One of the critical phases in the Documentation Development Lifecycle is Research. Research skills are imperative for a technical writer as it helps to adhere to the project/product goals, collate relevant information, and make inferences that are beneficial to the department or organization. Asking questions to derive the correct information is the motive of good research. Therefore, technical writers are expected to be uninhibited in asking questions and suggesting ideas to improve the documentation and the product. The goal of the technical writer is to employ tactics to simplify complex information and enable the customer to accomplish their product-related tasks.
Primary Research and Secondary Research are part of the research process. Primary Research includes collating information through interviews, user analysis through surveys, and information through source documents. Secondary Research contains any data or information from reports generated from another source, such as support tickets, Google analytics, and so on.
Technical Writers usually implement the following research tactics to draw conclusions and improve documentation:
Audience Analysis - Writers need to identify the audience to understand the scope and create content to suit the audience's needs. Authoring information may vary depending on the kind of audience, ranging from novice to expert.
Customer Feedback - Based on customer feedback, usually from support tickets or direct feedback, writers may need to perform detailed research to identify areas of improvement in the documentation. For example, authoring content for customers using a specific OS such as Mac or Windows.
Process Improvement - Fostering innovation using research can help the team find ways to improve the process, saving time and effort. Group discussions and team meetings involving knowledge sharing can evoke several ideas and help in process improvements.
Competitor Research - It is critical for the writers to understand how the company's competitor produces their product documentation. Performing a competitor analysis can help the writers avoid any mistakes and identify the scope for improvement in the documentation.
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