The Art of Technical Documentation, Second Edition [Paperback]

Katherine Haramundanis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1997

The Art of Technical Documentation, Second Edition, shows how to apply analytical thought to gather, dissect, and understand technical information and how to organize and present it for the reader of print and on-line material. This book has been completely updated to include new information on documentation design and development, indexing, technical editing, help systems, Web presentation, use of color, animation graphics, SGML, and HTML. The Art of Technical Documentation, Second Edition also covers issues such as working in teams with graphic designers and production departments. Questions are provided at the back of each chapter for use in the classroom.



Practical approach applies principles of technical writing to the workplace
Revised to include information on preparing on-line work, including using graphics for Web display and designing for on-line help
Includes information on creating complete information sets, containing both hard copy and on-line documentation

Editorial Reviews

Review

'...any technical communicator can benefit from the insights provided in this book...the author has done a commendable job of compiling a useful guide that touches all the bases.' - Technical Communicator

'This book provides a set of very useful guidelines for less experienced technical writers, although the most experienced will also benefit...the book is well written, using gender-neutral language, and includes invaluable examples and professional tips to illustrate Haramundanis' approach to creating technical documents of high quality. As a reader and user of innumerable technical documents and manuals in the computer and engineering industry, I wish some of these writers had read this book and followed Haramundanis' approach to technical writing.' - IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Vol.41

About the Author

Technical Program Manager, Digital Equipment Corporation

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Digital Press; 2 edition (December 31, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155558182X
• ISBN-13: 978-1555581824
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,619,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too scattered, too shallow, October 1, 2000

By 

Basilisk (Ames, IA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art of Technical Documentation, Second Edition (Paperback)

Although this might be a good book to introduce issues in technical writing to someone considering the field, it is not useful if you want anything more than a broad overview. The information it contains varies widely in depth and is sometimes dated; for example, there are several paragraphs discussing the features of dot-matrix printers but only one short and incomplete list of the types of bindings available for professionally printed documentation. For some unclear reason, two sections on editing are separated by 10 pages on usability testing. If you are actually involved in technical writing, there are better books.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Escellent reference document, April 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Technical Documentation, Second Edition (Paperback)

Most of the times, technical documentation is the poor sister at the time of creating a new product. We all have experience the frustration of reading through the manual of software or a technical product and not being able to understand what the writer is talking about. We have been frustrated because we cannot follow what is suppossed to happen and it seems as we need to read into the writer's minds.

Haramundanis book comes to the rescue, providing companies with a series of step to follow in order the create the technical documentation that should accompany any product. Following these steps, will ensure the clearest quality of these documents. I wish that some developers had read this book before marketing their products !