Gathering the Information for Your Manual

Gathering the Information for Your Manual

Last month I talked about how to use the comments from your prototype review process. When you have revised your prototype, you are ready to gather all of the information you need to write the manual. You may already have some of what you need, but you probably need more detail.

If you are writing about a hardware or software product, you should have the most recent version of it to use. Play with the product and become familiar with it. If the product is still under development, you need learn which features have yet to be included. Building a good relationship with the development team is critical to your ability to write accurate documentation.

As you gather your information, be sure you are learning what you need to know. Your outline and prototype represent the structure of the document. If you plan to include cautions, warnings, or tips, be sure to request that type of information.

You need to decide how to gather the information. Your manager or primary contact may be able to tell you what methods have worked best in the past for this type of project. You will probably need to interview one or more of the subject matter experts.

Generally, an in-person interview is best if you can arrange it. However, you may, have to conduct some interviews by phone. Before any type of interview, you must prepare. Your basic preparation steps are as follow:

Call the subject matter expert, identify yourself, and explain the reason for your call.

Schedule a time to meet.

Confirm the meeting date, time, and location in a letter.

Prepare the questions you need to ask; use your outline to be sure you cover the correct topics with each subject matter expert.

If you will need to use the hardware or software during the meeting, be sure you or your expert has the latest version available.

Review the information you already have so you don’t ask unnecessary questions.

Following these steps is crucial to your ability to gather information efficiently. You do not want to revisit your subject matter experts to get answers to questions you should have gotten during your first meeting.

Now you are ready to meet with your experts. Below is a list of tips that you should keep in mind at the interview:

Ask permission to record the meeting (use a small handheld tape recorder); so you can spend more time listening and less time taking notes.

Keep the meeting focused on the information you need.

Ask if you can call the expert again if you need clarification.

End the meeting at the agreed-upon time; schedule another meeting if needed.

Thank your expert for taking the time to meet with you.

As you gather information, keep it organized. Set up file folders by chapter, feature, or outline topic to reduce the chance of asking for the same question twice. You will also be able to find information when you are ready to write.

In the next article, I discuss more tips about writing your manual.