A systematic, well thought-out approach to technical documentation can provide a number of benefits, for example:
- User information that is highly accessible and accurate increases the quality of your product, and improves the image of your company vis-à-vis its market
- Company-wide efforts to employ consistent terminology focuses the organization on clear communication
- High-quality user documentation can have an impact on related areas of the product—for example, complete descriptions of functionality can focus attention for testing purposes (reveal gaps or errors) and lead to usability improvements
- Well-written policies, procedures, and instructions leave less room for interpretation and enhance your message
- Buy-in of company stakeholders for the necessity of good documentation reflects a team-oriented organization
- Good user documentation that is well organized, archived, and accurate, can be reused—this ultimately saves costs in delivery to print or online contexts by virtue of not having to reinvent the wheel. Valid, up-to-date content is always usable and ready to go