Why do we need technical communication

Technical communication is necessary because it can provide a more efficient working environment. If a worker is set a task that they are unfamiliar with, which also has a deadline, they do not want to spend hours trying to find the relevant information to learn how to use it.

This is where the Technical Communicator is vital. If the Technical Communicator has done their job properly, this will benefit the user in several ways:. We live in a world where we are bombarded with information. This can lead to oversaturation and confusion about what is factually correct and what is hyperbole. This is where Technical Communicators are so important for employers. The Technical Communicator will be presented with a mine of content, and they will extract the relevant nuggets of information required.

Minimalisation removes all unnecessary information, so that information is clear and brief. This approach results in a user guide that has a task-orientated focus, which means that users can complete the job as efficiently as possible. The work of the Technical Communicator is often standardised. If people cannot use something, or cannot find out how to solve problems they might come across, they are less likely to use or buy your product or service.

Many countries have their own regulations which define the technical information that must be included in user documentation. For example, medical device manufacturers must conform to the Medical Device Directive which states that.

From the perspective of an organisation thinking of investing in a new product or service, a consideration is how much time their staff are going to have to spend trying to work out how to do something.

Time spent on the phone to a help desk, or asking colleagues for help, is not productive time. Although there is a learning curve with anything new, good supporting documentation makes learning new ways of doing things as quick and easy as possible. We all want to use a product or service to achieve something. No-one randomly downloads apps to their mobile phone just to fill up the available space: people choose what to download by looking for something to fulfil a specific purpose. The same principle can be applied to good documentation.