The document outlines the principles of technical document design, emphasizing the importance of audience needs during the design phase. It categorizes technical documents into marketing, reporting, and instructing types, and details the process of creating user manuals and formal reports, including their structure and components. Key tips for enhancing reader engagement, such as effective information design and clarity, are provided to improve usability and understanding of technical documents.

1. TW Document Design
(Class-6)
Prepared by
Ms Rijitha R
MA,M.Phil (Comm), SET
Assistant Professor
Department of EM

2. Technical writing Document Design
• What is design?
The design stage is when decisions of how a
project will look are taken. In documentation, the
design phase is about deciding the following:
• What will the document cover?
• What format will the document take?
• How will the document look?
• In what order will information be presented?
• The design stage must take into account the needs
of the audience, in order to create something
appropriate to their task

3. Design Goals
• When writing Technical documents we should
remember 5 aims,
1. Make a good impression (Creating a positive
image on the company)
2. Clearly define the structure
3. Give the reader information, that needed.
4. Clear and accurate (Make them understand)
5. Help the readers remember (Visual, Prompts
and elements)

4. Types of Documents
1. Marketing Documents
2. Reporting Documents
3. Instructing Documents
4. General documents

5. Marketing Documents
• Tech. Writers makes marketing documents
such as brochures, Case study, Press release,
Product handbook, Advertising copy etc
• Unlike other types of documents, it can be read
by all types of audiences.
• These documents are used for promotion
purposes.

6. EX: Marketing documents

7. EX: Marketing Documents

8. Reporting documents
• Tech writers have skills to write different types of
documents. It includes magazines, NP articles annual
reports and website designing.
• Technical reports are written to provide information,
analysis, instructions and/or recommendations. These
reports provide the reader with enough background on a
topic to be informed and potentially make decisions.
• Example: a technical report on one phase of a
company’s manufacturing process. The report includes
information on how this phase impacts the product, the
process itself, and recommendations for optimization.

9. Reporting document- Annual report

10. Instructing Documents
• Intention of this types of documents is to instruct
and to inform or teach people those who don’t
know particular applications.
• Tech writers match the level of tech language
with the audience level of proficiency while
writing such types of documents.
• These documents include user manuals,
installation manuals, glossary, training materials,
online tutorials and quick start guides etc.

11. Instructing Documents
• WRITING A TECHNICAL MANUAL
• The process of producing a technical manual
usually is a team effort. In most situations, a
Technical Communicator is only given one
portion of the whole project. Other parts go
to the Graphical Designer, Editor and such.
The "whole picture" is usually only seen by the
Project Manager.

12. Tasks for a technical manual
• A standard technical manual is one that is text-based with
illustrations. It is usually delivered on paper, although it may also be
an online manual. Technical manuals are usually considered user,
service and training manuals or guides. The tasks required in
producing a standard technical manual are typically:
• Research and interview to get information
• Outline and organize technical material
• Draw or obtain pictures and graphics
• Transform technical material into common language
• Edit written material
• Print and bind manual
• Deliver final product

13. How To Write A User Manual
• User manuals are often a source of conflict amongst readers. Typically, people take
one glance at a product manual then set it aside when t for time when the appears to
be too lengthy or complicated. It is safe to assume that most people are pressed y
refer to these manuals for guidance .
• Therefore, it is important that technical writers who are preparing to create sets of
instructions, write clearly and concisely, and use a simple design layout for content
pages . There are numerous techniques that technical writers can use to enhance
reader findability and thus increase the likelihood that user manuals will be read
when preparing manual instructions.
• This research report will describe how to create an exceptional user manual based
on the following principles:
• analyzing the reader’s perception; effective information design and thorough testing
of the final user manual.

14. Analyzing the Reader's Perception
• When preparing to write a user manual, a technical communicator
must first research and identify the key demographics of the people
most likely to use the product / software at hand.
• For example,
• what is the average age group and education level of users?
• Will they have any background knowledge about this product; if so,
how much?
• The answers to questions like these determine what type of language
to use, and how much detail to include in the introductory section of
the manual. In order for a user manual to fulfil its objectives, writers
must first identify and understand their target audience.

15. Reader Findability
• One of the main problems with ineffective user manuals is that they fail to meet
the standards of reader findability. Most people open user manuals expecting to
find a particular piece of information about the product, whether that be answers to
a trouble-shooting inquiry or details about a specific function. When readers are
forced to sift through endless amounts of undifferentiated product information, this
increases the likelihood that they will toss the manual to the side and attempt to
solve the problem themselves.
• Writers can enhance reader findability by creating a detailed table of contents,
splitting up information into several sections, using a classic, readable font like
San- Serif, including a glossary of terms and using bold font for section headings
and important information.
• An example of an exceptional user manual is the iPad User Guide for iOS 13.6
Software, which is presented in pdf format. The introductory section of this guide,
titled “iPad Overview” simply presents readers with a labelled illustration of the
iPad without overwhelming them with paragraphs of information about the product
or endless bullet points.

16. Example- User Guide

20. Effective Information Design
• The success of a user manual in meeting
objectives, depends on effective information
design. The way information is visually
presented to users is just as important as the
information itself. User manuals should be
divided up into sections according to
functional categories. user manuals typically
contain all of the following elements:

21. Table of Contents
• The table of contents gives readers an idea of the
scope of the user manual, the information it
contains, the topics it covers and the
troubleshooting questions it addresses.
• The table of contents should be structured
sequentially, in a well-thought-out manner and
separated into several sections. Section headings
should be written in bold-faced font and sum up
in just a few words, the information that will be
discussed

22. Example

23. Included in the user guide is this diagram
which demonstrates how to properly use a
SIM

24. General Documents
• It is a part of day to day writing. These
documents include resume, letters etc.

25. Formal Reports
• A formal report is an official report that contains detailed
information, research, and data necessary to make business
decisions. This report is generally written for the purpose of
solving a problem.
• When Writing a formal report, the choice of format as well as
parts of the report must me carefully planned. Although the
circumstances in which a report is written may determine its
structure, the content of the report has to be organized in a
logical way to help the readers understand the message clearly.

26. Formal Reports
• There are two categories of formal reports:
informational and analytical reports.
The informational report gathers data and
facts used to draw conclusions. The analytical
report contains the same information as the
informational report, but it also offers
recommendations to solve a problem.

27. Front Section of a Formal Report
• The front section contains the title page,
transmittal letter, and the table of contents. The
title page should contain:
• Company name
• Name and title of the party for whom the
report was prepared
• Name and title of the preparer
• Date

28. Sample Title Page
Title Page
A REPORT ON
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
SUBMITTED TO
Department of XXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX
SUBMITTED BY
XXXXXXXX
Designation, XXXXX
DATE
July 20, 2020

29. Transmittal letter
• The transmittal letter is a letter informing the
recipient that a report has been included in the packet.
• It may also state the purpose of the report. The letter
also identifies any other documents that may be
included.
• It is a brief Covering letter from the report writer
explaining the cause for writing the report. It may
contain objectives, scope and other highlights of the
report.

30. Transmittal letter - Ex
Date:_______
Respected...........
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
Signature,
_________

31. Table of contents
• The last part of the front section is the table of
contents so that the reader can locate
information by page number.
• It provides reader an over all view of the report
and shows its organisation.

32. Table of contents- Ex
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface 1
Acknowledgements 2
List of illustrations 3
Abstract 4
1. Introduction 6
2. Methodology 9
3. Discussions 10
4. Conclusion 15
5. Recommendations 19
Appendices 20
References 28

33. Resume
A résumé or resume is a document used and
created by a person to present their
background, skills, and accomplishments.
Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons,
but most often they are used to secure new
employment. A typical résumé contains a
"summary" of relevant job experience and
education.

34. Professional- resume example

35. Ms RIJITHA. R
Address
rijitha.rajan@gmail.com
9790762833
PROFILE
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
PROFESSIONAL SYNOPSIS
Total Experience
Qualification:
Core Competencies
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Academic Work - Media Research
Academic Work - Papers Presented
Academic Work – Journal Published
Research Interests:
Research Guidance:
EMPLOYEMENT HISTORY
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
PERSONAL DETAILS
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the above mentioned details furnished here are true up to my knowledge.
Thanking you Yours Sincerely
Rijitha R
Place: Chennai
Date:

36. Resume- Example

37. Informal reports
• An informational report provides background and
information without reaching an evaluation.
• These include simple reports like meeting minutes,
expense reports, and progress, or status updates.
• An analytical report provides much the same
information as the informational report along
with evaluation or recommendation. These reports may
include feasibility studies, justification reports, and
proposals.

38. Types of Informal Reports
• The following are typical types of informal
reports. Keep in mind that there may be some
overlap with formal reports (i.e., some report
types can be informal or formal).
• Meeting minutes are a type of informal report
that summarizes the discussion and results from a
meeting. These reports are informational. They
are summaries, not a direct collection of all
statements from all attendees.

39. Types of Informal Reports
• Status updates may be internal to a company in
addressing a business situation, or they may be external
in providing the status of a project to another
organization. These reports are short and tightly
focused to the purpose. They are informational reports.
• Trip or conference reports are used to summarize and
transmit learning from a trip or conference. They are
informational, and they increase the value of the trip or
conference as they share what was learned with others.

40. Outline for the informal report
1. Title
• Title
• Author name
• Course
• Date
2. Introduction
3. Description
4. Discussion
5. Appendixes

41. Memos
Memorandum Report
• A short note written as a reminder.
• A written record or communication, as in a business office.
• A business statement made by a consignor about a shipment of goods that
may be returned.
Memos are used within organizations to report results, instruct employees,
announce policies, disseminate information, and delegate responsibilities.
Whether sent on paper, as emails, or as attachments to emails, memos
provide a record of decisions made and actions taken. They also can play a
key role in the management of many organizations because managers use
memos to inform and motivate employees.

42. Purpose of Memorandum Report
The primary purpose of a briefing note “for decision”
is to support decision making – to “help (or sometimes
influence) a decision-maker to make a better decision in
a particular problem situation than he might otherwise
have made without the analysis” Other purposes that
the briefing note can serve include:
conveying information; informing decisions, making a
request, providing a response to a question, making a
suggestion, presenting an informal report, proposing a
solution to a problem, or documenting a reference for
future use.

43. Assignments
• Create a visitor’s guide to a wild life park.
• Draw rough sketch of a homepage for a website on Child
education and give the details of the other pages in the site with
brief notes about contents.
• Design a brochure for the IT industry in Chennai? Briefly
explain the visual content and the text matter you would like to
include in this brochure.
• Create your Resume (Visual or Printed)
• Create a ‘tutorial file’ for a software you are familiar with (Give
diff name, create diff logo etc)

44. Thank You