What is Engineering Documentation?
Engineering documentation refers to the technical written content that explains the design, development, installation, use, and maintenance of products, systems, or services. It encompasses several types of documents including specifications, technical manuals, user guides, design documents, testing procedures, installation instructions, API documentation, and release notes.
The purpose of engineering documentation is to accurately and thoroughly communicate complex technical details and engineering processes in a clear, understandable way. Well-documented designs, requirements, and procedures are crucial for proper product development.
Some of the key types of engineering documentation include:
Specifications: Detail product requirements, capabilities, limitations, and metrics.
Design documents: Cover system architecture, software architecture, hardware components, algorithms, and interfaces.
User manuals: Provide operating instructions and how-to guides for end users.
API documentation: Explain application programming interfaces for developers.
Testing protocols: Define procedures to verify quality and validate performance.
High-quality documentation is essential for smooth collaboration between teams, proper implementation of engineering principles, compliance with regulations, and optimal maintenance and support. Without the right documentation, product defects and unsafe conditions can occur.
For any complex engineered product or IT system, comprehensive documentation is required throughout the development lifecycle. Expert technical writers create, maintain and continuously improve documentation at each stage of design, development, manufacturing, testing, and release.
Step 1: Adopt a Content Framework
When creating engineering documentation, it's important to adopt a structured content framework. This helps organize and manage your documentation content in a modular and reusable way.
Two main approaches for documentation frameworks are:
Waterfall - With waterfall documentation, all requirements are gathered upfront and the documentation is created sequentially in long phases. This can lead to rigid, outdated docs if requirements change.
Agile - Agile documentation takes an iterative approach with continuous updates as requirements evolve. Short sprints allow for flexible and modular content.
Popular documentation frameworks include:
DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) - DITA is an XML-based architecture for creating "information types" that can be reused in multiple docs. It promotes content reuse and single-sourcing.
Markdown - Markdown is a lightweight, text-based markup language that formats content using simple syntax. It's easy to write and read and can be easily converted to other formats like HTML.
For beginners, a Markdown is a good option as it's simple to learn and implement. DITA has a steeper learning curve but enables powerful content management capabilities.
When starting, focus on adopting a minimal framework that enables you to create modular and structured content that can be easily reused, updated, and maintained long-term.
Step 2: Use a Markup Language
Engineering documentation relies on markup languages like XML, HTML, and LaTeX to structure and format content. Markup languages provide many benefits:
They separate content from presentation, allowing you to focus on the writing.
They enable output to multiple formats like web pages, PDFs, and ebooks.
They facilitate automation, integration, and content reuse.
They simplify collaboration using plaintext files.
They enable semantic markup for improved accessibility.
Popular markup languages like XML, HTML, and LaTeX have large user communities with extensive resources to help you get started. While the syntax has a learning curve, you'll soon find markup languages make authoring more efficient.
With HTML and XML, you use tags to mark headings, paragraphs, lists, images, links, etc. LaTeX focuses just on document structure, using markup for sections, chapters, footnotes, references, etc. All allow you to write semantic, structured content that can be transformed into polished documentation.
Choose a markup language suited to your content and outputs. For most technical writing, LaTeX and XML are great choices. For online help and manuals, HTML adds accessibility. Invest time in learning markup fundamentals and best practices to maximize the benefits.
Step 3: Implement Continuous Integration
Continuous integration (CI) is the practice of frequently merging developer code changes into a shared repository, and then running automated tests and builds to catch errors early. It helps streamline the engineering process and improve software quality.
Some key tools used for CI include:
Jenkins - An open-source automation server that supports building, deploying, and automating workflows. It has over 1500 plugins available.
Travis CI - A hosted continuous integration service designed for open-source and private projects. It's linked to GitHub and easy to set up.
CircleCI - A modern continuous integration and delivery platform with intelligent automation features. It offers flexible workflows and fast performance.
The main benefits of implementing continuous integration are:
Faster detection of errors and bugs in code
Immediate developer feedback to improve quality
Reduced integration risks and complexity
Automated testing saves time and effort
More frequent releases and faster delivery of features
To implement effective CI, you'll need to:
Set up automated build processes
Integrate your repository with a CI tool like Jenkins or CircleCI
Add testing pipelines and code quality checks
Set up notifications to get feedback on changes
Monitor your builds and tweak as needed
Overall, CI is essential for maintaining engineering efficiency and code health as your documentation scales. It's a best practice that all technical writers should adopt early on. The time invested in setting up CI will pay off exponentially.
Step 4: Choose an Open Source Platform
Open-source platforms provide a powerful and flexible way to create and host technical documentation. Some key benefits include:
Community-driven development and support: Open source projects have active communities continually improving the platforms. You can tap into this collective expertise.
Customizability: Open-source software is highly customizable to fit your specific needs. You can tweak the look, feel, features, and more.
Cost savings: Open-source platforms are free to use. You avoid expensive licensing fees.
Access to source code: You can view and modify the source code as needed. This allows advanced customization.
Popular open-source options for technical writing include:
Read the Docs: A hosted documentation platform that pulls content from your GitHub repository. It provides version control, full-text search, and more. RTD has a large community and many integrations.
Sphinx: A Python-based generator often used for Python documentation but adaptable for other projects. Sphinx focuses on extensibility and flexibility.
GitBook: A Node. js-based tool great for writing books and tutorials. GitBook emphasizes simplicity and has editing features similar to Google Docs.
Choosing the right open-source platform depends on your specific needs. Evaluate multiple options to determine the best fit. Leverage the benefits of open source to maximize capabilities while minimizing costs.
Step 5: Create a Plan
Before you start writing your engineering documentation, it's important to create a plan to guide the process. This involves conducting research and developing a strategy.
Conduct User and Content Research
Identify your target users and their needs. What background knowledge do they have? How will they use the documentation?
Analyze existing documentation. What works well and what can be improved?
Define the scope and goals of your documentation. What will it cover? What should users get out of it?
Develop a Timeline
Break down the documentation process into phases with reasonable timeframes.
Factor in time for research, writing, reviews, testing, and maintenance. Don't underestimate how long quality documentation takes.
Build a buffer for unexpected delays or changes in scope.
Define Team Roles
Decide who will be responsible for writing, editing, designing, reviewing, testing, etc.
Determine the workflow between team members and stakeholders.
Identify Tools Needed
Select authoring and collaboration tools for writing, managing, and publishing docs.
Choose formats, templates, and styles to standardize the look and feel.
Pick tools for version control, gathering feedback, testing docs, and integrating with engineering processes.
Spending time upfront to create a solid plan will ensure your engineering documentation project goes smoothly and achieves your goals. Research, timeline estimates, team roles, and tool selection are key parts of the planning process.
Step 6: Structure and Design
Before creating your actual content, you need to think about how to structure and design your documentation so it's easy for users to navigate and consume. Consider these tips for organizing your information architecture and following style guidelines:
Organize with Users in Mind
Structure your content based on your users' goals and the types of information they need. Group-related topics.
Create a simple, shallow hierarchy for your content. Avoid going too deep into subpages.
Organize content in a logical flow from overview information to specific procedures.
Create a Style Guide
Define styles for your headings, paragraphs, lists, images, tables, code snippets, etc.
Create a style guide document for writers to reference.
Stick to consistent heading levels, fonts, tones, formatting, etc.
Use Templates
Design templates for your major content types like tutorials, API references, and troubleshooting guides.
Include branded headers, footers, sidebars, and modular components.
Help writers quickly format standardized content.
Write in Markdown
Use simple markdown syntax for formatting like headers, lists, code blocks, links, and images.
Make your files easy to edit in plain text.
Render markdown to HTML for your published site.
Structure Modularly
Break content into small, reusable modules that can be rearranged.
Help users find the specific information they need.
Make it easier to reuse and republish content.
By planning the structure and design, you'll ensure your documentation has a polished, consistent look and feel as well as intuitive organization.
Step 7: Create the Content
Once you have a solid structure and design in place, it's time to start creating the actual content for your engineering documentation. Here are some tips for developing great technical content:
Writing Process
Outline the content for each section before you start writing. This will help keep you focused and organized.
Write in short, simple sentences using plain language. Avoid complex jargon when possible.
Adopt a consistent tone and style throughout the documentation.
Use active voice and address the reader directly when appropriate.
Break content down into small, modular chunks. This improves organization and allows for reuse.
Use consistent formatting, headings, and styling for easy scanability.
Develop a glossary of common terms and definitions.
Collaboration
Use collaborative editing tools like Google Docs to enable concurrent authoring.
Divide content into logical sections and assign authors based on expertise.
Schedule regular reviews to align on format, tone, terminology, and messaging.
Use comment features to provide feedback and discuss revisions.
Maintain a style guide to standardize formatting across authors.
Graphics & Multimedia
Use original illustrations, diagrams, and screenshots to clarify complex topics.
Ensure all visual assets are high-resolution, and on-brand, and reinforce the text.
Provide alt text descriptions for all images to support accessibility.
Embed relevant videos where appropriate to demonstrate processes.
Link out to interactive demos, sample code repositories, or live docs for further learning.
Utilize icons and visual indicators consistently throughout the documentation.
Step 8: Deliver and Test
Once you've created your engineering documentation, it's time to publish it and get feedback from users.
First, publish your docs on the platform you chose earlier. Make sure they are easy to find and access for your users. Include navigation menus, links between pages, and a search function.
Next, get feedback by having real users test your documentation. Identify a small group of people similar to your target audience. Ask them to use your docs to complete some common tasks. Observe where they struggle and what questions they have.
You can also get feedback through user surveys and by monitoring analytics for your docs. Key metrics to track are several users, time on the page, and popular search terms. This data will show you the most visited sections and pain points.
Incorporate the feedback into improving your documentation. Fix unclear sections, add more examples where needed, and refine the structure. Iterating based on real user input is crucial to creating great engineering docs.
Step 9: Maintain and Update
Engineering documentation requires ongoing maintenance and updates to stay accurate and relevant. You'll want to develop a schedule for when documentation should be reviewed and updated. This ensures your documentation evolves along with changes in the product, code, or infrastructure it describes.
Be sure to incorporate user feedback into documentation updates. Listen to comments from those using your documentation day-to-day. What areas are confusing or need better explanation? What additional information would be useful to support their work? Identify where you can make improvements based on their real-world experience.
Surveys, user testing sessions, and support ticketing data are all excellent ways to collect user feedback. You might also consider having a small group of volunteer testers provide early feedback on documentation changes and updates before a wider release.
Great technical writing evolves iteratively alongside the system or process it documents. Maintaining and improving documentation ensures it continues to meet your users' needs over time.
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