Presentation - Converting Technical Documentation Department to UX

The big change

Traditional technical writers usually create instructions and help files after a product is finished. Drillen's team made a major shift: instead of writing about the product later, they now help design the actual words users see inside the product, right from the start. Think of buttons, labels, menus, error messages, and short tips that guide you through an app. The goal was to make products so clear that people barely need a separate help manual.

Getting buy-in

The change wasn't easy. Drillen had to convince leaders, product managers, designers, and engineers that her team belonged in early design meetings. She did what she called a "traveling roadshow," giving short, persuasive presentations again and again to win support. She also involved her writers in the transformation, started small with pilot projects, and shared wins to build momentum. One early success was an infection-prevention product launched during COVID. Because the words inside the app were so clear, customers could teach themselves how to use it.

Tech writer vs. content designer

The main difference is when they work. Tech writers write content after a product is built. Content designers work during the design phase, shaping the words users will see while using the software. Content designers need to know UX principles, work closely with designers and engineers, write clear and short copy, test it with real users, and use design tools like Figma.

Team structure and roles

PointClickCare has three design groups: content design, UX research, and UX design. Drillen's team includes a content strategist (who creates style guides and templates), content designers (who work on brand-new products), and content writers (who handle updates to existing products and any help files still needed). She used a skills matrix and a five-star rating system so each writer could see their strengths and gaps, then enrolled the whole team in UX writing courses from the UX Content Collective.

Results

After embedding content design into the UX process, the team's help files shrank to about one-fifth of their old size. Users could find answers inside the app instead of hunting through documents.

Tools they use

Pendo powers their in-app guides, resource hub, and interactive walkthroughs that appear only when users need them. Writer is an AI-powered tool that acts like a smart spell-checker, keeping everyone's writing within company style rules. They use AI mainly to brainstorm ideas, not to write final copy, because AI tends to be wordy and content design is about being short and clear.

Q&A highlights

Drillen explained that content designers handle all the words, while UX designers handle layout and workflow. She noted that this approach works best for software, not so much for hardware manuals. She also clarified that marketing content, support portal articles, and FAQs are owned by other teams, but her group handles everything inside the actual product. In-app help is still written by humans in Pendo, though AI features may join in soon.

Overall, the talk was a practical guide for technical writing teams that want to move into UX and stay valuable as products get smarter and simpler.

Link to presentation is below (registration required):

Evolution of Technical Writing: Transforming to a UX Content Design Team