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ACST Content Standards

HelpDrawerRealmRealm AccountingMinistryPlatformGivingTest Giving_VersionsPDSACSConnectShepherdGrowth MethodHeadMasterRefresh WebsitesTrust CenterGo MethodMissionInsiteACST Content StandardsACST Policies & Guidelines
HelpDrawerRealmRealm AccountingMinistryPlatformGivingTest Giving_VersionsPDSACSConnectShepherdGrowth MethodHeadMasterRefresh WebsitesTrust CenterGo MethodMissionInsiteACST Content StandardsACST Policies & Guidelines

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thumbnailACST Content Standards

Fundamentals of Technical Writing

Analyzing the Audience

Target the appropriate audience with the text, vocabulary, technical information, examples, illustrations, and graphics in your documentation. Users of ACS Technologies software and documentation can vary in technical experience. It is better to include information that experienced users can skip rather than omit material that inexperienced users might need.

In general,

  • write for a high-school-educated user with no specialized business or computer knowledge.

  • assume that the user has basic computer skills.

  • unless writing api or other developer content, do not assume that the user has experience with operating systems, programming languages, or developer tools.

  • assume that the user has no pre-existing knowledge of the software or the system that you are documenting.

Tip: We recommend the Content Plan tool as a guide for analyzing the audience and coordinating content deliverables across various ACST content groups. Make a copy and adjust the template based on your needs. When identifying task, the goal is to document the major issues from the user perspective, not from the engineering or GUI perspective.

Last updated: May 28, 2025