When running projects, your startup company needs to record everything accurately. However, technical documentation can be rather tedious work and you might not handle it effectively with a small team. This is another area where outsourcing will be a lot of help. But how do you do it to get the best results? Let’s dissect this further.
Why You Might Want To Outsource Technical Documentation
Technical documentation is arguably one of those internal processes you might not always readily outsource. That is because it often requires an intimate knowledge of your business processes that only internal employees would be familiar with. Note that this isn’t just about the recording of the process. The documentation team also needs to know how to present this information the right way for end-users.
However, there are several reasons why you might want to outsource your technical writing needs. Note that these reasons relate to each other. Thus, you need to know which ones exactly apply to your business case to better plan out your outsourcing strategy.
Greater Cost Efficiency
Often, one of the arguments that get thrown here is “why not just hire additional technical writers?” While it is indeed a straightforward solution, it might not be entirely feasible for a small startup company like yours. After all, good technical writers don’t come cheap. And beyond salary, you also need to provide training and other support tools to help them get accustomed to the work.
With an outsourced writing team, they would be the ones to handle all of that training for you. As such, you can readily deploy them after signing up. That ensures that the documentation process remains continuous.
High-Quality Documentation
At the other end of the spectrum, some startups simply hand over the work to their in-house project team instead of hiring writers. This solution is arguably much cheaper than even outsourcing. But the quality can suffer, especially if your team has no prior experience in documentation work.
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Outsourced writers have worked with different types of documentation processes. So even if they are new to your project processes, you can expect them to adapt and produce high-quality outputs quickly. Further, they can provide you with additional insights on improving the work. That gives you more value for the work you sent out.
Flexibility
Another great thing about outsourced documentation services is that they can provide greater flexibility for you. This element is particularly vital for agile projects that can change faster than regular ones.
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An outsourced technical writing team can quickly adapt to those changes without you having to allocate additional resources to them. This isn’t just about increasing the number of writers as needed. Good technical documentation providers can also bring in members who might be more knowledgeable about the changes.
The Challenges Of Outsourcing Technical Documentation
While the above gives your startup company a good reason to outsource its technical documentation needs, you should also be aware of the challenges. These will influence the way that you will implement the outsourcing plan.
The main challenge you will encounter is bringing the outsourced writing team in. You might need to revise your current documentation process to match theirs. For instance, if you are implementing a new system for that purpose, you will need to migrate your project data into it. You might also need to revise your project schedule to accommodate such changes.
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There is also the concern that you might be bringing in technical writers a bit too early. The problem here is that the project they are supposed to be documenting might not be mature yet. This can create inconsistencies as the project might change significantly while documentation is going on. In this situation, it would be cumbersome to go back and have the earlier documentation revised to accommodate later changes.
Ensure that project development is stable before bringing in an outsourced technical writing team. In the meantime, you can start documentation on the parts of the project that are already fixed. That will give the incoming team a better head start without having them join too early.
Technical Documentation Outsourcing Strategies For Your Startup Company
Once your startup company has the outsourced technical writing team signed up, you need to get them onboard effectively. The first thing to do is introduce them to the project teams. It gives them a better opportunity to understand the processes and products they are documenting. The project teams can also provide suggestions on the writing direction to best serve end-user needs.
Providing Enough Information
A vital aspect of your startup company outsourcing its technical documentation process is providing the external team access to all the information they need. Here, you need to accomplish two things:
- Information should be readily available for use by the team
- It is comprehensive enough to cover all the potential topic areas that they might write about
Having an extensive knowledge base will help you fulfill the above conditions. Beyond that, you would also want to ensure that they communicate with the project team. This will let them freely ask questions about matters they might not find in the knowledge base.
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But since they are handling sensitive project information, you need to ensure that your outsourcing provider has ample data protection in place. Enforce strict non-disclosure agreements for the writing team.
Setting Up The Review Process Your Startup Company Will Use
To ensure that the documentation process goes accordingly, you need to have an accompanying review process in place. The review team will often be composed of the editor for the writing team, the project manager, and a member of the higher management. Their goal is to ensure that the written technical content meets standards and fulfills their intended goals.
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Ensure that the review process is integrated smoothly into the outsourced team’s workflow. The idea is that the writers should be able to easily send drafts and get feedback in the shortest time possible. This gives them enough time to make revisions and deliver quality content.
Get The Best Technical Writers For Your Startup Company
Effective technical documentation can mean a lot of the success of your startup company projects. And you don’t need to look further for the best technical writers. Virtua Solutions’ virtual assistants are ready to handle the job for you. Sign up with us today.