Working together
If you haven’t worked with a technical writer before, it can be hard to know what to expect.
As a freelance writer I can collaborate closely with members of your software development team or work largely independently with occasional input from your subject matter experts.
Either way, I understand the time pressures that development teams are under. I aim to discover as much as I can from background materials – including your user research findings, product backlog items, competitor analysis, internal wikis, existing documentation and support tickets – and keep meetings with product managers, architects and other subject matter experts to a minimum.
There’s no need to wait for development work to be finished before engaging a technical writer. You can start writing technical content at any point in the software development lifecycle. Doing so helps to identify opportunities to improve the user experience at a point when those changes are easier to implement.
How I work
Regardless of the type of content you need, I find it beneficial to structure technical writing projects around the following five steps.
Discover
Understanding your users and their needs
The first phase of any project is understanding the problems your users are trying to solve and how your product or service helps. I’ll review any internal resources you can share before addressing questions to subject matter experts.
Explore
Testing your latest release, internal sandbox or demo build
I’ll try out the “happy paths” and explore what happens when I go off script to identify the questions your users may have and the issues they might encounter. I’ll also share any suggestions for improving the user flow to reduce the need for documentation.
Draft
Time to start writing
This includes deciding the best format and structure, and determining where the content should fit within the wider information architecture. I’ll also test the material against your software, capture screenshots, and record gifs or screencasts as required.
Review and refine
Incorporating your feedback
I can provide content as documents, markdown files or pull requests, or use the drafting process in your authoring tool or help system. Where possible, I can also test the material on target users. I’ll then incorporate any feedback before repeating this step as needed.
Publish
Getting your content live
When we’re both happy with the content, I can help you publish it to your online help system or website. Once published, I can continue to maintain your documentation as you add new product features.
Where I work
I’m based near Cambridge, UK and work with clients worldwide, from tech startups to large corporations.
For most projects I work remotely with regular communication over Slack, MS Teams, Zoom and email. If you have offices in the Cambridge area, I can also offer on-site visits.
Looking for a technical writer?
Whether you have a specific project in mind or just know that you need help with technical content, I’m here to help.
I offer a no-obligation initial consultation to discuss what you need and how we might work together. If it feels like we’re a good fit, I’ll develop a brief and provide you with a quote.