What are the key roles of a technical writer in mobile communications?
Learn from the community’s knowledge. Experts are adding insights into this AI-powered collaborative article, and you could too.
This is a new type of article that we started with the help of AI, and experts are taking it forward by sharing their thoughts directly into each section.
If you’d like to contribute, request an invite by liking or reacting to this article. Learn more
— The LinkedIn Team
Mobile communications is a fast-growing and dynamic field that requires clear, accurate, and engaging documentation for various audiences and purposes. Technical writers play a key role in creating and maintaining such documentation, whether it is for developers, users, customers, or regulators. In this article, you will learn about the main roles of a technical writer in mobile communications, and how they contribute to the success of mobile projects and products.
One of the most common and important roles of a technical writer in mobile communications is to create user documentation. This includes manuals, guides, tutorials, help pages, FAQs, and other materials that help users understand how to use a mobile device, app, service, or feature. User documentation should be user-friendly, concise, and consistent, and follow the best practices of usability and accessibility. A technical writer should also be able to test the user documentation for accuracy, clarity, and functionality, and update it as needed.
-
Nohr Tillman
Technical Liaison | Root Cause Analyst
The problem with documenting (auto)mobile electronics for the user is…it’s never done. As soon as developers/marketers change their mind and broadcast an “update” the UI structure changes. Often drastically. Any user guide which had been written must be written…again. Users want a step by step checklist on how to get to what they want to do. Updates change where that “want to do” is, tossing out any previous instructions published. Not a new problem. User documentation chasing after multiple iterations of software-driven UI has been a challenge since the very first soft-key menus. Touch screen interfaces increase that documentation exponentially.
5
-
Saumya Sunder
Strategic Product Information Developer helping businesses sky rocket product adaption | Technical Writing | API Documentation | Measuring Documentation Performance
While the documentation for mobile communication looks simple, it is slightly complex. Writing for multiple devices with variable menus and navigation is challenging. It would be a task to cover documentation for all devices and requires careful planning and use of STE principles. Taxonomy and UX matter the most here as you write for a varied audience with multiple devices.
(edited)2
Another role of a technical writer in mobile communications is to create developer documentation. This includes API reference, code samples, SDK documentation, technical specifications, design documents, and other materials that help developers create, integrate, or modify mobile applications, platforms, or systems. Developer documentation should be comprehensive, precise, and structured, and follow the standards and conventions of the programming languages and frameworks used. A technical writer should also be able to collaborate with developers, engineers, and testers, and use tools such as Git , Sphinx , or Swagger to manage and generate the developer documentation.
-
Phil Americus
For the last sentence, I would say that the API Technical Writer should be able to collaborate with developers and use tools, such as Git, Postman, and Swagger. Being able to run the APIs oneself is highly advantageous to the documentation process.
2
-
Dera Okeke
Software Engineer | Developer Advocate | Technical Writer
I've always been a fan of "test-driven documentation". As an API technical writer or a technical writer for developer documentation, it's important to test and ensure that the product features work as intended by the developers or product owners. Test-driven documentation aims to improve upon typical approaches to documentation. There are numerous advantages to this approach: - ability to test and understand features to provide valuable feedback to stakeholders about how intuitive a feature is. - ability to sift through content to determine what the audience needs to learn. - ability to detect bugs and report to product teams before feature releases. - ability to create code examples that are easy to scan and understand.
2
A third role of a technical writer in mobile communications is to create marketing documentation. This includes brochures, flyers, web pages, blog posts, white papers, case studies, and other materials that promote or showcase a mobile product, service, or solution. Marketing documentation should be persuasive, engaging, and informative, and follow the tone and style of the brand identity. A technical writer should also be able to research the market, the competitors, and the target audience, and use tools such as WordPress , Canva , or Mailchimp to create and distribute the marketing documentation.
-
Achmad Rizal Kurniawan
Technical Writer @ SPE Solution | Creating Clear and Concise Documentation
Technical writers for marketing documentation play a critical role in helping companies effectively communicate their value propositions, engage customers, and drive sales. They must balance technical knowledge with persuasive writing skills to convey complex information in a compelling and accessible way.
1
-
Mayur Dhage
Marketing documentation may involve the box labels, Techincal spec data, whitepapers about latest release and technology and brochures of the different products.
A fourth role of a technical writer in mobile communications is to create regulatory documentation. This includes policies, procedures, standards, contracts, agreements, licenses, and other materials that comply with the legal, ethical, and security requirements of the mobile industry. Regulatory documentation should be formal, accurate, and consistent, and follow the rules and regulations of the relevant authorities and organizations. A technical writer should also be able to review and edit the regulatory documentation for quality and compliance, and use tools such as Microsoft Word , Adobe Acrobat , or DocuSign to create and manage the regulatory documentation.
-
Mayur Dhage
All the electronic devices has regulatory impact on it. It is necessary to have the product approved by regulatory of the that country or group of countries. This documentation is mecessary to get the regulatory approval and release in the market.
(edited)
A fifth role of a technical writer in mobile communications is to create training documentation. This includes courses, modules, lessons, quizzes, assessments, and other materials that teach or test the skills and knowledge of mobile users, developers, customers, or employees. Training documentation should be educational, interactive, and adaptive, and follow the principles and methods of instructional design and adult learning. A technical writer should also be able to design and develop the training documentation using tools such as Articulate , Captivate , or Udemy , and evaluate and improve the training documentation based on feedback and analytics.
-
Achmad Rizal Kurniawan
Technical Writer @ SPE Solution | Creating Clear and Concise Documentation
Technical writers for training documentation contribute to the success of training and development initiatives by ensuring that learners have access to well-structured, easy-to-understand materials that empower them to acquire new skills and knowledge effectively.
-
Nadia Gaganova
Lead Technical Writer at ABBYY
In my experience, the technical writer can often be a stand-in for the user who doesn't know much about the product. That helps them to look at the product from the outside and ask all the right questions for a newbie, something the development team can find hard after being steeped in the product for a long time.
A sixth role of a technical writer in mobile communications is to create content strategy. This includes planning, creating, delivering, and managing the content for mobile projects and products, and aligning it with the business goals, user needs, and technical capabilities. Content strategy should be strategic, holistic, and collaborative, and follow the best practices of content management and governance. A technical writer should also be able to conduct content audits, analysis, and research, and use tools such as Google Analytics , Trello , or Airtable to organize and optimize the content strategy.
-
Ashok A. S
Lead Technical Writer at Ericsson Global India Private Limited
Analyzing, categorizing, and taking corrective actions for the feedbacks on a periodic basis helps to optimize the content quality to avoid the similar issues across the documentation.
-
BRIAN JOHNSON ONGIGE
Technical writer (Qatar Rail)
Technical Writers play a bigger role in the modern technology and precisely in mobile communications through providing brief and clear documentation which actually improves efficient collaboration. Due to the quick development of technology and more specifically the advancement in mobile communications, it is necessary to express complicated ideas and processes straightforwardly
3
-
Chukwuemeka Maduka
Expert Web Developer, Digital Marketer & Technical Writer. || I Build Responsive Websites/blogs & help BUSINESSES increase their website traffic ORGANICALLY from Zero to 50K/month in 10 months or less via SEO.
Technical writers in mobile communications bridge the gap between technical experts and end-users. They create user manuals, collaborate with technical experts, conduct user research, maintain documentation standards, and stay up-to-date with mobile technologies. Their work ensures that mobile devices, applications, and services are accessible and user-friendly for a wide range of individuals.
3