Technical Writing
Transforming complex B2B concepts into user-centric documentation; from HR manuals to startup design system guidelines, every word is crafted for clarity, accessibility, and usability.
Microsoft Office/Microsoft Style Guide Google Docs Figma Miro Notion
The Process
Step 01
Intro call with the client to clarify the project scope, the guidelines, and the points of contact.
Step 02
Outline and write the document drafts in accordance with the stakeholders' needs and guidelines.
Step 03
Submit drafts to the client, receive feedback (if any), and revise the document until all stakeholders are satisfied.
More Specifically...
As a technical writer, I was responsible for creating, editing, and proofing original content. This required me to be an expert in...
Organization
Clarity
Grammar
Punctuation
Consistency
While also taking into consideration...
Audience
Knowing my audience and of the possibility that my documents could reach unintended audiences helped me define details, accessibility, and usability.
Accessibility
My deliverables were seen by audiences that were unlike myself and my clients. Whenever a client requested a component to indicate something specific, I would ask myself these questions.
Usability
If my content isn't usable or accessible, it does no good. To create a manual for using an iPhone app, I had to make sure that non-tech savvy people could do what I was asking.
Document Design
Documents must make sense. Including headings, subheadings, lists, page numbers, and labeled references ensured everything was organized, structured, and designed for optimal usability.
Research & Analysis
Despite not being an expert on everything, technical writers should be able to write about anything. I always researched topics and collaborated with stakeholders who are subject matter experts to ensure detailed consistency.
Project Management
As an independent writer, I had multiple projects and was able to manage them all successfully.
To do this, I kept a daily logbook for each project's edits/updates and had systems for managing proposals, reports, and client communications.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Communication was key - especially for technical writing projects. I learned to listen, document what designer and engineers said, work effectively with PMs and SMEs, incorporate feedback, and report back to clients with drafts.
Compliance of Regulations
Technical writers often interpret industry standards and regulations for end-users. What's legible to some might not mean much to UX designers or devs. In these cases, I advocated for my users and stakeholders.
Client work led me to join a startup...
Peer Collective
An affordable alternative to traditional psychotherapy that leverages peer counselors who are rigorously selected and trained for emotional intelligence and empathy.
The Differences
Since guidelines and policies had not been developed when I joined, technical writing became a necessity for producing any form of internal or external assets.
The process now involved...
More Responsibilities in a Fast-Paced Environment
Creating assets for marketing and creating brand frameworks & guidelines for internal use required proactive involvement in the research and design processes.
More Collaborations to Ensure Consistency
External Assets: UX Researcher, CMO
Internal Assets: UX Designer
More Interaction With Design Systems
I learned to use Figma and not just navigate it so that I could thoroughly understand our new design system & product components and what they meant to our end-users.
Which led to a new type of technical writing process...
Step 01
Collaborate with the UX Designer regarding design components, their functionality, and any concerns.
Step 02
Submit updates of guidelines and design components to the CMO, engineer, and UX Researcher for review.
Step 03
Revise design system guidelines and components after product reviews and user research updates.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
The Results
Our milestones would not have been achieved without clear communication. We worked well together as a small team, regularly checking in on each other to make sure we weren't overwhelmed.
Collaborated with our UX Designer to create design system guidelines for Peer Collective's new minimum viable product (MVP).
Our UX Designer, Chloe, created a new MVP and design system in Figma that would be relayed to a third-party engineering team. Chloe and I developed the different guidelines for both marketing and engineering use-cases.
Collaborated with our UX Researcher to ensure consistency of new design system guidelines.
Our UX Researcher, Christine, conducted regular interviews with end-users on Peer Collective's core messaging and product attributes. These items were critical to discuss when editing design system components, updating guidelines, and communicating such changes to the engineers.
