My attempt to answer "what is technical writing" for myself

[Amelia]

I'm a visual learner so I made a diagram. Yes I'm that person.

At the center is the user. Always the user. Surrounding them is the content—words, images, structure. Surrounding that is the context—where and when they're accessing it. Surrounding THAT is the technology—the tools delivering the content. And all of it is influenced by research and testing.

That's my current mental model anyway. It helps me see how everything connects. The words matter but so does the device they're reading on and so does whether they're at home or in a hurry and so does whether the information is actually accurate. It's a system not a document. My diagram is messy and probably wrong in some ways but it's helping me organize my thinking.

Anyone else use weird mental models to make sense of this field?

 

[PatrickRR]

I'm a visual learner so I made a diagram. Yes I'm that person.

At the center is the user. Always the user. Surrounding them is the content—words, images, structure. Surrounding that is the context—where and when they're accessing it. Surrounding THAT is the technology—the tools delivering the content. And all of it is influenced by research and testing.

That's my current mental model anyway. It helps me see how everything connects. The words matter but so does the device they're reading on and so does whether they're at home or in a hurry and so does whether the information is actually accurate. It's a system not a document. My diagram is messy and probably wrong in some ways but it's helping me organize my thinking.

Anyone else use weird mental models to make sense of this field?

My model is way less sophisticated—I literally just draw stick figures holding papers and write "what do they need??" above their heads. But your user-centered approach is exactly what my professor keeps drilling into us. She says if you don't know who you're writing for, you're just throwing words into the void.

The context ring is what I always miss. I write beautiful instructions assuming ideal conditions, but real life is messy. People are tired, distracted, reading on broken screens. Your model forces you to consider that. It's humbling but necessary.