PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
LEARNING REPORT 2
Hadi Alhamdani TCID 2090 | Halhamda@uccs.edu
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | 1
SUMMARY
My recent conference experience on document design has
allowed me to gain insight into becoming a better technical
writer. During that week, I was exposed to many elements that
play an integral role in document design such as data
representations, visuals, graphs, and analysis. The following
technical tools were very useful and showed significant positive
results when in application in many examples and scenarios
that were given.
These crucial skills will allow the feasible and effective
representation of concepts, proposals, and ideas in a multitude
of forms such as images or bar graphs. These key items in
design visuals will help communicate ideas more clearly and
effectively and as a result show data in understandable form.
Ultimately, it will become easier to read and navigate
documents and communicate effective solutions to given
challenges.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | 2
Efficiency
•
Technical writing tools
allow data and information
to be effectively
communicated reducing
time needed to understand
or refer back to a
document.
BETTER TECHNICAL
WRITERS
ORGANIZATION
Organization in its basic form is simple, but effective organization is much more
challenging. Consistency will be a key factor and can be achieved by setting
summaries in the forms of introductions and conclusions which sum up your
ideas. Furthermore, the use of bold headings relevant to your topic will make
the document more viewable and manageable.
DESIGN VISUALS
Va l u e d
Document
•
Relevant visuals can
increase the level of
credibility and value the
audience perceives of a
document or presentation.
Design visuals extend beyond the simple task of adding images, but rather
integrating the images as part of your presentation. They must be relevant and
also present information which adds value to your document. In some cases,
visuals can be used to effectively portray information that’s hard to understand
through wording alone. Finally, design visuals must improve the design of a
document and aim to keep the audience engaged.
DEMONSTRATING DATA
Technical reports which clarify data in the forms of graphs and charts will
greatly increase the learning curve and understanding particular concepts. Data
that is typically presented as a list of numbers in a sentence are unlikely to have
an effect on the audience and may leave them confused or misinterpret the
scope of the information. Furthermore, it’s important to demonstrate your data
in the form that’s most suitable for your scenario. The following is an example
of integrating of the following information into an engaging easy to understand
bar graph.
G R O W T H BY S E C T O R
Communication
•
Ideas presented in a
multitude of data forms
allows the document to be
easily understood and
legible in a discussion team
or conference.
Q4
Q3
Q2
Q1
0
1
2
Sector 3
3
Sector 2
4
5
6
Sector 1
Figure 1: Example graph of growth by sector during each quarter
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | 3
RECOMMENDATIONS
In summary, the following explains the main areas of improvement in creating
stronger more influential documents and reports which effectively
communicate ideas and empowers development across the board. The
following tools are to be applied in accordance with the relevance of a particular
subject. Certain topics may require many graphs and charts to communicate
ideas while others may require tables and bullet points detailing course of
action. By analyzing the audience, we are able to create organized documents
which present information in a concise and effective manner. I have only
recently acquired and mastered these new skills but if you have these three
elements considered in your document design, you will be able to create easy to
understand documents that will leave a strong positive impression on your
audience.