Technical Writing: Types of technical documents
In engineering,technical documentation refers to any kind of document that describes the functionality and architecture of any product under development or testing. Types of documentation include the following:
- User manuals
- Release notes
- Application note
- Data sheets
- Online help
- Troubleshooting manuals
- Feature Activation Guides
User manuals
User manuals, commonly known as user guides are manuals that explain in detail about a particular product or a system. These manuals are written by a writer and are commonly associated with images which include screen shots, clear or simplified images.
Contents of a User manual
The sections in a user manual or guide commonly include the following:
- Cover page - title and copyright
- Preface - which contains details of reference documents and information on how to navigate the guide
- Contents page
- Product overview - which gives details about the product
- Troubleshooting section detailing possible errors that may occur, along with the problem solving steps on how to resolve the errors
- FAQ's
- Glossary
Release notes
Release notes are documents that are distributed along with the product that is either in the development or testing phase. For products that are already in use by the clients, the release notes is a supplementary document that is delivered to the customer when there is a bug fix or an enhancement in the current release.
Contents of release notes
The sections in a release notes commonly include the following:
- Cover page - title and copyright
- Preface
- Contents page
- Overview - which includes the following:
- Purpose
- Audience
- Scope
- Assumptions
- System requirements - which includes the following:
- Hardware
- Software
- Patch baseline
- Fixed bugs
- Known bugs
- Limitations and Enhancements
For most companies, release notes are written by the development teams. It is not easy for a technical writer to do this, for the fact that the writer should know the product very well and also be involved in the testing phase (having access to the bug reporting tool), know the packages to be delivered and additional useful information to be mentioned in the release. These information are gathered during end-to-end product implementation. When the writer is involved in the process of software release management,it becomes easier to create a release document.
Application note
An application note is a document that gives specific details on using a component in an application; for instance, the physical assembly of a product containing the component. Application notes are either appended to a data sheet or are released as a stand-alone document.
Data sheets
A data sheet summarizes the performance and other technical characteristics of a product, component (usually electronic in nature) or a software in sufficient detail to be used by a design engineer to integrate the component into a system.
Online help
Online help is a procedural, topic-oriented information that is delivered through a software. Most online help is designed to assist the user in the use of a software application or OS, but it can also be used to present information on a broad range of subjects.
Troubleshooting manuals
Troubleshooting is a form of problem-solving that is applied to something that has suddenly stopped working since its previous working state. It requires identification of the malfunction(s) or symptoms within a system. Then, experience is commonly used to generate possible causes of the symptoms. Determining which cause is most likely is often a process of elimination - eliminating potential causes of a problem.
Finally, troubleshooting requires confirmation that the solution restores the product or process to its working state.
The steps involved in this process are collectively put into the document. Such a document is called a troubleshooting manual.
Feature Activation Guides
A feature activation guide, is a document that defines the new feature introduced in the release and also details the procedure or process involved in activating that feature.
This may require the writer to have access and exposure to some of the test environment/network.
