Technical writers, remember creating standalone deliverables? —print manuals, CHM files, quick-start booklets, and the like? While documentation teams usually worked from a set of standards, the structure and presentation of the information in these deliverables were generally left up to the writer.
Structured authoring and content reuse transformed technical communication. As the amount of information to organize grew exponentially on the web, it became clear that the standalone-document paradigm was no longer a viable option. Clear and sustainable content strategies became a must with documentation teams looking to reuse content and reduce overhead and duplication.
Enter the Content Architect
This documentation need was met by an emerging specialization, information architecture (IA), also known as content architecture. Content architects consider all aspects of content development and delivery when creating content architecture. Content architecture is a plan that details how to structure and present content libraries to their audiences. These plans include strategies for meeting the following goals:
- Make content optimally retrievable and consumable.
- Balance logical structure with the way the specific user population thinks and works.
Simply put, the content architect draws up the blueprints for the content set, and the tech writers handle the construction.
Content architecture emerged as a discipline distinct from technical writing, largely because it frequently encompasses the complete online content strategy. Content architects influence the user experience of a site by structuring how and where users find the tools and information they’re looking for.
For its emphasis on planning and organizing information, content architecture has been touted as a natural specialization for library science and UX professionals. While this is certainly true, I would argue that few professionals are better suited to assume the content architect role than the technical writer.
Technical Writers Understand the Product and Its Users
To inform a content strategy, content architects must have a clear understanding of how the product being documented works, and how people use it. Good technical writers are skilled in working with developers, product managers, support engineers, and end users. From these sources, they gather information to gain a clear picture of product use cases and task workflows. They can combine these varying perspectives to present content in ways that are both logical and effective.
Established technical writers already have this key content architecture skill in their toolboxes.
Technical Writers Understand Information Structures
Technical writers have first-hand experience with content structure, whether planning the structure for new documentation sets or working within an established structure. Technical writers know how to structure the content for the following use cases:
- Multiple outputs (print, WebHelp, PDF, and HTML)
- Multiple devices (desktop, smartphone, tablet)
They know how to tailor content structures for different audiences and user roles. For example, end-user content may break tasks and procedures down into manageable chunks, while documentation for system administrators may be more workflow oriented.
Experienced technical writers make these kinds of distinctions with relative ease.
Technical Writers Understand Content Strategy
- What needs are we meeting with this content? What goals will it accomplish?
- Where can content be reused so it only needs to be updated once?
- How will we keep the content up to date?
- How flexible and sustainable is the content plan? Will it adapt to changes well, or will it need to be thrown out and redone?
These are just a few of the questions a content architect must answer—questions that technical writers already grapple with. Technical writers use their expertise to evaluate proposed or established documentation plans and identify opportunities for improvement. Continuous improvement translates into resilient and flexible documentation strategies and content that becomes increasingly more refined over time.
OPPORTUNITY FOR CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Significant overlap exists between the worlds of content architecture and technical writing. Are you a technical writer who likes planning as well as building structures brick by brick? Content architecture could be the next logical progression in your technical communications career.
