What's the best way to develop a technical documentation strategy for your organization?

1 Define your goals and scope

The first step to developing a technical documentation strategy is to define your goals and scope. What are the main objectives and outcomes you want to achieve with your technical documentation? Who are your target audiences and what are their needs, expectations, and preferences? What types of technical documentation do you need to create and update, such as user manuals, FAQs, tutorials, API references, etc.? How will you measure the success and impact of your technical documentation? Answering these questions will help you clarify your vision, scope, and priorities for your technical documentation project.

2 Assess your current state and gaps

The next step is to assess your current state and gaps. How does your existing technical documentation compare to your goals and scope? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your current technical documentation? What are the gaps and issues that need to be addressed or improved? How do your users, customers, and stakeholders perceive and use your current technical documentation? What are the feedback and suggestions you have received from them? Conducting a thorough audit and analysis of your current technical documentation will help you identify the areas and opportunities for improvement and enhancement.

3 Establish your standards and guidelines

The third step is to establish your standards and guidelines. How will you ensure the quality, consistency, and accuracy of your technical documentation? What are the best practices and conventions you will follow for your technical documentation, such as style, tone, format, structure, language, etc.? What are the tools and platforms you will use to create, manage, and publish your technical documentation? What are the roles and responsibilities of your technical documentation team and how will you collaborate and communicate with them? Developing a clear and comprehensive set of standards and guidelines will help you streamline your technical documentation process and ensure its effectiveness and efficiency.

4 Plan your resources and timeline

The fourth step is to plan your resources and timeline. How much time, money, and effort will you need to invest in your technical documentation project? What are the resources and assets you will need to create and update your technical documentation, such as data, images, videos, code snippets, etc.? How will you allocate and distribute your resources and assets among your technical documentation team and tasks? What are the milestones and deadlines you will set for your technical documentation project and how will you track and monitor your progress and performance? Planning your resources and timeline will help you manage your technical documentation project and ensure its completion and delivery.

5 Implement and evaluate your strategy

The final step is to implement and evaluate your strategy. How will you execute your technical documentation project according to your plan and standards? How will you test and review your technical documentation before publishing it? How will you distribute and promote your technical documentation to your target audiences and channels? How will you collect and analyze the feedback and data from your users, customers, and stakeholders? How will you update and maintain your technical documentation based on the feedback and data? Implementing and evaluating your strategy will help you launch and improve your technical documentation and achieve your goals and outcomes.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?