Technical documentation

Technical documentation (also: Technology Documentation or product documentation ) includes all documents that describe a technical product. Prepares you for the information on the systematic and structured it so that the respective purpose is completely fulfilled. The technical documentation is most clearly associated with the product documented on name and number systems.

• 8.1 Special linguistic features

Purpose of the technical documentation

The technical documentation is for information and instruction defined target groups, the legal liability protection of the manufacturer, product monitoring, traceability and reproducibility as well as the permanent or legally required archiving of relevant information content.

The components of the technical documentation provide information about the product itself, dealing with it and about the behavior of users. You look at all life stages of the product, from development to disposal, partly including the preparation of the precursors.

Internal and external technical documentation

The technical documentation is made between internal and external technical documentation:

• The internal technical documentation is intended for internal archiving of all product-relevant documents and the verification required to have complied with all legal obligations. It covers the entire product life cycle from product planning, development, launch and product monitoring to adjust the product. The information remains in the normal case the manufacturer, who archived permanently and currently holds throughout the life of the product. Typical ingredients are specifications, calculation notes, test reports, risk assessments, technical drawings and production documents, evidence of quality assurance measures as well as all external technical documentation of the product.

• The external technical documentation serves to inform the operators and users of the product and ensures that the product is safe and taken as intended in operation, used, maintained and, if necessary, can be discarded.

Specific subtypes of technical documentation resulting from legal requirements such as the obligation to deposit with Notified Bodies (Example: Technical documentation according to Directive 94/9/EC " ATEX ").

Legal foundations

To ensure the safety of products, require governmental laws and regulations of private law organizations, manufacturers and installers of technical products for the provision of technical documentation.

In the EU, the relevant EC directives such as the Machinery Directive, the ATEX Directive, the Low Voltage Directive and the Pressure Equipment Directive and the GPSD are mentioned, which were implemented by the Member States into national law (eg German Product Safety Act or the Medical Devices Act ).

In case of loss leads an incorrect technical documentation for liability of the manufacturer, the ( 823 Liability for Damages §) as well as any individual contractual obligations arising from the Product Liability Act, the Civil Code.

Standardize

Standards and guidelines to create the DIN, VDE, VDI and CEN. In the English language does not distinguish between norms and standards. Created international standards and provides, among other things, the ISO ( which is registered as the world's coordinating standardization institution in the United Nations ). Standards of national organizations like the American ANSI or the Russian GOST find also international recognition. Other standardization bodies found, for example in the IEC, IMO, IATA and ICAO, which organize their work partly directly with the ISO and coordinate.

Guidelines for the design of technical documentation and user information are available in the form of rules and guidelines that EN 82079 or the guideline VDI 4500. Documentation for power plants is governed by the VGB guideline VGB R171, delivery of technical documentation for fossil-fuel and renewable power plants.

The EN 61355 regulates the classification and labeling of the technical documentation documents for plants, systems and facilities.

For the physical management of written and electronic documents, the international standard ISO 15489 ( Records Management / Records Management ) is applied.

Terminology ( terminology ) technical product documentation regulates, inter alia, DIN 199

Documentation system

The work on a documentary is a predictable activity. Therefore, a systematic production and technical documentation should follow a plan, which in turn expanded and changed during processing.

Structure

The technical documentation must be logically organized and structured. To facilitate handling, certain documents are grouped together thematically or analogous to the structure of the product and managed with modular document lists and tables of contents. For the purpose of traceability of revision levels, a change history is common. A plastic overview of the documentation system provide standards such as DIN 6789th

A certain structure supports a selected view of a portfolio of documentation. Therefore, this structure can not meet all the requests simultaneously to the same extent. Between a specific structure and possible further specific interests of a different order gives an index.

Structuring methods

In particular, the User Information for high demands clarity and intelligibility. In order to organize the often complex information in a clear and easily understood way, there are structuring methods, such as the information mapping technique or the functional style. These facilitate the Aufnehmbarkeit the contents and allow the user of the documents easier to find the required information. A structure also supports the creation, management, re-use and publication of content with a content management system.

Use of color and contrast in safety instructions

According to ANSI Z535.6 Safety can be black -and-white, are shown in grayscale or color. The European Standard EN ISO 12100-2 encourages the use of color in the following senses: ". The use of color should be considered, particularly for components that require rapid recognition " Colors can ( Concentrated or brightened in different intensity by scanning ) and are used for various purposes. In particular, in the design of symbols and pictograms aims to use the color from it, highlight and don'ts significantly. The use of colors is to make sure the same always be marked with the same color and make the sign of contrast. Also note that even users with low vision ( red-green weakness, color blindness ) can interpret the safety properly must. When creating the safety instructions of the contrast between the background and signal word should be as large as possible. In order to ensure a uniform quality standard for the use of signal colors, typical values ​​for the respective signal colors are defined in the American and European standards. As a guide for color printing serve the requirements of ANSI Z535.1 or, alternatively, the European standard EN 61310-146 and the international standard ISO 3864-4. While the ANSI standard uses the Munsell color system, the European Directives in the RGB or CMYK color model is used. The individual color impression always differs somewhat from the target, which in practice is however not a big problem. The table color signal the color signal values ​​for the different colors in the different color systems are optically illustrated.

Technical languages

Technical documentation uses a in the respective community of users (community) common nomenclature and a highly specialized language bank. Users of this language will be familiar good at foreign readers will need to be convergent on Thesauri this language.

Special linguistic features

The user information is also linguistically addition to structuring methods a type of text with certain primary objectives, including:

• Intelligibility (see: Hamburger intelligibility concept )
• Unambiguity
• Consistency
• Translatability (see: Copywriting )

Linguistically these claims, especially in an inhomogeneous group of authors through a restricted or controlled language are met. The language includes control case, depending on the degree of control, the following rules and restrictions:

• Terminology
• Style and grammar rules (see: Simplified English )
• Syntax Rules
• Punctuation rules (Especially for further processing with translation memory systems )

This linguistic constraints are retained by a terminology and possibly by as a style guide and can be supported by appropriate Sprachprüfprogramme ( Controlled Language Checker ).

Different languages

Since industrial products are often exported to a number of countries due to their high degree of specialization, external documentation and user information are mostly translated into a number of national or regional languages ​​. In order for these translations can be carried out cost, technical writers should already respect to the requirements of translation-oriented writing during creation. This topic will be discussed today under the heading of localization. To support a high-quality translation and translation memory systems are used, the sinngemäßg not only translate individual words, but certain parts of sentences and save.

Creation of technical documentation

In the creation of technical documentation for a product all functional areas of the manufacturer should ideally be included. Specifications, functional specifications, risk analysis and documentation of the design and manufacturing created by development and design departments. Documentation of quality assurance are part of this commissioned professionals created or procured. To integrate documents from suppliers and sub - manufacturers are required by the purchasing departments.

Specifically, the preparation of external documentation requires special skills and qualifications. This task Technical writers are responsible, often in special departments - are responsible for both the editing of user information as well as for the coordination of cross-departmental process documentation - Technical editors.

Under terms

These terms are directly related to the main concept of technical documentation. They are used for different purposes and customer oriented.

• IETM - Interactive Electronic Technical Documentation
• IETP - Interactive Electronic Technical Publication
• IETM - Interactive Electronic Technical Manual

Authoring Tools

Authoring tools (English: Help authoring tools, in short: HAS ) are special software tools that allow online help and other information products are created.