Seven recent breakthroughs in technical writing
The technical and professional writing landscape is changing rapidly. We are unquestionably at a precipice in the publishing industry where once certain challenges are overcome, it will be full speed ahead with changes to the organizational structures that we’ve been accustomed to over the last decade and a half or so. AI is the biggest thing to happen to technical writing since XML and DITA authoring environments became the norm in the 2010s. That said, XML was not the be all to end all that many predicted, with many organizations instead choosing desktop publishing solutions, and once more, MS Word is STILL the go-to documentation tool for a huge percentage of businesses both big and small.
My guess is that before we’re replaced by AI writing robots, there’ll be ample opportunity to find niches in the industry where writers can thrive. Futher, I believe wholeheartedly that there will be a great opportunity to earn more through our specialized technical writing knowledge and experience than we ever thought was possible.
Below is a list of seven recent advances in the field of technical writing that practitioners should be aware of and dig into to become knowledgeable and be able to discuss with other professionals.
AI Integration: The integration of AI language models, like ChatGPT, has revolutionized technical writing. These tools assist writers in creating accurate and concise content, enhancing overall efficiency in documentation.
In my personal experience with AI chatbots thus far, they results of different prompts produce lukewarm results. I often find the language that the bots produce to be a word salad, it will look like something, but when you read it, you’ll have no idea what point it’s trying to make. Kind of like texting with my younger sister. However, the AI writing tools and programs have helped me a lot with getting started on a writing piece. Just having the visual aid of formatted, somewhat coherent instructional content is a big help when brainstorming a project. I haven’t found a ton of applicability for AI in user manual writing, but it does excel in brainstorming ideas for conversational writing.
Automation Tools: Technical writers are increasingly adopting automation tools and systems. These tools streamline repetitive tasks such as formatting, version control, and content management, allowing writers to focus on producing high-quality material.
Automation falls under XML authoring and desktop publishing templates. These aren’t really new technologies, but they are constantly being improved upon and tweaked. Responsive image mapping in tools like MadCap Flare, using Markdown to create Mermaid Charts, floating/sticky tables of contents auto generated from heading in Zendesk, are all examples of how the hard skills of publishing are advancing for the better, helping both writers and end users alike.
Collaboration Across Teams: Technical writing now involves cross-functional collaboration. Writers work closely with engineers, designers, product managers, and other stakeholders to ensure documentation aligns with product development and user needs.
My experience with collaboration tools has greatly evolved since my start in technical writing. Once bound by monster engineering change order databases like Matrix or PDM Windchill, the field has found room for more nimble, modern collaboration tools such as Atlassian Trello, and of course, Jira. SharePoint has also come a long way in this regard, and though often not the first choice of any team, it’s often the ONLY choice allowed by many organizations.
User-Centric Approach: The emphasis is on user experience and usability. Clear, concise, and user-friendly content is essential. Technical writers provide step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting guides, and FAQs to enhance usability.
In my relatively short career in technical writing, I’ve seen UX investment explode, though speaking to UX colleagues there’s often a discussion of oversaturation in their job market. Still, I’m upbeat about UX prospects, and as we’re seeing UX teams grow, we’re also starting to see them working more collaboratively with technical writing teams. This makes instructional content professionals stronger on whole, as we gain more visibiltiy in our organizations. There’s strength in numbers and businesses like the idea of investing in the customer (user).
Multimedia Integration: Beyond plain text, technical documentation incorporates multimedia elements. Videos, infographics, diagrams, and interactive tutorials improve understanding and engagement for users.
The advancements in multimedia integration have been very exciting to say the least. As technical writers, we’ve always been leaned on to be more than writers, but also graphic designers/illustrators, content managers, project managers, code readers, translators, proofreaders, editors, and on and on and on... To stay afloat and gainfully employed we must embrace our role as general content wranglers, Whatever you can do to be more than a writer and become familiar with multimedia integration, you must take it on in the way of training. Create some simple multimedia instruction and add it to your portfolio. Responsive image mapping mentioned above falls into this category, as well as video instruction, animation, etc.
Data-Driven Insights: Writers analyze user data and feedback to enhance documentation. Metrics such as page views, search queries, and user interactions guide content updates and optimizations.
World-class technical communications teams track their documents after publishing. Large organizations are catching on that user documentation matters, and how it is being used and accessed matters. As a technical writer, data insights are usually out of my hands and left to leadership. Should I become a lead or manager in the future which is a definite goal, it suits me well to be inquisitve and interested with my managers and bosses. I’m genuinely interested in how all of the instructional content I produce is received and thought of by the end user. Am I writing high quality help documentation? This question must permeate all of my technical writing endeavors.
Personalization: Customizing content based on user roles or contexts is gaining prominence. Writers create personalized material to ensure relevant information reaches the intended audience.
All of the data harvesting that we allow ourselves to endure, should at least offer us some form of benefit. Being honest with myself, I do find that technology is using customization really well of late. For example, I bought a new PC yesterday and within 5-10 minutes, because I have basically a saved virtual profile of myself on the cloud, I’m able to begin using the new PC immediately without the hours required to setup a new device in the days of old. It used to be a big pain in the butt to engage with new technology, but I’m finding more and more that technology is making it easier to interact with, er, technology. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is a discussion for another blog, but if there’s something that I need to use tech for regardless, I prefer it be as frustration-free as possible.
Alrighty! This concludes my first detailed, thought-out blog entry to the AI Writer Hire Blog! I hope you gleaned some useful information here, and I’ll look forward to writing my next piece. Stay informed my writing friends!
