6.0: Introduction

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In our final cohesive chapter in the text (the final chapter is broken up into stand-alone discussions of method) we will be going through the process of planning and then delivering the final goods on a given technical writing project. As we go through this chapter, we’ll draw on content from almost every chapter that has come before while also charting new ground in our discussions of things like idea generation, collaborating with folks inside and outside your team, prototyping and iterating, assessing and acquiring rights for materials, editing the final copy of your deliverable, and putting things into production and distribution. It’s a lot, but we’ll get through it!

In our discussion of each step along the way of getting a project out the door we’ll be working through this tremendous task in phases. Just like with the writing process, these phases may be highly abbreviated in situations where you know what is going on and you’re working with folks that you and your process. With that said, you will sometimes need to complete a major technical writing project from start to finish, from idea to final deliverable. In those situations, you need a plan and need a firm awareness of what is going to happen at each phase and when you need to move on. Take these phases as suggestions and guidance that can and should be tweaked situationally.