Technical Writers and Visual Perception Principles: Skills, Ability and Training

Megan CASEY, Marielle PESCHET, Anaïs TANZÉ

Paris Cité University, July 15, 2022

Abstract

As technology evolves, so does technical writing. New media is used to
convey information more efficiently and yet, technical documentation is not
always very clear. As technical writers, we have general knowledge on what
structures are expected to be the easiest to recognize and follow. We want
our documentation to be read and understood and with that in mind, we are
constantly searching for the best layout to contain our pieces of information.
These elements tie in to cognitive psychology and more specifically visual
perception. But do technical writers study cognitive psychology? And if they
do, do they apply its principles in their work?
This research article examines the relationship between technical writers
and visual perception principles of cognitive psychology.
With the use of a survey and a practical test on applied knowledge of
Gestalt principles, this study analyzes and assesses whether or not technical
writers have studied visual perception and if so, what differences there are in
identifying the principles of visual perception between technical writers who
have studied visual perception and those that have not.
The results gathered show that most technical writers have no knowledge
of visual perception principles. Nonetheless it does not prevent them from
being able to recognize when an element of a layout needs improvement for
clarity, legibility, understanding and overall ease of use. They are able to
justify their answers almost as well as trained technical writers.

Read the full article in PDF: Technical Writers and Visual Perception

Are technical communicators the secret asset of a healthy enterprise culture?

Alexandra ATES, Eléonore CASSAGNE, Richard DEBRABANT

Université de Paris, 2019-2020

Abstract

You spend one third of your life at work. You see your colleagues much more often than you see your friends or family, which is one of the reasons why it is important to be part of a team where you feel happy and motivated enough to carry out projects throughout your professional career. Several elements lead you to nurture —intentionally or unintentionally— these relationships within your own firm either in a positive or negative way, and greatly affect your productivity.

Technical writers are employees who communicate with customers or people in their firm. They collect as much information as possible to document projects and be aware of the modifications to be made in case of plan changes. Thus, with experience, they have learned how to behave so that professional conversations go smoothly, contacts last for a long time and they make progress in their work.

This position might suggest that they have a fairly important role in their company’s activity in addition to their daily tasks… But to what extent?

Read the full article in PDF: Are technical communicators the secret asset of a healthy enterprise culture?

What are the Stakes and Difficulties of Working with Experts?

Olympe Lebon, Althéa Geneix, Johan Lefebvre

Paris Diderot University, September 15th 2020

Abstract

A technical writer has a key role within a company. He works with people with various functions. He’s asking developers for advice and feedback to build the user guide of their product. He’s connected and dealing with every part of the team: developers, testers, managers, product experts, etc. to produce documentation that is as clear as possible for the user, and depending on the product, the user’s life can depend on his work. Most of the time, this interaction is a very rich and fulfilling experience.
But how to find the right place between the different services of a company? Communicating with developers is not always easy: they often don’t have time to spend with a technical writer. Receiving feedback from testers can be troublesome, sometimes you don’t get information unless asking clearly for it. Many uninformed people think that being a technical writer is just writing sentences and that anyone can do it. It happens sometimes that even people in their own team don’t recognize the work and the importance of the technical writer. This article explores the difficulties a technical writer can encounter when working with experts.

Read the full article in PDF: What are the Stakes and Difficulties of Working with Experts?