Chapter 3 - Delivering Usable Information

When trying to deliver usable information to audiences in the form of technical documents and other writing, there a many things that should be accounted for. What are the different expectations that audiences will have for your writing? How much information does the audience need? What are their levels of technicality? When the audience's technicality is assessed, how should the primary and secondary audiences be split? What kind of audience is being profiled for the document? What kind of design plan does the document have? How should you write, test, and revise your document? These are important questions to answer to be able to fully communicate what is needed in a technical document.

Key Points:

Usable information includes:

• Easily locatable information
• Information that can be immediately understood
• Information that can be used successfully

Examples of different audiences to consider:

• Scientists - Search for knowledge
• Engineers - Try to solve problems
• Executives - Focus on decision making
• Managers - Oversee operations for smooth running
• Lawyers - Regards legal perspectives like liability or sabotage
• The Public - Focuses on the larger picture rather than specific details

Questions the audience might ask when turning to a technical document:

• What is the purpose of this document?
• Why should I read it?
• What information can I expect to find here?
• What happened, and why?
• How should I perform this task?
• What action should be taken?
• How much will it cost?
• What are the risks?
• Do I need to respond to this document? If so, how?

Differing levels of technicality:

• Highly technical (Experts) - Just facts and figures
• Semi-technical (Informed Persons) - Facts and figures explained
• Nontechnical (Laypersons) - Facts and figures explained in simplest terms

The primary audiences have the most decision power on what you're writing, though, the secondary audiences must still be taken into account.

Guidelines for preparing documents for primary and secondary audiences:

• If the document is short, rewrite it at various levels.
• If the document exceeds two pages, address the primary users. Then provide appendices for secondary users.

Example questions when considering who the audience is:

• Who wants the document? Who else will read it?
• What is the purpose of the document?
• Why do people want the document? How will they use it?
• What is the primary audiences technical background? The secondary audience's?
• How might cultural differences create misunderstanding?
• What task must users accomplish successfully?
• In what setting will the document be used?
• Are there any possible hazards or sources of error?
• What exactly does the audience need to know, and in what format? How much is enough?
• When is the document due?

A Design Plan is a blueprint for meeting performance objectives.

What to look at when writing, testing, and revising a document:

• Content - Accuracy and volume of information
• Organization - Order of information
• Style - How complex or easy to understand the information is
• Page Design - How confusing or complex the layout and headers are
• Ethical, Legal, and Cultural Considerations - How facts may be distorted and what legal or cross-cultural problems may arise

Obtaining user feedback is an important final step to fully create a mature technical document that appeals to the audience correctly.