Gathering and Organizing information is another task that technical communicators are required to do. Technical communicators must gather information about the product or service that they are writing about, and then must organize this information so that it is easy to read and understand.

Making information easy to find

An important part of information organization is to make the information easy to find. Readers normally don’t have much time to read technical manuals – they usually skim the manual very quickly, reading just enough to understand what is going on. To make it easier for readers to locate the information that they need, use clear titles and a logical hierarchy of topics. Make sure that each topic is not more than a few paragraphs.

Making information easy to comprehend

Although readers want to quickly skim, the more unfamiliar the information, the slower the reader must go to adequately understand it. The technical writer can facilitate comprehension by arranging topics under expressive titles that help tell a story and alert the reader to the main ideas contained in the section. For example, the following sequence of titles reveals much about the content, even before actually reading the material:

 
What is an ERP System?

How ERP Systems Help Businesses Achieve their Goals

Basic Components of ERP Systems

Supply Chain Management: From Raw Materials to Finished Goods

Basic Supply Chain Concepts

Manufacturing: Managing the Manufacturing Process

Financial: Overseeing Your Organization’s Finances

Project Planning: Achieving Goals through Rational Planning

Human Resources: Managing Your Workforce

CRM: Managing Customer Relations

Data Warehouse: Managing data for Critical Decisions

Information should be easy to read. Often, needless repetition can be eliminated or clumsy expressions can be revised so that the information is easier to read. This does not mean eliminating explanations or instructions – readers still want to read friendly sounding information and not something that sounds like a machine generated list!

Organizing information is a skill that can be learned – we learn the principles and techniques in the 
Technical Writing module.

 
The Problem

The following piece presents some information on a software program that helps you eliminate debt. How would you arrange it so that it is easier to find and understand the information?

The Debt Elimination Schedule method is designed to take all your current debt information and project a possible solution for eliminating your debt.  The solutions generally show significant savings in interest (interest that does not go to the creditor) by following the schedule instead of merely making the same current payments. Each of your debts is given a priority.  Each month, your payments are made to each debt.  Once one debt is completely paid off, then the payment that was earmarked for the paid off debt is then applied towards the highest priority debt.  This then accelerates the payment on the highest priority debt.  Loan acceleration (early payoff of a loan) is what produces your interest savings.  To sum it up--as debts are paid off, the payments for those debts are applied to the highest priority debts that have not been paid off.  Several options are available which can help accelerate and optimize your debt elimination schedule.  These include using minimum payments, applying extra payments and selecting a priority method. You may choose from among predefined priorities or you may enter your own priority by choosing the User Specified option.  The predefined methods are as follows:

The debts with the highest interest rates are paid off first.

The debts with the smallest balance are paid off first.

The debts with the largest balance are paid off first.

The debts with the smallest minimum payment are paid off first.

The debts with the largest minimum payment are paid off first.

The debts with the smallest current payment are paid off first.

The debts with the largest current payment are paid off first.

Under the current conditions, the program determines how long it will take to payoff each debt given the payment, balance and interest rate. Those debts which normally take the shortest time to be paid off are given the highest priority to be paid off first.

Under the current conditions, the program determines how long it will take to payoff each debt given the payment, balance and interest rate.  Those debts which normally take the longest time to be paid off are given the highest priority to be paid off first.

In many cases, the priority payoff option you choose will simply be a matter of preference.  However, certain options offer either real or psychological advantages.  The Highest Rate First should always yield the best results in terms of the amount of interest saved.  Simply put, the debts with higher rates are going to cost you more--so the sooner they are paid off, the better off you will be.  Many people advocate that you should pay off the smallest debts first (select Smallest Debt First or Shortest Term Debt First).  Your debts will begin to disappear quicker giving you the feeling that you are accomplishing your goal--Getting out of Debt!  This satisfaction may be well worth the few extra dollars you may pay in interest by not following the Highest Rate First method.

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