MINIMALIST WRITING

2. MINIMALIST WRITING Indumathi SandiraneNovember 30, 2012

3. LEARNING OBJECTIVES • What is minimalist writing? • Why minimalism? • How to apply minimalism in technical documentation? • Examples

4. MINIMALISM Minimalism is the art of presenting precise information to accomplish user goals without eliminating essential content. Minimalism is the conjunction of brevity and clarity.

5. WHAT IS MINIMALIST WRITING? Write what is required Remove non-essential information Concentrate and accomplish user goals, not the product features Help user do a task or solve an issue Provide the right information at the right place

6. MINIMALISM DOES NOT MEAN Writing simplified technical language Writing few words Using bulleted or numbered lists Removing deadwood phrases Deleting random content or pages

7. PRINCIPLES OF MINIMALIST WRITING • Emphasize doing rather than knowing • Provide a context for the information that relates to the users’ working environment • Focus on troubleshooting and problem solving • Ensure that information is easily and quickly accessible

8. WHY MINIMALISM? Technical document is neither a book nor a novel Information overload Quick access to right information Easy to understand Users want to get their job done than knowing the system How to do something Solve a problem Increase in translation cost Maintenance of huge documentation sets

9. BENEFITS OF MINIMALIST WRITING AUTHORS and REVIEWERS • Content management and sustenance • Maintain consistency • Faster migration to structured writing • Consumes less time to review READERS • Usability • Readability • Accuracy • Quick information

10. BENEFITS OF MINIMALIST WRITING COMPANY • Low cost – > Better resource utilization Development and maintenance Localization (cost per word/page) • Quick resolution –> Fewer helpline calls • Customer delight –> Repeat business

11. HOW TO APPLY MINIMALISM? 1. Analyze user goals 2. Design information to support user 3. Write simple and transparent 4. Edit and review 5. Test 6. Repeat

12. 1. ANALYZE THE USER GOALS Understand user knowledge Understand why the user uses the product Understand user perspective Get assistance Marketing team Customer support team

13. 2. DESIGN INFORMATION TO SUPPORT USER • Structure the information • Explain tasks not features: • × The File menu, About the File menu • √ Create a new file, Save a file • Organize the content • Easy to navigate • Quick search • Write overviews that users really need • Procedures in task order • Use flow charts, images, videos • Define content standards and template

14. STRUCTURE: TASKS-BASED INFORMATION WORKFLOW

15. ORGANIZE CONTENT

16. WORKFLOWS

17. DOCUMENT TEMPLATE DESIGN: BEFORE

18. DOCUMENT TEMPLATE DESIGN: AFTER

19. 3. WRITE SIMPLE AND TRANSPARENT Write simple that can be read once and understood Avoid ambiguity General rules: Avoid adjectives Avoid paraphrases and deadwood phrases Use active voice Avoid adverbs Maintain brevity Explain one way to do a task

20. The AnyDial plug-in recognizes phone numbers or SIP URIs on the Internet Explorer web pages and allows you to call that phone number or SIP URI. You can call the number by pointing your mouse cursor at the number or URI and clicking to dial the number. You can also select the number and right-click to select an action from the AnyDial plug-in menu. The AnyDial plug-in recognizes phone numbers or SIP URIs on Internet Explorer and allows you to call that number or URI. EXAMPLE: BEFORE AND AFTER

21. Uninstall AnyDial Plugin The AnyDial plug-in can be uninstalled using Microsoft Add/Remove Programs. It can also be uninstalled using the uninstall menu from the Windows start menu. Uninstall AnyDial Plugin Uninstall the AnyDial Plugin from Add/Remove Programs on a Windows computer. EXAMPLE: ONE WAY TO DO A TASK

22. EXAMPLE: USING TABLES

23. USERS GENERALLY SKIP Notes Stem sentences Before you begin Prerequisites Overview, About sections

24. STEM SENTENCE: BEFORE AND AFTER

25. 4. EDIT AND REVIEW Self and peer review Do you know the user’s objective? Can you understand in the first reading? Can you write simpler? Can you navigate easily?

26. 5. TEST USABILITY Test like a user Test the content accuracy Perform the procedure Study errors and correct the procedure

27. 6. REPEAT Because: It takes a longer effort to write less Each time you read, you can improvise The focus is quality, not quantity “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

28. QUIZ! Who is the first technical writer ever known?

29. QUIZ! 1. Select the most appropriate instruction for technical documentation. By typing run, you can run the process. Type run. Enter the run command. Invoke the command run. To run the process, type run. • Type run.

30. QUIZ! 2. Select the phrase that is a best practice in technical writing. The integer values should match exactly in order to complete the operation. The integer values must match. The integer values must have an accurate match. Making the integer values match exactly is a mandatory operation. • The integer values must match.

31. QUIZ! 3. Which of these will make a meaningful and succinct topic title? Introduction to the Change Logs feature in Communications Manager. Using the Change Logs feature Change Logs About the Change Logs feature in Communications Manager • Change Logs

32. QUIZ! 4. Select the most appropriate instruction for technical documentation. The text can be modified by you. Modify the text. The text can be modified in String field. In the required manner, modify the text. Modify the text in the String field. • Modify the text in the String field.

33. Thank you!