The problem with most documentation is that nobody reads it. The reason is simple: most documentation isn't worth reading.

For an organization of any size, the amount and complexity of information, and - if you are serious about continual improvement - the rate of change, simply overwhelm the capability of traditional writing and editing techniques. The result is documentation that is poorly written, poorly organized, ugly, inconsistent, incomplete, difficult to control, and more or less out-of-date.

We can show you how to solve this problem. We can help you produce documentation that works - documentation that is:

Readable. Readers are customers. Your documents have to fight for their attention. Using the documentation has to be easier than the alternatives (such as go and ask someone or hope for the best). If no-one reads your documents - or can't understand them - then everything else is a waste of time. In particular, your entire quality system is just an expensive fiction.

Up-to-date. Timeliness is the counterpart of readability. If no-one reads the document, then updating it is never a priority. If it is not up-to-date, then no-one will read it... The turnaround on new and revised documents should be measured in minutes, not weeks.

Well organized. Give your readers the information they need, at the level of detail they need. Help them see the big picture as well as the small. Use your documentation for process mapping and cross-functional analysis.

Consistent. Standardise your terminology. Analyse your documentation to identify gaps and overlaps. Make sure that your documents are mutually consistent.

Controlled. Be sure that readers have the latest version of precisely - and only - the documents they need, and are familiar with the contents.