# Build a documentation process

An industrial approach to technical writing, in the order the work actually happens: define the project, gather information, test the product, write, validate, translate, and deliver.

- [**Process overview**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/): The full production chain in one diagram, with the methodology track and the production-line track side by side.

  - [**Project definition**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/project-definition/): Scope the documentation project before writing a single word.
  - [**Gathering information**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/gathering-information/): Where accurate content actually comes from, and how to get it out of subject-matter experts.
  - [**Testing products to document them**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/testing-products/): Why hands-on testing catches what interviews and specs miss.
  - [**Content creation**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/content-creation/): Turning gathered information into structured, usable content.
  - [**Validation and quality control**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/validation-quality-control/): Review passes that catch errors before publication, not after.
  - [**Translation**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/translation/): Planning for translation instead of bolting it on afterward.
  - [**Delivery**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/delivery/): Getting finished documentation to the people who need it, in the format they need it in.
  - [**From copywriting to technical communication**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/costs/copywriting-to-technical-communication/): How the discipline differs from marketing and general copywriting, and why that distinction matters for process design.

Need the tooling and version-control side of this process? See [adopting docs-as-code](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/docs-as-code/). Looking for a ready-to-run checklist for one of these stages? See the [toolkit](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/toolkit/).

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Source: https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/process/