Profession technical communicator

Technical communicators prepare clear, concise and professional communication from product developers to users of the products such as online help, user manuals, white papers, specifications and industrial videos. For this, they analyse products, legal requirements, markets, customers and users. They develop information and media concepts, standards, structures and software tool support. They plan the content creation and media production processes, develop written, graphical, video or other contents, generate media output, release their information products and receive feedback from the users.

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Personality Type

• Artistic / Enterprising
• Artistic / Investigative

Knowledge

• Cognitive psychology

  The human mental processes such as attention, memory, language use, perception, problem solving, creativity and thinking.

• Product usage risks analysis

  The methods to analyse product associated risks, in possible customer environment, their magnitude, consequences and likely outcomes in order to mitigate them by warning messages, safety instructions and maintenance support.

• Visual presentation techniques

  The visual representation and interaction techniques, such as histograms, scatter plots, surface plots, tree maps and parallel coordinate plots, that can be used to present abstract numerical and non-numerical data, in order to reinforce the human understanding of this information.

• Multimedia systems

  The methods, procedures and techniques pertaining to the operation of multimedia systems, usually a combination of software and hardware, presenting various types of media such as video and audio.

• ICT software specifications

  The characteristics, use and operations of various software products such as computer programmes and application software.

• Documentation types

  The characteristics of internal and external documentation types aligned with the product life cycle and their specific content types.

• Publishing strategy

  The methods, rules, media and tools of publishing content from content management systems in single sources or cross media.

• Content development processes

  The specialised techniques used to design, write, compile, edit and organise digital content, such as text, graphics and videos for publishing purposes.

Skills

• Develop ICT safety information

  Create warning messages such as dialog boxes, in-place message, notification or balloon that alerts the user of a condition that might cause a problem in the future and provide safety information according to standards under usage of international signal words.

• Structure information

  Organise information using systematic methods such as mental models and according to given standards in order to facilitate user information processing and understanding with respect to the specific requirements and characteristics of the output media.

• Compile content

  Retrieve, select and organise content from specific sources, according to the requirements of the output media such as printed materials, online applications, platforms, websites and video.

• Conduct content quality assurance

  Carry out validation of content by reviewing it according to formal and functional quality, usability and applicable standards.

• Identify ICT user needs

  Determine the needs and requirements of ICT users of a specific system by applying analytical methods, such as target group analysis.

• Manage content metadata

  Apply content management methods and procedures to define and use metadata concepts, such as the data of creation, in order to describe, organise and archive content such as documents, video and audio files, applications and images.

• Gather technical information

  Apply systematic research methods and communicate with relevant parties in order to find specific information and evaluate research results to assess the information's relevance, relating technical systems and developments.

• Integrate content into output media

  Compile and integrate media and text content into online and offline systems, such as websites, platforms, applications and social media, for publishing and distribution.

• Apply ICT terminology

  Use specific ICT terms and vocabulary in a systematic and consistent manner for documentation and communication purposes.

• Provide technical documentation

  Prepare documentation for existing and upcoming products or services, describing their functionality and composition in such a way that it is understandable for a wide audience without technical background and compliant with defined requirements and standards. Keep documentation up to date.

• Develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements

  Create professionally written content describing products, applications, components, functions or services in compliance with legal requirements and internal or external standards.

• Manage information sources

  Identify relevant internal and external information sources and providers. Organise the information workflow and define information deliverables.

• Apply tools for content development

  Use specialised content development tools such as content and terminology management systems, translation memory systems, language checker and editors to generate, compile and transform content according to specified standards.

• Provide written content

  Communicate information in written form via digital or print media according to the needs of the target group. Structure the content according to specifications and standards. Apply grammar and spelling rules.

• Interpret technical texts

  Read and understand technical texts that provide information on how to perform a task, usually explained in steps.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB