As a Developer Advocate, your main job is to create engaging and educative content for developers. To empower and educate, ensuring that developers not only understand the intricacies of the products you represent but can also leverage them effectively to solve real-world challenges.
Now, the big question is: how can you ensure your content is valuable to developers? How do you ensure that developers find your content helpful?
In this article, you’ll learn what technical documentation is, the various types of technical documentation, and six easy-to-follow tips to help you create educational and engaging content that developers will find valuable.
Technical documentation is a document that explains how a product is to be used. It is as clear, simple, and explicit as possible so that the user has no difficulties. It covers all the essential points of the product: functions, features, settings, etc.
A Technical document can be external, i.e. it is intended for customers or developers who wish to use the product in their solution development.
It can also be internal, i.e. intended for members of the organization, in which case it aims to share knowledge with other developers in the organization to facilitate long-term maintenance of the product…
Technical documentation can exist in various forms. However, we have two main types:
Process documentation is primarily focused on product development. It encompasses various stages of the development lifecycle, including design, development, testing, deployment, and ongoing operations.
For instance, process documentation may include project plans outlining schedules, milestones, and budgets at the start of a development project. Additionally, it can offer detailed, step-by-step procedures for tasks integral to the development cycle, such as testing or deployment procedures.
User documentation is also known as product manuals. It informs customers or internal organization staff about a finished product. This documentation provides instructions on the product installation, usage, and troubleshooting, explaining the product’s features and offering detailed procedures. It also addresses frequently asked questions.
The audience for user documentation varies, ranging from end-users to experts such as developers, engineers, or technicians.
A common example is API documentation, which explains to developers how to remotely access a product using API commands or a programming language module.
Technical documentation is of vital importance to your software company. Here are a few reasons why.
It enables the product team to make decisions much more quickly. This means they don’t have to waste time scrolling through emails or threads in collaboration tools - instead, they can instantly consult the documents produced with the software, which explains how everything works and records the reasoning behind decisions.
Faster onboarding experience - new employees can use internal documentation to quickly familiarize themselves with policies and expectations. When information is available in a centralized location, new employees spend less time searching for information or asking colleagues to clarify certain topics, enabling them to be more productive.
Solid technical documentation makes it easier to promote your product to potential customers. Many customers will want to know more about how your product works and technical documentation can explain your software’s features in greater depth than conventional marketing materials.
It can be a powerful marketing tool for your product, as solid, self-explanatory technical documentation makes it easier to promote the product to potential customers. Many customers will want to know in more detail how the product works and technical documentation can explain your software’s features more thoroughly and clearly than conventional marketing materials.
With clear, explicit, comprehensive technical documentation, customers can consult it when they encounter technical problems. This reduces the number of inbound calls to your technical support department, enabling you to help more customers on a smaller budget. Most customers prefer to solve problems themselves rather than wait for someone to help them.
The first step in creating any content is to understand your audience and identify the goals of the documentation. This process sets the tone for the article and guides you in addressing the specific questions that need to be answered.
When you grasp your user’s needs and the documentation’s objectives, it empowers you to craft content that resonates with your audience and provides meaningful answers to their questions.
When crafting technical documentation, the central objective is to achieve simplicity and clarity. The primary goal of technical documentation is to simplify complex topics for developers, ensuring that the content is easy to follow.
It’s crucial to avoid using ambiguous words; opt for simpler alternatives to enhance comprehension. The effectiveness of technical documentation is measured by how easily developers can find the answers they need.
It is advisable to leverage the use of paragraphs and sections in your documentation to improve readability and facilitate quicker access to information.
Avoid lengthy paragraphs; instead, break them into smaller, digestible sections. Additionally, organize your content into distinct sections, each highlighting and explaining a specific topic.
By breaking down your documentation this way, you provide readers with a clear overview of what to expect in each section and the questions it aims to address.
The use of images, charts, and other visual formats is a valuable strategy for crafting effective documentation.
Images play a crucial role in helping readers to comprehend concepts with ease. However, it’s essential to use them judiciously, employing them only when necessary to clarify or reinforce specific concepts.
For instance, a visual representation in a step-by-step build tutorial can assist readers in debugging issues and gaining a clear understanding of the intended outcome.
The use of code snippets is important when curating technical documentation. They enable developers to seamlessly integrate the software into their projects, facilitating a smooth developer experience and making debugging easy.
Code samples also serve as a practical guide, providing a hands-on approach to using the product effectively.
Employing tools like Grammarly and other advanced AI writing tools can significantly enhance the quality of your technical content. These tools meticulously review your content, refine grammar usage, and identify potential loopholes, ensuring that your documentation is grammatically correct and engaging.
It is important to note that while these tools can generate content, it is advisable not to rely on them solely for content creation. Instead, use them as aids for generating ideas and refining the tone and structure of your content.
Crafting effective technical documentation can be a challenging task. However, by implementing the strategies outlined in this article, you can significantly enhance the quality of your documentation and provide invaluable support to your developer community.
Additionally, leveraging tools and resources, such as writing tools and interactive code snippets, can further improve the effectiveness of your documentation.
By prioritizing the needs and preferences of your audience, you have the opportunity to create technical documentation that not only educates but also helps developers achieve their goals.
Contributed by Clan Six of the Third Cohort of Dxmentorship