Although they tend to work in the background, technical writers have an exciting job: For them, everything revolves around content, technology, and user centricity. Apart from that, technical communication is currently undergoing extensive change. Here's an overview of the key challenges and strategies to overcome them.
Technical communication is neither monotonous nor boring. On the contrary: Technical writers have to display creativity and have their finger on the pulse of the times. They need to know the latest EU directives and safety standards and keep a close eye on technological progress.
In addition, technical writers have a direct line to departments like product development and know exactly what users need to work safely and efficiently. All of this adds variety to the field of technical communication - and poses major challenges for technical writers and their supervisors.
Heads of technical documentation in mechanical and plant engineering and their teams have the claim to provide their customers with comprehensive and comprehensible information on the use, maintenance and repair of their products. But various developments are making this task increasingly difficult.
To meet these challenges, technical editors not only have to adapt their working methods, but also develop new skills. Because according to the Society for Technical Communication - tekom Deutschland e.V., it is not only the channels and formats in which content is provided that are changing, but also the way in which it is created.
Technical writing teams need to build knowledge in the following areas, among others:
Technical documentation experts want one thing above all: to do their job. To ensure that they have enough time to do this despite ever new challenges and the demand to learn new skills, the following three strategies ensure more productivity and relief.
One solution to overcome the biggest challenges of technical documentation is to use software like Quanos SIS.one: The spare parts catalog software offers comprehensive functions for technical documentation and supports editors in creating and managing digital spare parts catalogs.
Large and complex amounts of data on different machines and plants can be processed and prepared efficiently. Thanks to automated processes and simplified approvals, fewer errors occur. The quality of spare parts documentation increases, while the effort required to create it decreases.
In the second article of this series, you will learn how the software for creating digital spare parts catalogs helps you concretely in your everyday life.