1.4 Effective versus Ineffective Business Technical Communication

When Technical Communication Has Gone Wrong

The three following examples of technical communication blunders show how ineffective systems, tools, and processes can be not only costly, but deadly. In high-stakes situations, effective technical communication is of utmost importance.

The Challenger Disaster

Effective and accurate technical communication is critical to projects at NASA. The Challenger disaster that occured in 1986 and killed the astronauts aboard—including Christa McAuliffe, the woman who would have been the first civilian in space—is a chilling example of a failed technical communications system.

According to the report, known as the Rogers Commission Report, that investigated the disaster, major failures in decision-making processes likely occurred because of misinformation and miscommunication. The scientific information calculated and relayed by NASA engineers was miscommunicated to NASA managers, who then believed the Challenger was ready to launch when it was not.1

An excerpt from the Rogers Commission Report indicates that failures in communication were central to the events of the Challenger disaster.

Pandemic Tracing Misstep

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) attempted to test and trace positive COVID-19 tests, but technical communication systems failed when software was used that was incompatible with the amount of data that needed storing. Over 16,000 positive cases of COVID-19 went unreported when those who were sharing and inputting the data did not realize that the Microsoft Excel program they were using was not accepting any more data.3

Not only does communication need to be accurate, the software communicating the technical information must be appropriate—the right software or channel, the right platform or medium, and the correct audience are all critical components to getting the messaging right.

Deadly Boeing Flights

Another example where ineffective communication could be considered not only unethical but deadly reflects the incompetence and negligence of engineers and executives at aerospace giant, Boeing. The failures in communication at Boeing in the design and release of a relatively new airliner, the 737 Max 8, are harrowing.

Official reports detailed crashes involving two 737 Max 8 airliners, one leaving from Indonesia and another from Ethiopia, killing 346 people in total. Engineers and communicators within the organization should have implemented proper training and done their due diligence to ensure instructions and manuals for piloting the airliners were competently and thoroughly communicated.4

When Technical Communication Is Done Right

Effective technical communication, like all good communication, requires having healthy, mature, nuanced conversations.5 This process begins with asking the right probing questions, researching for evidence, challenging the evidence or lack thereof, creating effective documentation, and presenting the information using the correct medium, platform, or channel.

Effective technical communication requires asking the right probing questions. Asking the right questions is critical to being an effective technical communicator, but how do you know what kinds of questions to ask in the first place? One answer might be to ask the kinds of questions that will optimize your learning goals.6 For example, one industry that is growing in the 2020s and potentially far into the future, is the advancements of technology in APIs (application programming interfaces).

API software performs tasks, streamlines complex web development processes, offers additional services to existing software, or limits software applications from accessing personal data. Technical communicators who have industry knowledge in APIs (and know how to use them) will have an advantage over those technical writers who do not.7

APIs act as interfaces between technology software and the end-user. APIs allow different software applications and services to work together in various ways; they usually communicate with each other via computers or communications technologies. APIs are used in many scenarios that a technical communicator might find useful in their career. Software that interfaces between coworkers in an organization, for example, could keep employees updated about certain projects or goals.

Effective technical communication requires researching for evidence and challenging the evidence. The process of researching the topic is critical to understanding technical processes and applications. For technical writing purposes, having a plan for research methods is a practical idea—and learning some practical methods will serve you well.

Consider the following scenario:

Imagine you inherited a property from a long-lost great aunt, and along with the large home and lawn, it came complete with a riding lawn mower that did not have any instructions for its use. How would you figure out how to use it safely?

You would like to mow the lawn safely and effectively. If you mow only part of the lawn, or the engine on the lawn mower works but it does not mow the lawn because the blades do not rotate, you did not meet your objectives.

What are the measurements of the riding mower? What is the brand? What other identifying information does the mower have that you could use to research how to use it? Would you look on the internet and find a YouTube video, or call the manager at your local hardware store? Researching in a methodical way may help you meet your objectives.

Effective research methodology usually incorporates four main elements:8

• Measurement Objectives: Having clear objectives will help you focus on why you are researching and what outcomes you hope to have.

• Data Collection: Determine which data should be collected and how you intend on collecting it, and what the most reliable source of information will be.

• Recommended Survey: Conduct a survey or look for data that support a hypothesis. Ensure that surveys or measurement tools are reliable and valid.

• Reporting a Plan: Consider how you will present your information. Will you offer a PowerPoint, or create a manual of instructions? What deadlines or performance indicators will be met to prove you’ve reached your objectives?

Effective technical writing requires effective documentation. In one study, a researcher queried a group of technical communicators to understand what types of information their audiences found most useful. When trying to help their audiences understand complicated processes they were communicating, two engineers in the study expressed that since they often “learned by doing,” they would “show” how a product worked during a live demonstration.9

Through this process, they learned some of their audience still wanted the live demonstration recorded so they could digest it later, or in a way they preferred to learn. These two engineers, one being an industry expert in 3-D printers, expressed how difficult it was to communicate the written technical process to their audience.

These engineers came to understand just how valuable a scientific technical writer would be to the process of communicating their ideas and processes. Some learners prefer written documentation to a live demonstration, and so the engineers discovered how useful writing down the how-to process was for their audience. Some of this technical communication documentation could be in the form of how-to videos, podcasts, infographics, and written documentation.10

Effective technical communication requires presenting the information using the appropriate outlet to reach the correct audience. Research shows there is usually a wide gap between how technical communication students write papers tailored to their instructors as their audience and how they are expected to communicate technical material as employees. The most pressing issue for new students entering the communications workforce is learning how to write to investors, other businesses, customers, and so forth, as the audience.

In this technical communication course, we will guide you on how to write your documentation as if you were speaking to an actual audience in real-world scenarios. But how do you tailor your tone and voice to an unknown audience? In the digital era, you must be data-driven to determine who your audience is.

Being data driven as a technical writer means you will ally yourself with computer scientists in an organization—or be able to interpret the data yourself—and impact organizational culture with a focus on interpreting data.