Technical Author
The Technical Author plays a key role within the development of software products; designing, creating, maintaining and developing the user guides & help documentation for all my client’s products, by gathering information and converting into the relevant documentation.
You will have extensive previous experience and knowledge of best practices, tools and techniques for producing user documentation on business software products. You will be used to gathering information and converting it into relevant forms of user documentation.
You will be responsible for the planning, management, progress monitoring and delivery to agreed timescales of all user documentation required for each software development project.
You will work as a member of the Business Analyst team and liaise closely with the Product Managers and Project Teams to ensure all requirements are understood with progress communicated and documentation reviewed.
You will be expected to continually develop and improve documentation templates, styles and standards by:
As a member of the Development department you are required to ensure that the department responsibilities are met - maintaining a high standard of quality in its procedures, processes and the software produced.
Where other team members are working with you on projects, your role can include mentoring and guiding the other members so that best use is made of the skills available to complete the project on schedule.
Usability/Requirements
Product
Documentation
Project
Skill set/Attributes Required
You will have extensive previous experience and knowledge of best practices, tools and techniques for producing user documentation on business software products. You will be used to gathering information and converting it into relevant forms of user documentation.
You will be responsible for the planning, management, progress monitoring and delivery to agreed timescales of all user documentation required for each software development project.
You will work as a member of the Business Analyst team and liaise closely with the Product Managers and Project Teams to ensure all requirements are understood with progress communicated and documentation reviewed.
You will be expected to continually develop and improve documentation templates, styles and standards by:
- Understanding the needs of the user and how that can be reflected in user documentation.
- Monitoring and learning the market developments & trends.
As a member of the Development department you are required to ensure that the department responsibilities are met - maintaining a high standard of quality in its procedures, processes and the software produced.
Where other team members are working with you on projects, your role can include mentoring and guiding the other members so that best use is made of the skills available to complete the project on schedule.
Usability/Requirements
- Involvement with Usability/Requirement meetings.
- Learning and understanding the software requirements on all development projects.
- Interpreting software requirements into user documentation requirements.
Product
- To learn and gain a detailed understanding of all development projects in order to be able to document necessary changes to existing functionality or new features – appreciating the effects the changes may have on other areas.
- Become a product expert in the products documented.
Documentation
- Create documentation approaches and plans for large and complex projects.
- Ensure documentation plans are reviewed and approved when necessary.
- To write and present documentation in a clear, concise manner to afford an easy understanding to users of all product features.
- To ensure all documentation is reviewed.
- Liaising with Product Managers and Business Analysts to ensure new features/changes are documented accurately in the Help and Manuals.
- To continually review and develop improvements in the documentation processes and tools.
- Keep up to date on documentation market trends, methodologies and news.
Project
- Plan and produce accurate lists of documentation tasks with timescales within projects.
- Ensure that high risk tasks are identified.
- Monitor and report on your progress for the tasks assigned.
- Work closely with the rest of project team to ensure that the best and most efficient plan is created.
Skill set/Attributes Required
- Excellent writing and page design skills.
- Thorough knowledge of documentation methods, processes and best practices.
- Good organisational and communication skills.
- Experience of documenting large and complex business software systems using documentation tools with an emphasis on RoboHelp.
- Experience of managing documentation requirements through software development projects.
- A real interest in developing and moving forward documentation standards, templates, processes and procedures.
- Ability to take on the user perspective in order to identify their needs and document in a manner they will find simple and easy to understand.
- Ability to interpret a software specification into user documentation requirements.
- Self motivated with the ability to work on own and within a team.
- Able to grasp technical concepts and new product functionality quickly.
- Ability to work to tight timescales.
- Able to be flexible and adapt to change.
- A commitment to quality.