Project definition
A technical writing project adds value to products and helps the company market its offerings more effectively. As with R&D or marketing projects, project definition is key to estimating the budget and benefits.
Communicating technical information without understanding the audience or purpose is futile. Before initiating a technical writing project, it is essential to clearly define its parameters. Specifically, you need to determine:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Its goal | Increase company awareness, boost media coverage, encourage prospects to contact the company, reduce technical support costs, etc. |
| Its scope | Which topics, products, or versions are covered and which are excluded, the expected length or depth, and how scope decisions are made and revised. |
| Its target | General public, journalists, prospects, customers, etc. |
| Its format | White paper, instruction manual, user guide, brochure, flyer, website, company magazine, in print or online, etc. |
| Its language | Depending on your field of activity and target markets, the project may need to be available in multiple languages. |
| Its distribution channel | The final document can be published on an Internet or Extranet site, sent as an attachment by email, delivered in person in paper format, etc. |
| Its success criteria | How the goal’s impact will be measured after publication: support-ticket deflection, page views, reader satisfaction, sales-enablement usage, etc. |
Once these parameters are defined, the next step is gathering information from all relevant sources. Analyzing project results then provides valuable information for further improving the impact of subsequent projects.