Technical communicators are often asked to use video to convey complex technical information and ideas. I came across this short presentation that I gave to my team in 2017. I believe the content is still valid and wanted to share it in case it is useful to someone. making-videos-engagingDownload

Yesterday, I participated in a call where we discussed ChatGPT. Afterwards, Maria Dastur, MBA messaged me to inquire about its potential impact on my role as a Technical Writer. I appreciated the question and considered it. I believe the impact will vary based on the use case. For example, when I asked ChatGPT to describe ACI's Digital … Continue reading Exploring the Impact of ChatGPT on Technical Communication: A Discussion on its Potential Use Cases and Limitations

When writing technical documentation, we must communicate complex technical information clearly and simply to the target audience. Sometimes, text is not the best option and we can use a visual such as a diagram, flowchart, image, or infographic to convey the information. The following are some high-level best practices when using visuals: • Keep the … Continue reading Effective Use of Visuals in Technical Documentation: Best Practices for Clear Communication

In a Documentation group, someone recently asked "how product documentation influences customer relations with the product." I answered the question but wanted to expand in my own post by describing several ways in which product documentation is used. Product user documentation is used as: • Instructional material so users can learn about the product and how … Continue reading The Power of Product Documentation: Understanding Its Impact on Customer Relations and Beyond

Many people overlook user research, but it is critical.Why? Folks don't want to spend the money and time. It is an investment, but documentation is a product. User research ensures that you create the best documentation for your target personas. You can find out information such as: • Is the documentation well-organized for the target personas? … Continue reading The Power of User Research in Creating Effective Documentation: Why it’s Worth the Investment

Release notes are critical to software releases. They provide information about new features, bug fixes, and improvements. This information allows users to understand the changes that have been made, and how they might be affected by the update. Release notes can also communicate changes to stakeholders. In December, I was part of a team of … Continue reading Unveiling the Importance of Release Notes: Best Practices for Communicating Changes to Your Users and Stakeholders

Style guides are an important part of a documentation team's toolset. They ensure your team and organization write with a consistent style and voice to build brand recognition and trust. In this article, I will describe the initial sections that I typically create in a style guide. Often, I will draft the guide, then ask … Continue reading How to Create a Style Guide

We must reorganize our documentation. Our team of four is acutely aware of this. We have all been here less than a year and have a lot of work ahead.  Fortunately, I was asked to do a card sort user research project. This will help us determine how to best organize our topics so that … Continue reading How to plan user research

While attending the Write the Docs conference, I learned that several folks are trying to learn Git. After you get a basic understanding of Git (see Running basic Git commands and Migrating to Docs-as-Code for a diagram), what do you do when you make a mistake? This article provides tips to resolve common errors. I will add to this … Continue reading Git help cheat sheet