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Technical writers are typically responsible for creating, standardizing, and maintaining documentation. This includes, and is certainly not limited to, designing and writing training guides and user manuals for given products and/or processes. To be successful, a technical writer must understand and analyze the business for each client or project.

Technical writers usually need to have technical knowledge to comprehend technical programs/data as well as the ability to transform technical data into an easy-to-use format for both technical and non-technical users with knowledge of industry documentation standards. Technical writers should also possess the ability to effectively communicate with both technical and non-technical users.

It is fair to say that, in general, the goal or focus of a technical writer is on creating and maintaining single-language content. However, in today’s world, where most companies are reaching out to a global audience, it would be beneficial if technical writers would keep in mind that the content they are creating will most-likely be translated into several languages. The industry standard for localization ranges from 35 to up to nearly 100 languages for consumer documentation (i.e. Microsoft translates its materials into 106 languages currently).

From a localization provider/manager’s point of view, it would be great to consider the following when writing technical content for a global audience:

• Reusability of content
  Either when creating new content or when reusing existing content think about how the content will be used. For example, content from product documentation is usually reused for marketing materials, i.e. video scripts, product flyers, website etc.
• Terminology and Glossaries
  Stick to existing terminology; if new terminology needs to be created, it is highly recommended to confirm terms with product managers and marketing executives.
• Graphics
  Can text for graphics be applied outside of the graphic instead of in the graphic? If so, this makes a much smoother translation process in multi-lingual documentation especially when the text also needs translation.

If possible, avoid including cultural references as these can become a challenge when translating for a foreign audience.