the role of indexing in technical communication
The success of a technical document depends heavily on the index. The task of indexing a technical document often cannot begin until insufficient time remains to do a good job. However, for many users of the document, a good index is mandatory to its usability. A good index is especially crucial for technical documents because readers tend to look up specific topics instead of reading the document from cover to cover. A poor index often frustrates readers and taints their view of the entire document. To create a good index, you have to know what makes a good index, understand the indexing tools available, and follow the steps to producing a good index. Additionally, you must make many process decisions that affect the quality of the final index you produce. The skills and processes for creating a good index are similar to those required for most technical communication projects: methodical approach, knowledge of the users' needs, collaboration with colleagues, and testing. This paper discusses how to create a good index and how to make decisions about using personal computer word-processing tools to create an index. It also discusses the feasibility of creating maintainable indexes using these tools.
role indexing communication documentation task timing users usability read tools process affect quality skill project knowledge collaboration test paper personal computer