how to document without dying in the attempt

““The only irreplaceable capital an organization possesses is the

knowledge and ability of its people. The productivity of that capital depends on how effectively people share their

competence with those who can use it.”Andrew Carnegie. U.S. Steel. 1919.

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1. “To document or not to document, that is the question”... Advantages and facts

It’s an ancestral requirement

The prehistoric man left us the legacy of his perspective of the world in the inner walls of his refuge and all the civilizations that followed him shared part of their knowledge in order to allow following humans to

understand where we come from and visualize future objectives

But from a practical perspective, we also document because:

Documentation Advantages

2. The most useful and popular

3. An easy way to produce documentation

Techwriting Essencial Guidelines

Style○ Use present tense.○ Use active voice.○ Use second person (you).○ Avoid 1st person (I, we, us).○ Be gender neutral.○ Use the appropriate tone.○ Write for a global audience.

Abbreviations & Capitalization○ Spell out unknown abbreviations

at the first instance.○ Don't abbreviate product names.○ Use sentence-style (lowercase)

capitalization in most instances.

Process○ Focus on document’s goal.○ Follow schemes.○ Synthesize at maximum.○ Write clearly. ○ Use short sentences. ○ Avoid acronyms. ○ Use images and diagrams○ Ask for validation (structure,

content, grammar, etc.).○ Add references, sources and

useful resources.

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Resources & Links●

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