Technical communication is the process of conveying usable information about a specific technology to an intended audience. Information is usable if the intended audience is able to perform an action or make a decision based on its contents (Johnson-Sheehan 7). Technical communicators often work collaboratively to create products (deliverables) for various media, including paper, video, and the Internet. Deliverables include user manuals, technical manuals, product specifications, process and procedure manuals, training, business papers, reports, etc.
The technology can be of any kind, including the soft and hard sciences, high technology including computers and software, consumer electronics, and business processes and practices.
In 2006, Scott, Longo, and Wills (SUNY) in their edited collection Critical Power Tools, suggested that technical communication should be analyzed through a cultural studies lens, thus minimizing technical communication's hyper-pragmatic stance. Technical communication jobs include the following:
- Technical communicator
- Technical writer
- Technical editor
- Technical Illustrator
- Information architect
- Usability expert
- User interface designer
- Technical trainer
Content creation
The process of developing information products in technical communication begins by ensuring that the nature of the audience and their need for information is clearly identified. From there the technical communicator researches and structures the content into a framework that can guide the detailed development. As the information product is created, the paramount goal is ensuring that the content can be clearly understood by the intended audience and provides the information that the audience needs in the most appropriate format.
Largely, technical communications is still a function within organizations, for which employees are hired full-time. However, many organisations are comfortable outsourcing their technical communication needs to specialist firms.
References
Johnson-Sheehan, Richard. Technical Communication Today. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006.
Associations
External links
- IEEE Professional Communication Society
- KnowGenesis Online Library for Technical Communication
- KnowGenesis - International Journal for Technical Communication
- The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
- Docsymmetry
- EServer Technical Communication (and Technical Writing) Library
- KeyContent.org
- TECHWR-L, The Internet Forum for Technical Communication
- Webster TechWriters Inc.
- Technocrats Middle East, Organisation for Technical Communication
- Technocrats Knowledge Base.
- ASM Writing Group
- What is technical communication? An FAQ by Thomas Albert
- TechCommPros (online resource and email list for Professional Technical Communicators)\
- A theory of presentation and its implications for the design of online technical documentation Looks at technical communication and the role of off- as well as online documents in a problem-solving context (service engineering department)
See also