Author: Barry Millman

Overview

The User-Product Life Cycle (U-PLC) is a powerful tool for the User Document writer. Use the U-PLC to generate the high-level topics for your User Document.

The User-Product Life Cycle (U-PLC)

Usually, when we think of a Product Life Cycle, we think in terms of the development and production of the Product itself. When writing User Documentation, consider the U-PLC to help you generate all the topics necessary for a complete document. User Documentation should support your Users in all of their interactions with the product.

The User-Product Life Cycle refers to the full range of interactions between the User and the Product itself. This is more than simply “how to use the product.” As you will see below, Use the Product is only one stage in the U-PLC.

Stages in the U-PLC

Here are the stages in the U-PLC (assuming that the User as acquired the Product):

Transport the Product to its working location

Unpack the Product

Transport and Unpacking of the product are listed here just for completeness. These are currently displayed on the packaging itself, usually in pictorial form, and do a good job.

Overall knowledge about the Product.

This is information that is presented to the User early in the User Documents.

Topics here include safety, legal, and disclaimers related to the product.

The description of the product should indicate how the product may change the way that the User currently does things. For example, an analog voice recorder will require the User to listen to all the stored items to find a particular one; a digital voice recorder will enable the User to quickly jump from one message to another.

Set up or Install the Product

Environments

It is important for the writer to think of the various environments where the product will exist. For example, how should a computer program be installed in a Windows, Mac, or Linux environment?

Environments includes other things that the product must work with. For example, how should a DVD player be installed in a system currently composed of a TV and a VCR? How about installation to a TV & VCR system where the TV has only one video input?

User Capabilities

The capabilities required for the User to set up the product are also important. Since the assumptions related to the User for set up may be different from the assumptions about the User in using the product, the wise writer will present the skills (and perhaps regulations) needed to set up the product. A section entitled Can You Set Up This Product? will enable the User to make the decision about whether to set the product up themselves, or find outside help.

For example, suppose the product is an electrical light dimmer that is intended to replace the light switch in the User’s home. Using the product merely requires adjusting the dimmer’s single control to set the desired light level. Installing the product requires experience with home electrical wiring–does the User have these capabilities?

Sometimes, the limitation may be legal. In some jurisdictions — Quebec, Canada, for example — only qualified electricians are permitted to install or modify electrical circuits in the home. Thus in Quebec, the general User of the dimmer will not be able to (legally) install the light dimmer.

Use the Product

This component is the focus of most User Documentation. It should contain at least these three sub-topics:

Starting the product

Actual Use of the product

For most products Actual Use is the central focus of the User Document.

Ideally, this should be divided into basic or common product functions, and advanced functions. A good example is photo-editing software. Most Users want to crop, rotate, and adjust the brightness and contrast of the image. These are basic functions. More advanced functions might be combining the parts of one picture with another.

Shutting down the product

Is there any maintenance to be done at shut down? List it here and in the Maintain section.

Maintain the Product

Consider breaking this down into time periods, such as: after each use, weekly, monthly, yearly, as applicable.

Move the Product

For a computer software program, how the User should move the program and its data to another computer; computer users often upgrade their computer hardware. While it is often assumed that the User should re-install the product on the new computer, there always is the question about moving the data related to the product: where is it located, and how should it be moved so the newly-installed program can recognize it on the new computer?

For a physical product, are there any special considerations in moving the Product to another location?

Discard the Product or its By-Products

Here I would like to mention only selling the used product. It might be wise to mention that by keeping the User Manual, the seller may find it easier to sell, and possibly get a higher price, for the used product.

Using the U-PLC in Your Writing

As you generate the topics for your User Document make sure that you keep the U-PLC in mind. Ensure that you include topics in your User Document Outline to assist your User in all phases of the U-PLC.

Great User Documents can assist in the U-PLC section that I did not present here: acquisition of the product. Your marketing department may be able to use your Great User Document as part of its marketing campaign.

About the Author:

Barry Millman, Ph.D., has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (1966, Carnegie Institute of Technology) and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Psychology (Human Information Processing, University of Calgary). He has been a consultant for over 25 years, an instructor, course developer, and award-winning speaker. For the past seven years he has been researching and creating resources to help organizations create great User Documents.

Visit: http://www.greatuserdocs.com/ for resources to help you create the User Documents that your Product needs and your Users deserve.

Visit http://www.greatuserdocs.com/ReadingRoom.htm for more articles like this one.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Great Technical Writing: the User-product Life Cycle – a Documentation Tool

Author: Ugur Akinci

Specification (spec) sheets are like maps for the captain of a ship or the blueprints for an architect. No project can start without first putting the specs on paper.

Here are two spec sheets with which a technical writer should be familiar:

Design specs – This is a document that builds on and follows closely the “functional specs” document. It basically describes what a product should look like when it is manufactured. It takes all the functions and detailed features specified in the functional specs sheet and translates them into a visual language.

For example, if the functional specs describe a configuration function, the design specs describe the button or the navigational link that should launch the configuration interface; what it’s colors and fonts should be; where exactly the fields and buttons should be placed on the dialog boxes; etc. Design specs may also specify a product’s maintenance schedule and the service requirements, etc.

Testing specs – This document specifies the unit and system integration testing that needs to be performed on the product before it is released to the market. This document sometimes also includes the testing scenarios (or scripts) that the test engineers should follow step-by-step to reveal the weaknesses and discover the bugs before consumers can find them.

Technical writers sometimes contribute directly by writing such testing scripts and actually participating in the tests as well. Testing specs and the testing results are precious since they reveal for a technical writer all the vulnerable points of a product and become the input for the Release Notes that accompany every major release of a product, especially in the software industry.

If you are interested to read more about technical writing as a career and how it can help you earn a steady living, visit http://www.learntechnicalwriting.com. You might be pleasantly surprised with what you’ll find out. Join the thousands who are already helped and inspired by this information provided by a Fortune 500 Senior Technical Writer. Visit today and claim your free report “How Much Do Technical Writers Make?”

About the author

Dr. Ugur Akinci is a Fortune 500 Sr. Technical Communicator http://www.technicalcommunicationcenter.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ugur_Akinci
http://EzineArticles.com/?Technical-Writing—Why-Should-a-Technical-Writer-Be-Familiar-With-Design-Specs-and-Testing-Specs?&id=1894071

Author: Warren Wong

When speaking or writing English, it is important to make the subjects and the verb agree. Let’s go over some rules using basic sentences. These rules will help you choose the correct verb based on the subject.

Rule #1: Subject usually left of verb

Before you know which verb to use, first you need to know what the subject is! As a general rule, the subject is usually immediately to the left of the verb.

Example: That tree grows fast.

Here, the subject is immediately to the left of the verb. The verb is “grows”, making the subject “tree”.

Example: Sometimes dogs bark for fun.

The verb here is “bark”. As you can see, the subject, “dogs”, is immediately to the left.

There are exceptions to this rule. One big signal of a sentence where the verb comes before the subject is when the sentence starts with “There”.

Example: There are apples everywhere.

“Apples” is the subject. The verb, “are”, comes before the subject.

Rule #2: “Or” use singular, “and” use plural

This is for sentences with two or more subjects. If the subjects are connected with the word “or”, you want to use a singular verb. If they are connected with the word “and”, use a plural verb.

Example: Tom or Sally is picking it up at noon.

Our two subjects, “Tom” and “Sally”, are connected by the word “or”. Because of this, our verb needs to be singular (is)

Example: Tom and Sally are picking it up at noon.

By connecting our two subjects with “and”, we now use a plural verb (are).

In these examples, the subjects were singular. What happens if one of the subjects is plural?

Rule #3: When in doubt, verb agrees with nearest subject

When a singular and a plural noun are connected by the word “or”, the verb should agree with the nearest subject. Remember, “are” is used with plural while “is” is used with singular.

Example: The players or the coach is in the gym.

Example: The coach or the players are in the gym.

Let’s look at two examples that use verbs different than “is” and “are”.

Example: Tom or the cats run for dear life.

Example: The cats or Tom runs for dear life.

Rule #4: Don’t become confused of the subject

This can be a tricky thing to remember. Some sentences have a phrase after the subject but before the verb. These phrases can make identifying the subject an adventure. In the below examples, the subject and the verb are in italics. Notice how the words in between could change the verb usage if they were falsely identified as the subject.

Example: The quarterback, not to mention the rest of his teammates, is worried about tonight’s game.

Example: My neighbor with all the birds is running for Sheriff.

Example: The dogs who watch the cat are getting tired.

Example: That girl who likes the flowers jogs twice per day.

Example: One of the trees is dying.

Rule #5: Everybody is singular

Although they sound plural, subjects such as everybody, anybody, no one, somebody, nobody, each, either, and neither are singular and use singular verbs.

Example: Everybody who came tonight is to be commended.

Example: Anybody is welcome to attend.

Example: Nobody I love came to my party.

Example: Either will do.

Example: Each of these cars is a fine choice.

As you work towards mastering English, there will be times of frustration. But don’t give up! Just remember, practice makes perfect.

About the Author

Warren Wong writes for 1-language.com, a website dedicated to helping people Learn English.

Article Source: Articles Engine

Author: Bryan S. Adar

Ralph Waldo Emerson (19th century American essayist) said that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. He thought that what he called a great person doesn’t have to think consistently from one day to the next. Maybe so, but a great tech writer does need to think consistently – and write consistently, too.

Being consistent is very important in all types of writing from memos to technical manuals. The area we’re looking at today has to do with using numbers, abbreviations, and symbols. Each of these elements can be written in a variety of ways. For example: five feet, 5′, 5 ft., five ft. They all mean the same thing. Which one a writer uses is important, but using them in a consistent way is just as important. Five feet in one place should match five feet in another. This is poor usage: Five feet is enough space in front, but 5 ft. doesn’t allow enough space behind.

A style that is often suggested is that in documents where a word like foot shows up only once or twice, it’s written out. In documents where it appears multiple times, ft is better usage. That may be the writer’s call, or it may depend on the client’s style guide.

In the following sentences, it’s up to you. Use the style you prefer, but be consistent. Then, write a “rule” or “rules” that cover the situation. We’ve provided one preferred way of writing each sentence.

Example: We’ll arrive on 25 April and depart 06/05. We’ll arrive on April 25th and depart on June 5th. Rule: Be consistent in how you write dates. Rule: It’s safer to spell out month names.

1. The winning fish weighed 16 1/2 lb and was about 1.75m long.
2. These units are called MHz.
3. The base units come in boxes of ten @ a quarter each or $2 per box. measurement, or of specific importance.
4. 27 hourly employees will be involved in the transfer.
5. Check the % of items with values of less than .75.
6. The shipment will arrive between 11:00 am and 14:30.
7. Be sure the space is at least 6 1/2″ wide, 5.75 in. deep, and 11 inches long.
8. Use 300 pounds of type one, one thousand lbs of type 2, and 2 thousand kg of type three.
9. We need 50# of #5 widgets stet.

Exercise – Answer

1. The winning fish weighed 16 1/2 lb and was about 1.75m long. The winning fish weighed 16 1/2 lb and was about 5 3/4 ft long.
   Rule: Don’t mix metric and English measures.
2. These units are called MHz. These units are called megahertz (MHz).
   Rule: Write out the full word with the abbreviation in parenthesis the first time it’s used.
3. The base units come in boxes of ten @ a quarter each or $2 per box. The base units come in boxes of 10 at the cost of 25 cents each or $2 per box.
   Rule: Use numerals when the amount is a key value, an exact measurement, or of specific importance.
4. 27 hourly employees will be involved in the transfer. The transfer will involve 27 hourly employees.
   Rule: Don’t begin a sentence with a numeral.
5. Check the % of items with values of less than .75. Check the percent of items with values of less than .75.
   Rule: Use symbols only with specific values, not as a substitute for the word.
6. The shipment will arrive between 11:00 am and 14:30. The shipment will arrive between 11:00 am and 2:30 pm.
   Rule: Don’t mix 12-hour and 24-hour time designations.
7. Be sure the space is at least 6 1/2″ wide, 5.75 in. deep, and 11 inches long. Be sure the space is at least 6 1/2″ wide, 5 3/4″ deep, and 11″ long.
   Rule: Use abbreviations consistently. Rule: Don’t mix decimals and fractions.
8. Use 300 pounds of type one, one thousand lbs of type 2, and 2 thousand kg of type three. Use 300 lb of type 1, 1,000 lb of type 2, and 4,400 lb of type 3.
   Rule: Use numerals when the amount is a key value, an exact measurement, or of specific importance. Rule: Don’t mix metric and English measures.
9. We need 50# of #5 widgets stet. We need 50 lb. of no. 5 widgets immediately.
   Rule: Write out symbols that have more than one meaning.
   Rule: Avoid abbreviations that are not universally familiar.

If you can write a simple sentence in English and organize your thoughts then technical writing may be a rewarding field. You can easily make it a second income stream in your spare time.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average salary for technical writers is $60,380. Freelance technical writers can make from $30 to $70 per hour.

The field of technical writing is like a golden city. It’s filled with wealth, rewards and opportunities. After learning technical writing you can branch out into business writing, marketing writing and communications writing. All of these can become additional income streams.

But to succeed you must learn how to market yourself to clients. You have to prove to them that you are an invaluable asset. That’s where ProTech – Your Fast Track to Becoming a Successful Technical Writer can help. It’s a technical writing course that does two equally important things:

1. It teaches you the skills to become a technical writer in the shortest time frame. You’ll learn to create manuals, procedures, tutorials, processes, proposals, spec sheets and other documents that businesses need.
2. It shows you how to market yourself to clients so you can start your income stream as soon as possible.

In fact, you’ll get a complete marketing toolkit which has templates and technical writing job sites to get started immediately!

You can download two sample lessons by clicking the link below.

This could be your chance to create a prosperous future.

Click the link below to download your two sample lessons.

https://www.techwritingcourse.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_S._Adar
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