Technical Writing - Useful Terms

Just in time - also called lean manufacturing - is an old concept, but it became a major part of manufacturing and delivery when Toyota Corporation saw that it was more efficient to deliver parts when they were needed rather than producing them ahead of time and warehousing them. With JIT, production is scheduled so that parts arrive at the assembly site just in time to be used.

MSRP

MSRP is probably most associated with the retail auto industry, but every business has a manufacturer's suggested retail price for its products. That's the price that's quoted when you're told how much you save with a discount. When selling cars, it's also calledthe sticker price.

OEM

Short for original equipment manufacturer, the term refers to businesses that manufacture goods that are then sold to other businesses that may re-brand them or keep the OEM brand and sell them at retail. For example, Ford Motor Company is an OEM that manufactures all Ford brands. The products are then sold to dealerships that sell them to the retail customers.

POP or POS

An acronym for point of purchase or point of sale, both terms are used to indicate the actual, physical location where goods are sold to the public. For example, a checkout at a market is a POP or POS. Tech writers often create POP displays or advertising.

ROI

Return on investment is an accounting term that indicates the relationship between the amount of money invested in a product or project relative to the amount of return or rate of profit. ROI is usually expressed as a percentage as in Our ROI for the 4th quarter was 17.5%.

TSB

A technical service bulletin is information sent from a manufacturer to service technicians telling them how to fix a problem found in a product. If, as a manufacturer, you discovered that the O-rings on your shuttle-craft were subject to failure, you would issue a TSB telling technicians what to test for and how to solve the problem.

YTD

The term year to date is used to indicate a cumulative number that represents all of the instances of a particular event taking place in the whole year up to the present date. For example, you could say that there have been 27 people hired, YTD. It's also used when talking about profits up to the present date; The company profits, YTD, are 23% higher than at the end of last year.

WIIFM

Not really a technical term, WIIFM stands for What's In It For Me? And it's a fundamental question that has to be answered whether you're writing ad copy, training, or instructions. Unless the target audience sees a benefit from doing what you're asking, there won't be a positive response.

Here's a classic example of the WIIFM factor in selling. Corporal Nemo was sent to the induction center to sell Army Life Insurance to the new enlistees. His superior officer noticed that Nemo's success rate was close to 100%. No one had ever done better than 40%, so the officer sat in to hear the corporal's technique. It was this: first he explained the basics of the policy. Then he said, "If you're killed in action, and you don't have the insurance, the government pays $25,000 to your beneficiaries. If you do have the insurance, they have to pay $500,000 to your beneficiaries" Then he paused and hit them with the WIIFM line. "So which guys do you think they're going to send into action first?"

KISS

Most of the time, KISS is translated as keep it simple, stupid. We prefer keep it short & simple because we don't think we're dealing with stupid people on either side. Basically, it means that you don't over-write or over-complicate things.

There's an old rule in writing that says, "Never use a long word when a short word will do." The same rule applies to sentences and paragraphs. Write in blocks of text that are easy to grasp and understand. Make the point clear. Organize content in a logical order.

Being a tech writer is a great job. Go interesting places, meet really smart people, learn new things and make really good money. Which is why it's such a rapidly growing profession. The down side, though, is that there are people who get into the business without knowing as much about it as they should.