Writing is usually an iterative process. After we write and review each draft, we conduct more interviews, we analyze and organize the new information, and we write the new content.

Here are a few of the many techniques we use:

• Target the audience's knowledge level (not the writer's, not the subject matter expert's, not the person on the street's).
  
  
• Focus on clear explanations; don't use writing style to disguise confusing explanations.
  
  
• Choose one name for each concept and stick to it. If we are writing about a "file processing module," we don't also call it a "file processing engine" and a "file processing manager." The audience will think we're talking about three different things!
  
  
• Choose one definition for each concept and stick to it. If we can't define a concept clearly, we can't expect our audience to understand it clearly.

We do all our writing within the publication's design and page layout so that we can fine-tune them to best communicate the content.

Go to Phase 7: Illustrate.

Return to Our Method page.