Nobody reads the manual. With good reason: most documentation is too long, too hard to use, and boring. Traditional documentation techniques are simply not up to the task — there is too much information to deal with, changing too quickly. The result is documents that are poorly written, badly organized, inconsistent, incomplete, difficult to control, out-of-date, and ugly.

Management fails when the documentation isn’t good enough. The strategy may be right, the plan may be excellent; but if the message doesn’t get through, things don’t happen as they should.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In two days, you can learn the process and the techniques for creating documentation that actually works. Learn how to deliver more information with fewer, shorter, simpler documents: documents that make life easier for managers as well as operators.

Learn how to create documents that people will actually use. Organize your documentation so your readers can find what they need quickly and easily. Simplify your documentation audit and compliance tasks.

Content

The course examines the role that documentation plays in management, and why most documentation performs so badly. We consider different types of information, document, and reader; and we look at the techniques for creating, managing, and distributing documentation effectively.

What’s it all for: why good documentation is good management

A long tradition of bad practice: why conventional documentation doesn’t work

How documentation actually works, and what makes people use it (or not use it)

Readable documentation: the process and the power

How standard are your practices: challenges of language, literacy, and readability

Shorter documents: complex processes, simple pages

Fewer documents: organising and editing for simplicity and consistency

Who, when, and on what authority: positions, delegations, and competency

Spreading the word: hard-copy, intranet, and off-the-wall distribution

Getting your money’s worth: compliance and control really can add value

High-speed documentation: faster documents for faster management

Central to the training is the readable documentation process: a simple, easy-to-learn method for presenting information and delivering effectively to the people who need it.

Outcomes

On completion, participants will have acquired a new way of looking at documentation and will have a new understanding of their responsibilities as documenters and managers.

You will be able to --

create simple, effective documents.

prepare new and changed documents quickly.

implement better ways for bringing documents and readers together.

formulate strategies for simplifying and co-ordinating document collections.

use documentation as a management tool to implement changes quickly, accurately, and safely.

Duration

2 days

Who should attend

Documentation managers, quality and safety officers, human resources personnel, managers and staff with documentation responsibilities

Fee
(including GST)

$1 419 first participant

$1 277 additional participants booking and paying together.