Udemy
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
Development
Web Development Data Science Mobile Development Programming Languages Game Development Database Design & Development Software Testing Software Engineering Development Tools No-Code Development
Business
Entrepreneurship Communications Management Sales Business Strategy Operations Project Management Business Law Business Analytics & Intelligence Human Resources Industry E-Commerce Media Real Estate Other Business
Finance & Accounting
Accounting & Bookkeeping Compliance Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Economics Finance Finance Cert & Exam Prep Financial Modeling & Analysis Investing & Trading Money Management Tools Taxes Other Finance & Accounting
IT & Software
IT Certification Network & Security Hardware Operating Systems Other IT & Software
Office Productivity
Microsoft Apple Google SAP Oracle Other Office Productivity
Personal Development
Personal Transformation Personal Productivity Leadership Career Development Parenting & Relationships Happiness Esoteric Practices Religion & Spirituality Personal Brand Building Creativity Influence Self Esteem & Confidence Stress Management Memory & Study Skills Motivation Other Personal Development
Design
Web Design Graphic Design & Illustration Design Tools User Experience Design Game Design Design Thinking 3D & Animation Fashion Design Architectural Design Interior Design Other Design
Marketing
Digital Marketing Search Engine Optimization Social Media Marketing Branding Marketing Fundamentals Marketing Analytics & Automation Public Relations Advertising Video & Mobile Marketing Content Marketing Growth Hacking Affiliate Marketing Product Marketing Other Marketing
Lifestyle
Arts & Crafts Beauty & Makeup Esoteric Practices Food & Beverage Gaming Home Improvement Pet Care & Training Travel Other Lifestyle
Photography & Video
Digital Photography Photography Portrait Photography Photography Tools Commercial Photography Video Design Other Photography & Video
Health & Fitness
Fitness General Health Sports Nutrition Yoga Mental Health Dieting Self Defense Safety & First Aid Dance Meditation Other Health & Fitness
Music
Instruments Music Production Music Fundamentals Vocal Music Techniques Music Software Other Music
Teaching & Academics
Engineering Humanities Math Science Online Education Social Science Language Teacher Training Test Prep Other Teaching & Academics
AWS Certification Microsoft Certification AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CompTIA A+ Cisco CCNA Amazon AWS AWS Certified Developer - Associate CompTIA Security+
Graphic Design Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Drawing Digital Painting InDesign Character Design Canva Figure Drawing
Life Coach Training Neuro-Linguistic Programming Mindfulness Personal Development Meditation Personal Transformation Life Purpose Emotional Intelligence Neuroscience
Web Development JavaScript React CSS Angular PHP WordPress Node.Js Python
Google Flutter Android Development iOS Development Swift React Native Dart Programming Language Mobile Development Kotlin SwiftUI
Digital Marketing Google Ads (Adwords) Social Media Marketing Google Ads (AdWords) Certification Marketing Strategy Internet Marketing YouTube Marketing Email Marketing Retargeting
SQL Microsoft Power BI Tableau Business Analysis Business Intelligence MySQL Data Analysis Data Modeling Big Data
Business Fundamentals Entrepreneurship Fundamentals Business Strategy Online Business Business Plan Startup Freelancing Blogging Home Business
Unity Game Development Fundamentals Unreal Engine C# 3D Game Development C++ 2D Game Development Unreal Engine Blueprints Blender
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Development Software Engineering Technical Writing

Technical Writing: Graphics For Software Documentation

How to create instructional images and infographics as a technical writer for software documentation.
Rating: 3.7 out of 53.7 (16 ratings)
1,742 students
Created by JPDocu School of Technical Writing
Last updated 12/2020
English
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

What you'll learn

  • Which rules you need to take into account from technical writing perspective when using images in documentation
  • What types of graphics you can use in software documentation
  • Which tools to use to create instructional images and graphics or infographics as a technical writer

Course content

4 sections • 19 lectures • 1h 5m total length

  • Preview06:07
  • How to Use This Course?
    00:57
  • Preview01:57

  • Preview03:32
  • When to Use Graphics in Software Documentation?
    05:05

  • Types of Graphics in Software Documentation
    00:11
  • Process Graphics
    02:32
  • Architecture Graphics
    02:33
  • Infographics
    04:34
  • Rules for Graphics in Technical Writing
    09:40

  • Tools for Creating Graphics
    00:35
  • Tools for Creating Graphics Used in This Section
    01:42
  • Exercise Procedure
    01:45
  • Exercise Goals
    00:22
  • Exercise Sample Procedure
    01:49
  • Using Microsoft PowerPoint
    01:53
  • Demo: Using Microsoft PowerPoint
    16:32
  • Using Google Slides to Create a Graphic for Documentation
    03:34
  • Other Tools to Create a Graphic for Documentation
    00:15

Requirements

  • Experience in writing software documentation

Description

Are you a technical writer who has a hard time figuring out how to create graphics and images that help the user of the documentation? Are you looking for a way to deliver the information in a simple to understand, visual way?

In this course, I am going to show you how simple and easy it can be to create graphics and images to guide your users. No complicated tools! No special software that requires weeks to get started!

Just simple strategies and free or common tools that help you deliver the visual information in a matter of minutes with no special preparations.

By the end of this course, you will learn:

- why and when to use graphics in software documentation

- what are the basic rules to consider when adding graphics to software documentation

- which tools you can use to quickly and easily create great-looking graphics“I was tired of hearing my documentation is hard to read and understand!”


Creating an instructional image or a graphic for the software documentation must be a simple and easy task. There are tools dedicated to that purpose, where the web designers have already created templates with the images your customers would use to better understand a concept or a task.

It is so simple to create a graphic that I am widely smiling when I see documentation that needs a graphic. I know that it is so easy to add one!

Years ago, I was terrified every time in my documentation I wrote needed to create a graphic to make complex information easy to understand.

I already know that the customer does not actually want to read the software documentation. Imagine all the hassle of purchasing, installing, and setting up the software. And just when you are about to begin using it - “Oh! I need to read the user manual…”. Do you think that’s fun?

If there is one thing that is so hard and at the heart of our technical writing work it is to provide the necessary instructions when they are needed. But how to deliver it, if nobody wants to read it? Doesn’t this drive you nuts too?

It’s this constant expectation towards technical writers to both write all the possible details for using the software and then dealing with the criticism that there is too much documentation, but not the needed one. Not the right one. Not easy to consume and understand.

What can you do as a technical writer? Usually, tech writers go and re-write the docu. Again. And again… they call that “work”.

But it’s still the same pile of words that the user needs to read. And every time you rewrite it, I bet you are adding even more words!

Come on, let’s be honest here, how many times you have actually deleted pages from your documentation when you were asked to make it “simple and easy to use”?

Did the complexity decrease? How about the volume of the documentation - did it grow up or down?

And you start searching for the answers. You sign up and pay for technical writing courses. You start asking questions on Quora. Try to seek advice and talk (complain) to colleagues. Wonder how to make it; restructure, change the architecture of the documentation, make more and more customer interviews to figure out how to make it more SIMPLE to use... In the end as a technical writer, what can you do?!


BURN OUT!


Constantly reworking your documentation is like telling a person with weight problems to start 3 diets at the same time, to satisfy his or her hunger!

Yeah, true, but HOW? Do you need to change the order of the documents? Do you need to invest in SEO? Do you need to write a ton of new documents? Do you need to start from scratch?

None of these tactics will make much sense unless you change the actual root cause of the problem.

What is the root cause? It’s a simple truth that people don’t read!


CUSTOMERS DO NOT WANT TO READ THE DOCUMENTATION!

Why?

One of the greatest inventions of humanity, ever, was the discovery of writing. Written words that can be put in stone or paper or on the computer screen, that can be understood by other people.

But is that easy?

We spend years at school learning to read and write. It is not a NATURAL skill that you are born with. Nobody is naturally born with the skill to read!

It is something that we learn - at school!

How do we learn to read? May I ask you to search and find a book for kids that teaches them how to read? What do you see in there?


Z is for Zebra!

Take a look again as a technical communicator! Now think - there is a Zebra image next to the Z letter. An image! Next to the letter!


Why is that? What makes the image so important?

It’s because, unlike reading, human beings are prone to understand visuals in a matter of milliseconds! Not minutes! Not seconds! But a fraction of a second!

As if our lives depend on it. And in reality that is the actual truth - our lives as humans depend on visuals and our ability to understand visual messages from the world around us.

Images activate your brain. You can understand what you see in a fraction of a second. It’s a natural skill that you were born with.

Not like reading! Reading requires conscious effort, then analysis of what you’ve read, and then understanding what you’ve read.


Do you think it is different in software documentation? Which one is easier to grasp: a 2-page long text description of the architecture of your software or the graphic that shows the different components and how they are related?

Obviously, as a technical writer, your first reaction will be: “I need to write this down!”. But if you really strive for simplicity, for made-easy-to-consume information, it is a graphic that you should be working on right this minute.


Simplicity in software documentation means you need to make the information visual! Easy to use for the customer!

Not for your manager, not for the development team you work in, not for the information architect of your project, but for the end-user who needs to understand and figure out how to use the documentation!

For the user! And for the user only!


Join me in my course on how to make graphics for software documentation and make your customers happy by offering them simple and easy to understand graphics and images!


P.S. This course comes with a 30-day full refund policy - no questions asked!

Who this course is for:

  • Technical Writers
  • Business Analysts
  • Software Developers
  • Information Developers

Instructor

JPDocu School of Technical Writing
WE TEACH SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION AND DITA! 4000+ Students!
JPDocu School of Technical Writing
  • 4.1 Instructor Rating
  • 625 Reviews
  • 4,597 Students
  • 8 Courses

Learning technical writing is easy - after all, it's just plain docu!


JPDocu School of Technical Writing is a training company that is passionate about user assistance, technical communications and making it a positive user experience. Our e-learning courses help us shape the next generation of technical writers and information developers, by providing them with simple to follow and practical, hands-on experiences with technical writing.


Our mission


Nowadays everyone talks about the professions of the future. People are scared that they are not prepared for the needs of the future of work. We believe that change is not to be feared. We believe that with the proper training, education and practical experience, our customers will be ready to meet the future with joy. The best way to concur with this fear is by studying and learning.

JPDocu School of Technical Writing transforms this fear into practical knowledge, getting people ready for the job of the future - Technical Writing. Taking our programs online allows us to reach all of you across the globe!


Our Vision


JPDocu School of Technical Writing is here to deliver top-quality e-learning courses and training (both online and on-site) that help you learn the profession of the future. We bring our courses to the world using various training platforms and interactions with our students.

  • Udemy for Business
  • Teach on Udemy
  • Get the app
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Careers
  • Blog
  • Help and Support
  • Affiliate
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookie settings
  • Sitemap
  • Featured courses
Udemy
© 2021 Udemy, Inc.