Jang F.M. Graat

Technical documentation specialist
jang@jang.nl

Relevant Experience:

20+ years as technical author
Used a variety of CMS and Editors
Managed many translations
Member of DITA committees

Services:

Documentation Analysis & Design
Task and User Interface Analysis
Impartial Advice on Authoring Tools
and Documentation Strategies

JANG Communication

Consulting  

Optimize your documentation

Minimalist documentation puts the focus on the user. Finding information is never a goal in itself; it is the means to achieving a goal: usually this is performing a task. The users just want to know what they need to accomplish those tasks. The key in optimizing documentation is enabling users to find the right information fast. This means providing a clear structure, concise topics, controlled language and a decent index.

Optimized documentation leads to more productive and happier customers, and fewer calls to your help desk. But most of all, it enhances the public opinion of your products and thereby supports sale of your products to new customers. You can spend lots of money on marketing, but unhappy, frustrated customers can ruin what your marketing department is trying to build up.

Optimize your production process

Producing better products normally requires more effort, and therefore more time and money. In documentation, this is not always the case. Following minimalist principles and using sound reuse strategies allows you to achieve better quality documentation at lower cost.

Many tools and strategies have been developed for reuse. No tool or strategy suits all organizations. The tools you choose should provide a solution to your particular problems, without too much overkill. At the same time, the tools you use today should not keep you from moving to a better solution tomorrow.

Your path to better, more cost-effective documentation

Most tool vendors will tell you their product will solve all your problems, but how can you trust them if they do not know what your situation is? It takes more than just a couple of minutes to analyze the state of your documentation production and reach a sound and impartial advice on the options for improvement. There is no 'one size fits all' solution in this business domain, but there are perfect solutions for every individual customer. Having someone on your side who knows documentation inside out is crucial to finding that perfect solution.

To find out how your documentation can be optimized, contact Jang.