Writing A Software Technical Reference Manual (part 2) (
Page 1 of 6 )
With the groundwork out of the way, this concluding part
examines the standard components of a technical reference manual,
explaining what goes into each section and why. It also discusses the
process by which such a manual should be reviewed and vetted prior to
delivery to a customer.In the first part of this article, I discussed the purpose and goals of
a software technical reference manual, explaining who the target
audience usually is and how to cater to its needs. I also talked a
little bit about how to go about deciding the scope of things to be
covered in your manual, and discussed the standard components of a
stylesheet for such a manual.
In this second article, I'll build on what you've learned thus far by
putting together a sample table of contents for this type of manual, and
discussing how to break the technical material up into a format that is
both structured and easily understandable. Keep reading!
