If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Creating great documentation involves more than just typing or writing. It involves a great process of study, reflection and patience. Also, you want to have great tools and resources that will positively affect your work as it unfolds. This list includes ten suggestions that you can apply to your work or consulting location as you tackle your next or even first documentation project.

One. Make sure you have a good computer! I have, at work, an IBM Le Novo laptop and, at home, a HP Pavilion laptop and both machines have served me well. I personally favor HP over IBM, however, the point here is that a good machine with sufficient memory will really make your documentation life easier and eventually more productive.

Two. Install quality software on your machine. Yesterday’s post includes ten great freeware programs you can install, totally free of cost, and that will render you great service in different ways. Some of the applications are designed for graphics, others for text, and others for file transfer and support. I personally favor Microsoft Office 2007, but if you cannot afford this office suite, then by all means install the Open Office suite (see yesterday’s post for a link to this program).

Three. Have a full installation of the product you are about to document on your machine. There is no point in writing documentation about a software program or product that is buggy or outdated for one reason or another. Ask your boss or ask customer service, but get the latest version! You might think I am being a bit overbearing here, but no, I am not. Some companies, upon discovering big bugs, revert to “really old” versions that compiled well, sometimes, and then in future patches or upgrades they try to redo the version that you had on your machine that had all the bugs. Stay informed.

Four. Get the full product specifications before you get started. Yes, there is often a nice GUI in today’s software products, but also there are many things the software can do that only the specifications have (as a source). You will save yourself hours of testing by having an updated copy of the software or product specs.

Five. Get to know the developers and architects. Both the software architects and developers will be able to offer you their personal takes on the program and this will shed light on “why the program is the way it is”. Nobody who writes documentation has a crystal ball (even though some think you do).

Six. Get to know quality assurance and customer service personnel. Why? They are the ones who must work with the final product and sometimes the final product is not the same as the original specifications. Any bugs that are experienced or discovered will be noted by these folks.

Seven. Take good notes as you collect your information. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Remember, you are writing the user guide or online help! Remember that you are asking questions that users will be asking as they use the program.

Eight. Get managerial feedback as you complete your drafts. Managers in both product development as well as business operations are aware of what investors, customers, and other people are hoping to see in the documentation. They will be both supportive as well as critical. This will help you to refine your text and the document’s overall quality.

Nine. Use Robohelp or Author-It software for your final documentation. Both of these products are designed to help you create professional and user-friendly help files and user documentation. They both rock! A good software company will surely buy its documentation personnel licensed copies of programs like these, because this documentation is going to support the very program the company has developed (the bread and butter of the whole enterprise).

Ten. Get as many people to read and review and comment on your final and published documentation. Be patient and tolerant because not everybody is going to understand your writing the same. Different people will tell you different things. That is alright. Bring these comments to your boss or manager and then take appropriate steps to iron out any “wrinkles” you find, whether they be typos or bad hyperlinks or incorrect information. Soon, your work will approach the 100% level of quality. Now you know how to create great documentation - good luck to you.