technical writing is a definable, repeatable, predictable process. It can be planned, scheduled and executed in a manner that leads to predictable outcomes, quality and timing.

Below each step is a set of activities that needs to be accomplished to complete the step. Below the activities are tools and outputs. Tools are the templates that you use to execute the activities, such as a Documentation Plan for capturing your project’s scope. Templates for the tools are provided in Appendix A – Templates as screenshots. An

Deliverable A tangible output such as a technical document (user guide, procedure, manual or other output) that is produced as a result of a project or process.

Constraints are the boundaries of your project. They’re usually expressed in terms of cost, time and scope,

Provide an agreed-upon content development method for a team of writers.

In a documentation project, focusing on the audience requires asking the right questions, such as: Who’s going to read this document? What’s the education level of the audience, and what are its top need-to-know priorities? Do these users need a complete reference or just a getting started guide?

Assumptions are educated guesses that underpin your planning and scheduling.

One of the first things that any good writer should do before they put pen to paper is create a Documentation Plan. This key document defines the scope of your project (the documents you’re going to write, who the intended audience is, etc.) and the process you’ll follow to execute the project.

A Deliverables Matrix takes the scope one step further, breaking down each deliverable into a spreadsheet and listing each deliverable against its key characteristics.