An emphasis on customer experience is about to transform the practice of technical communication. “Just get it out the door” is no longer a viable strategy, if it ever has been. Bad technical communication leads to a bad customer experience.
Understanding the hierarchy of content needs
Like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we can develop a hierarchy of content needs, as shown in Figure 1. Technical communicators must assess their practices across the entire hierarchy of content needs starting from the bottom of the pyramid.
To create truly outstanding technical information, your content must meet all of the criteria shown in the pyramid. Minimum viable content satisfies the bottom three criteria: it is available, accurate, and appropriate.
Figure 1: Hierarchy of content needs
Available
Available content means that information exists, and that the person who needs the content has ...