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Technical Writing for Consultants
The document outlines essential guidelines for technical writing aimed at consultants, focusing on need analysis, proposal preparation, and report creation. It emphasizes writing for diverse audience levels while maintaining clarity, precision, and appropriate use of business writing styles. Tips for effective communication include avoiding jargon, using active voice, and enhancing readability through formatting and revision techniques.
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Technical Writing for Consultants
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- 2. What We Doas Consultants? • Conduct a need analysis Meetings, presentations, document analysis, phone calls • Prepare a proposal Describe motivation & test/assessment procedure to be used Terms of Reference (ToR) Payment terms • Conduct a solid test, assessment, investigation, or design Based on industry best practices & our own expertise • Prepare a comprehensive report Test/assessment procedure used List findings List recommendations based on expert judgement • Follow up meeting or presentation Call for action Help during action 2
- 3. Exercise • Think abouta test or assessment you did for a client Penetration test, security assessment, digital forensic investigation, evaluate quotations, etc. • Write a summary of the test or assessment including Test/assessment procedure Key findings Key recommendations • Just write Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or punctuation Don’t edit, just write • 10 min max 3
- 4. Technical Writing • Writingthat “transfers information about a situation, product, service, or concept… to audiences of varying levels of technical knowledge, so that each member of the audience clearly understands the message.” • Word “technical” means skilled, specialized, & strict • Technical writing follows rules & protocols 4 - The Institute of Technical Communication (workshop) June, 1998 Source: www.zaetric.com/technical-writing/
- 5. Business Writing • Writingstyle appropriate for a business setting • Generally “persuasive” writing • Purposes To convey information To explain/justify actions To influence reader to take some action To direct action To deliver good or bad news • Includes Business Letters, E-mail Transmissions, Memo, Reports, Contracts, MoUs, & Manuals 5
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- 7. Rhetorical Triangle 7 Source: https://rhetoricaljournalist.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/p odcast-1-the-rhetorical-triangle-and-burkes-pentad/ Consultants Experts CIO COO IT Manager Sys.Admin Developers State of system Dos & Don’ts Call for action
- 8. How To DoIt? • Write for at least 2 levels CIO, COO, IT Manager Sys. Admin, Developer • Include all key points Findings & recommendations Clear scope What they need to provide to start project? • Aim for precision Get straight to the point Don’t use unnecessary words or waffle Make every word count • Unless you are a confident writer, best to avoid over-long sentences Aim for a mixture of long & short sentences for variation & rhythm 8 Executive Summary Bullets & Numbering Tables Diagrams Details Domain specific words Annex with detailed results Tips & References
- 9. How To DoIt? (Cont.) • Avoid overly elaborate language Use technical language & words specific to your discipline, where appropriate When using words that aren’t technical or domain specific, use simple words in place of obscure words that have the same meaning Using overly elaborate language can make your writing seem pretentious “Write to express not impress” • If there is any uncertainty about a particular point, use cautious language e.g., ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘could’, ‘potentially’ • Avoid repeating the same words 9
- 10. How To DoIt? (Cont.) • Avoid vague terms Very high vulnerability, very high overhead, extremely important • Use words efficiently Firstly, Secondly First, Second Utilization Use On the other hand Alternatively Already existing, completely eliminate, basic fundamentals • Write with verbs and nouns Active voice First person • Appropriate format to improve readability • Review Spellings, grammar, & style Peer review 10
- 11. Use Your WordKnife • Readers are overloaded • Use your limited word budget to get most attention • Types of readers Skimmers Read quickly Look for key words, bulleted information, graphs Summarize key points at beginning & end Skeptics Read every word Looking for logic flaws or reasons to disbelieve or say no Provide plenty of examples, details, & supporting statements 11
- 12. Examples • Per ourconversation, I am enclosing herewith a remittance of $125 for the balance due on my account. • As we discussed, here is the $125 remaining on my account. • Here is the $125 remaining on my account. • The relationship between the access to free contents and loss of privacy in social networks is extremely important to everyone including employees, businesses, government, and general public. • The conflict between free access and privacy in social network concerns many employees, businesses, government, and general public. 12
- 13. Examples (Cont.) • Despitewinning the game, the Sri Lankan team made several errors in the field. • Sri Lankan won the game, despite making several errors on the field. • Same observations are made from the Head Office network also. • Similar set of observations are to be made from the Head Office Network. • Slow response times are observed during different times of a day while much higher delays are noted during peak hours. • Higher response times are observed not only during peak hours but also throughout the day. 13
- 14. Examples (Cont.) • Wewill utilize an efficient, top down root cause isolation process to resolve the performance lag in the system. • We (will) use a top-down process to diagnose performance issues in the system. • Proposal submitted for the Hosted Firewall by XXX PLC does not satisfy the technical requirements, and does not satisfy the pricing structure. • The proposal submitted for the Hosted Firewall by XXXX PLC does not satisfy the technical requirements. • The Application allows XXXX employees to use the mobile work load management system application on their day to day work activities without coming to the brach it self. • The Mobile App enables XXXX employees to access the workload management system for their day-to-day work activities while on the filed. 14
- 15. Exercise • Read writeup you wrote earlier (slide 2) • Think about how to apply what we learned • Edit/rewrite a summary of the test or assessment including Test/assessment procedure Key findings Key recommendations • 10 min max • Let’s review write ups from 2-3 volunteers 15
- 16. To Be aGood Writer You Must Read