Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

What Makes A Good User Guide? 
Unfortunately, many of the factors affecting the quality of user guides are 
present even before the technical writer has put pen to paper so to speak 
and long before the text reaches the translator. These problems are fre-
quently impossible to correct once production of the user guide has started 
so it is essential that they be addressed from the outset. 
One of the most significant problems facing user guides is the fact that 
they are frequently a casualty of poor planning and excessively tight sched-
ules. When developing software, the primary focus for many companies is 
to make sure the product has been built and that it is working. In the grand 
scheme of things, user guides usually figure way down the list of priorities. 
Translating the user guides is an even less pressing priority. Admittedly, the 
issue of excessively tight deadlines is intrinsic to the development process 
and cannot easily be remedied because documentation cannot be completed 
until the software has been finalised and translation cannot begin until the 
documentation is complete. However, it is a truism in the translation indus-
try that translating documentation is frequently left until the very last min-
ute. This places unnecessary pressure on technical writers and technical 
translators and eats into the amount of time available for research, testing 
and refining texts. 
Setting aside organisational problems such as scheduling, there are a 
range of areas which directly affect the quality and effectiveness of user 
guides. Traditionally, issues such as audience definition, document style and 
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Software User Guides & Quality
design were ignored and user guides were often produced as an after-
thought. A turning point in the development of user guides came in 1978 
when Apple Computer Inc. launched a new breed of user guide to accom-
pany its new computer. The following is an extract from a press release is-
sued by Apple Computer Inc. to mark the launch of the guide: 
Created with foremost concern for the reader, the
book assumes no 
prior background in programming or computers. Programming is ex -
plained in everyday English with no computer jargon used. Moreover, 
with scrupulous attention to detail, the book introduces the whole com-
puter to the reader. Thus unlike programming manuals that solely teach 
a language, this book teaches a language in the context of the computer 
in which it will be executed. 
Another contrast with stereotyped programming manuals is
the 
book's 
graphic illustration and lliterary style. Using a
two-color process with 
text in black, significant information is highlighted in eye- catching 
green. Moreover, to illustrate displays, actual television displays are used 
to ensure the reader that observations on the television monitor will be
the same as those within the book. Furthermore, the manual s informal, 
slightly humorous style, makes the book truly enjoyable to read. [em-
phasis my own] (Apple Inc. 1978) 
One important point which should be made here is that the claim regarding 
the book’s lliterary style should not be taken at face value. In this case, it 
does not mean literary in the traditional sense. Instead, this book used lan-
guage devices and styles in stark contrast to previous documents with their 
dry, machine-like and “robotic” language. 
This development set a new standard in the production of user guides 
and manufacturers soon realised that good user guides could actually win 
them customers (Price 1984:7). And so, terms like usability and design be-
came part of the day-to-day vocabulary of technical writers and documen-
tation departments as user guides came to be treated like devices (Weiss 
1985:10-11). Companies learned that documentation needed to be well 
written, easy to understand, well laid out and presented, enjoyable and col-
ourful. Of course there are countless factors which play a part in the quality 
of user guides and it would be impractical to discuss each and every one of 
them here. However, it is possible to deal with a representative selection of 
factors grouped according to the general areas of user guides they relate to, 
namely: 
Appearance
, 
Content
, 
Structure
and 
Language
. 
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Technical Communication