting and creative, as it relates to problem solving and that requires lot of creativity. Follow your instinct to know where you fall among these categories.

What the technical writers meet and seminars stress upon?

Added to that the seminar and meet organized for the technical writers stresses upon learning different kinds of authoring and word processing tools, which is any way technical writers have to know to perform the task. I don’t know if any of the meet stresses to shape good language in spite of knowing that most of the technical writers come from non-writing background and that is going to be the bottleneck problem as they grow in their career. It is assumed that technical writers are basically the writers who has all the language ingredient in them to produced good writing and it’s the technical knowledge what they lack. Fundamentally, the assumption is right in the sense that you know what is expected out of you in terms of job and aim of the meet is to update you with new knowledge of the industry. Otherwise also, it’s the personal responsibility of the person to shape up their language skill who opts for this career.

Promise of global business

The reflection of good writing can be a visual part in any form, be it script, an article, an essay, an advertisement or a user manual. Especially user manual is supposed to be a first date with the product. Great manuals can sell products. There are good tutorials, which can make you understand the product so well that time and again you would love to continue with the same products.

But still there will be people who would still persist in search of your inner beauty. However, this is not the way to bet. Microsoft has consistently been trying to address everyone’s questions to make it competitive and have advantages. Still they may have messages. Above all to write the good manual you need to have good writers. And if you don’t have good writers your documents will not serve the purpose to the user. Bad documentation increases the cost of technical support and earns you even bad reputation in the industry.

Can we rise to the occasion and face the reality?

The best technical communicator is a technical person, is a subjective issue to argue. However, technical writers are the writers who have the rare ability to communicate and teach through indirect means such as paper and online media.

But it is very difficult to merely narrate a profession, which is entirely dependant on the personal caliber of a person. It is really a tough question to ask who can make a good technical writer. Many good writers who are able to write good story, poetry and fiction have many a times proved to be good technical writers as well and at a time bad writer too. Its all dependant on the personal interest what you could make of yourself

Possible solution?

Probably possible solution to stabilize this field in today’s context would be to hire really good writers so that they can justify their presence in the job. For the technical writers also, it would be apt to get out of the tag of half-writer, pseudo writer or be in dual job capacity being a writer and someone else too. If this field is to sustain well in India, the quality of writing has to be improved immensely to meet the challenge.