Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
June/July 2008
| Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter June/July 2008 |
Gilbert Gonzalez's presentation on "What Color is Your Book?" introduced the processes for a category of technical document that focuses far deeper than most user manuals or administrator guides. IBM is the best-known publisher with their series of Red Books; Cisco supports a series with Cisco Press; Symantec publishes Yellow Books, which Gilbert worked on. Many other large companies provide their own series of deeply technical documentation.
The typical audience for the deep docs is a geek's geek, the technician or administrator who must make all the hardware and software work together within a specific environment. At times, the various parts seem surprisingly incompatible (especially if it all comes from the same manufacturer), but portions may have been developed by predecessor companies before those companies were acquired. Additionally for Symantec, the field service and technical support personnel refer to and use the Yellow Book when working with users to solve real-world problems in installation, configuration, and product integration.
Development is prompted when a problem appears in the field that would typically require an extended site visit by not only field service, but by a developer, which requires a great deal of expense in addition to the time away from the developers primary responsibility. Because the Yellow Books provide implementation solutions that help to sell the product, portions of it are aimed at the CTO, who needs a high-level overview of the problem and solution; the technical lead, who needs a more technically detailed overview, architectural diagrams, and process flowcharts; and the developer, who needs highly detailed diagrams, flowcharts, and sample code and use cases. To see samples of the various diagrams and flowcharts, go to techpubspro.com/portfolio.html and follow the link to the presentation on "What Color is Your Book?"
Throughout the project, the writer works with the Software Infrastructure Testing (SWIFT) team, receiving information from the SMEs and acting as a funnel to place it within a well-organized document while weeding out the unnecessary pieces. This process works best if the writer has a deep technical understanding of the equipment and process, rather than a generalist's understanding. When the document is complete, members of the SWIFT team ensure that it is available to users who experience the documented problem. Selected portions of the document may be eventually incorporated in the standard documentation set.
Although the Yellow Books serve only a small audience, they make an important contribution to reducing technical support costs while increasing customer satisfaction. Find out if you can get involved with something similar at your company and enhance your department's value.