{"id":1284,"date":"2015-03-17T15:30:55","date_gmt":"2015-03-17T19:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/samueldube.com\/demo\/lios\/redaction-de-documentation-technique-methode\/"},"modified":"2017-04-18T11:05:40","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T15:05:40","slug":"the-topic-based-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lios.ca\/en\/blogue\/the-topic-based-method\/","title":{"rendered":"The Topic-based Method"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In technical documentation, everyone knows the topic-based method is a must. But what is it exactly?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1163 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lios.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/11_archipel_ang.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lios.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/11_archipel_ang.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.lios.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/11_archipel_ang-151x122.jpg 151w, https:\/\/www.lios.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/11_archipel_ang-320x259.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>In the topic-based method, every topic stands alone<\/h4>\n<p>Every topic should be independent. This means that when you\u2019re developing a topic, you have to thoroughly answer all questions (who, what, how, when, why). This way, every topic becomes <b>complete in and of itself<\/b>. When topics can stand alone, they can be switched around and used in different contexts without affecting the integrity of the whole document. Imagine your documentation as a chain of islands, where every topic is an island. The subject matter is independent, but fits into the group.<\/p>\n<h4>One need, one topic<\/h4>\n<p>To properly zoom in on content, the topic has to<b> meet a need<\/b> or answer a question the user is asking, such as \u201cWhere do I start?,\u201d \u201cWhat concepts do I need to know to understand the product?,\u201d \u201cHow do I XYZ?,\u201d \u201cHow can I solve this problem?,\u201d etc. These answers will become your topics! Technically, a topic must fully answer a specific question so users find all the necessary information in one place.<\/p>\n<h4>Like every page is the first<\/h4>\n<p>As<a href=\"http:\/\/everypageispageone.com\/the-book\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Mark Baker<\/a> explains so well, in the topic-based method, \u201cevery page is page one.\u201d Since every topic is self-sufficient, we don\u2019t know in which order users will be consulting our topics. This is why we always have to <b>put users into context<\/b>. Sometimes, this means repeating elements from one topic to another. The key is saying enough to situate the users and to provide a complete and independent topic without, however, wandering from its purpose.<\/p>\n<h4>Spot-on titles<\/h4>\n<p>The title should precisely describe the subject being presented. Don\u2019t forget: the title is the users\u2019 main tool for finding the topics that are relevant to their questions. Coming up with the right title can be quite the challenge! It should be specific, but simple. It should <b>summarize the topic<\/b>, but also make it easy to find.<\/p>\n<h4>User freedom<\/h4>\n<p>With the topic-based method, users can seek out only the information they need, without having to sift through information that is not useful. Like tourists who visit a chain of islands and decide which ones to visit and in which order, users choose what they want to read and when.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more&#8230;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/everypageispageone.com\/the-book\/\" target=\"_blank\">Every page is page one<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.indoition.com\/en\/products\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">How to Write That F***ing Manual<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/techwhirl.com\/getting-started-with-topic-based-writing\/\" target=\"_blank\">Getting Started with Topic-Based Writing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In technical documentation, everyone knows the topic-based method is a must. But what is it exactly? In the topic-based method, every topic stands alone Every topic should be independent. This means that when you\u2019re developing a topic, you have to thoroughly answer all questions (who, what, how, when, why). This way, every topic becomes complete [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technical-writing-and-documentation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Topic-based Method - Lios<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lios.ca\/en\/blogue\/the-topic-based-method\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Topic-based Method - Lios\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In technical documentation, everyone knows the topic-based method is a must. 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