During 18 years as a technical writer in a wide variety of industries, I’ve worked with many clients who lack experience managing technical documentation projects.

In those cases, clients often underestimate the time and effort required to facilitate a documentation project, and often choose a writer based on best-guess criteria.

I’ve watched several projects stall or fail entirely when the client learns the time and resource commitments required to produce accurate, safe, maintainable documentation.

With that in mind, Quake Lake Industries is proud to launch a Technical Documentation Advisory service to provide diverse expertise to clients who are unfamiliar with the documentation process or have had unsatisfactory results from previous documentation projects.

After discussions with the client and an analysis of any existing material, I will provide customized written recommendations for the following –

• subject matter expert resource requirements and expectations
• document templates and look-and-feel guidelines based on industry best practices
• best-practice document review processes and expectations
• a document storage strategy
• a periodic document re-review strategy
• documentation development software
• an optimal technical writer candidate profile. I will also participate in the candidate interview process, if requested

My advisory service provides the following benefits to clients and agency partners –

• an additional revenue stream for recruitment agency partners
• less time wasted recruiting and interviewing unsuitable candidates
• a greater likelihood of project success with a client understanding of what’s required to properly facilitate and support technical documentation
• a strong project platform with much of the pre-work completed
• fewer surprises

I’m happy to discuss the service or to answer any questions.

For a more detailed look at how the Technical Documentation Advisory service looks in practice, see this case study.