Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Instructions
Instructions are one of the mainstays of technical communication. Techni-
cal writers will probably write more instructional documents than any other 
type of document (Markel 2003:583). While it is convenient to speak of in-
structions simply in terms of user guides, there are, in fact, several types of 
instructional document each of which has its own particular content, format 
and audience. Repair manuals, for instance, are designed for readers who 
are not necessarily the actual users of the product. Most likely the readers 
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Technical Communication 
will be engineers. As such, a repair manual will not explain how to use the 
product but rather will provide step-by-step information on diagnosing 
problems and remedying them. Since the readers can usually be assumed to 
have quite specialist knowledge, this type of document will have specialised 
terminology and will assume a high level of expertise. As such, certain in-
formation will be implicit, e.g. in the case of a machine, the manual may 
not state that a certain type of spanner needs to be used to remove an M15 
hexagonal bolt.
Similarly, administration guides are also aimed at an advanced audience. 
Generally written for IT systems, the audience for this type of document 
are system administrators who are generally IT experts. As such, they are 
not concerned with the day-to-day tasks of ordinary users but rather in 
managing, configuring and monitoring the system. An administration guide 
will provide complex and specialised information relating to the inner 
workings of the system and will often contain information on diagnosing 
problems, optimising performance and customising the system.
User guides, however, are aimed at people who need know how to use 
the product. Often these readers will have no prior knowledge of the prod-
uct and need to be taught how the product relates to their daily tasks and 
how to use the product to perform these tasks. Such documents will gener-
ally proceed from general to specific information, making sure that all new 
terms and concepts are adequately explained to ensure that readers do not 
become confused. The exact content of a user guide may vary depending 
on the level of users involved, e.g. a beginners guide, an intermediate guide 
and so on. 
One of the primary aims of instructional documents is first and foremost 
to ensure the safety of the reader and to prevent accidental damage to the 
product. Instructional documents must anticipate the types of mistakes 
readers are likely to make and warn them well in advance before they make 
these mistakes. Once the relevant safety information has been provided, the 
next task of instructional documents is to ensure that readers know what 
they need to do and know how to do it. In order to do this, it is essential to 
understand the audience, what they know and what they need to do.