clarity in technical writing

MANUALS AND WORKING INSTRUCTIONS

• Operating manuals and work instructions/procedures
• Service manuals and procedures
• Quality manuals and procedures
• Training manuals and assessments as part of Training Needs

PRODUCT BROCHURES AND INFORMATION

Manual Clarity not only offers a writing service but also a print management service to Design and Print the work

• product brochures
• leaflets
• manuals, work instructions
• bid/tender specifications and documents
• specifications/data sheets
• technical papers
• reports
• etc.

COMMON PROBLEMS

Organisations are overloaded with information that is unstructured and difficult to use. People often have too many emails and letters to deal with and too many policies and procedures to follow. These may be hard to understand and their purpose for the reader unclear. Writers can find they are unable to spend the time to write what their readers need in a form they can use.

Do you recognise this?

Information that is unstructured and difficult to use causes different problems for different organisations. You may recognise some of these issues and their reasons.

• Slow response to customer enquiries and complaints.
  Reason: Information is poorly organised, so answers are hard to track down.
• Keep getting the same complaints.
  Reason: Documentation is repetitive or inconsistent, so faults are hard to find and procedures difficult to change.
• The organisation is slow to market with new products.
  Reason: Processes are unclear, so errors occur between requirements definition and product validation.
• Faults occur in production and service delivery, and rework, scrap and lawsuits result.
  Reason: Procedures are hard to follow, so people just guess or “ask Fred ”.
• The help desk is deluged with calls.
  Reason: Instructions are unclear and confusing, so customers and staff cannot understand what to do.
• People don't reply to internal memos and emails.
  Reason: Memos and emails are vague or sent to the wrong people, so their purpose for the reader is unclear

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INFORMATION SOLUTIONS

We help analyse the information needs, so that the information provided is relevant to the reader's task and how it is carried out.

• Problem: Subject matter may be irrelevant or inadequate, leading to wasted time as readers search for what they need.
  Solution: Our strategies for analysing task and audience requirements provide exactly the information the reader needs for the task.

• Problem: Documents may obscure, rather than reveal, important gaps in subject matter information.
  Solution: We offer guidelines for analysing subject matter to help you identify gaps in information early in the documentation process.

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