Position Paper on Value of Technical Publications in Automotive Engineering Industry

1. Position Paper on
Value of Technical Publications in
Automotive Engineering Industry

3. Introduction
This paper presents the value of and need for TWB – Leading Technical Documentation
quality Technical Publications in the Automotive
Outsourcing Company
Engineering industry.
TWB is a leading technical publisher with an
Technical publications include a wide variety of
excellent record of providing unmatched technical
material such as design documents, analytical
documentation to many major companies.
reports, handbooks, technical specification
documents, user manuals, requirement documents,
technical reports, white papers, online help files, TWB is the ideal choice for leading manufacturers in
classroom and web based training material, policy the automotive industry. TWB helps customers with
manuals, lab reports, and case studies. all their technical documentation needs such as
design documents, analytical reports, handbooks,
technical specification documents, technical reports
Modern automotive engineering is a complex
and training materials.
process, integrating elements of mechanical,
electrical and electronic, software and safety
engineering. The key concept behind the TWB works closely with client teams located globally,
integration of multiple processes is to automate and assists them in meeting their worldwide product
vehicle manufacture and increase efficiency. announcements and launch deadlines. TWB works
round-the-clock with client teams and help them with
quick responses that facilitate timely distribution of
This has led to rapid innovation in the development
documents around the globe.
of automotive systems. Today, customers are
offered highly customized products at low prices.
“Knowledge is people, money, learning, flexibility
This is achieved by configuring individual vehicles
and competitive advantage. Knowledge is more
from a large number of options. This necessitates
relevant to sustained business than capital or
the creation of highly accurate and specific product
labor. And yet knowledge remains the most
documentation.
neglected asset of a business. TWB helps you
unlock and share your technical knowledge with
Further, the rapid technological progress in the the world.”
automotive industry has led to increased
complexity in technical products. Owner and user
manuals have increased by over 100% in volume in
the last decade.
This has proven to be a challenge, since
globalization has necessitated an increase in the
number of languages into which a technical
document is translated. With each additional
language translation, costs increase, directly
proportional to the size and complexity of the
documentation. This makes the creation of simple,
easily comprehensible documentation essential to
the automotive industry. This, in turn, necessitates
the involvement of Technical Documentation
Specialists in the creation of these documents.
In this paper we will discuss the importance of
technical publications to the automotive industry, to
facilitate the growth, and development of the
industry.
“TWB believes that technology cannot exist
without being communicated effectively.”
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4. Automotive Industry – Technical Publications
Growth of the automotive industry in Challenges and Solutions
India
th
India is the 9 largest automobile industry in the Some of the greatest documentation challenges
world, with a production of 2.3 million units in 2008 that most companies in the automotive industry
th
alone. In 2009, India became Asia’s 4 largest face today include:
exporter of cars.
 Increased complexity and diversity of products
Automobile companies like Nissan, Volkswagen,  Increased competition with regard to
Toyota and Hyundai have expanded manufacturing documentation quality and efficiency
facilities to India. Nissan and Hyundai predict an  Stricter product liability regulations, placing
export of over 250,000 vehicles by 2011. more importance on completeness and
comprehensibility of documentation.
Rapid technological advances in the automotive
industry have resulted in complex and diverse
technical products. The task of creating
documentation for such a wide range of products
may seem complex and daunting, since
documentation has to be revised or updated to
keep pace with advancements. Quality
documentation is easy to update and maintain,
reducing the cost involved despite the massive
amounts of documentation required by the industry.
“The automotive industry in India grew at a Differences in the functionality and quality of
compounded annual growth rate of 11.5% over technical products are slowly reducing. However
the past five years.” – The Economic Survey, the complexity of these products is increasing
2008 – 2009. correspondingly. As product complexity increases,
the quality of the documentation is often the
deciding factor in customer decision making. TWB
Growth of the automotive industry provides documentation with professional quality.
Globally
Product liability regulations, like the EU product
The recent economic crisis has created momentum liability directive, have impacted technical
for a massive structural change in the auto industry, documentation enormously. Today, the demand for
preparing the industry for growth for the next decade. experts in technical documentation is high to
guarantee quality document creation, thus avoiding
legal ramifications.
“Mark Oline, a Fitch Ratings Analyst predicted
that sales will rise to 11.1 million cars and trucks Benefits
next year, a 7.8 percent increase over the 10.3
million he expects for 2009.”
For a leading vendor in the automotive industry,
association with TWB has benefited them
China’s automobile market showed massive growth
immensely in saving costs and producing
in 2010, with output and sales for January continuing professional documentation along with services
from the growth in December 2009, to reach 1.6148 such as:
million and 1.6642 million units respectively.
 Transferring complex technical data into easily
Autofacts forecasts a 10% improvement in sales in
understandable language
the North America, predicting sales of 13.9 million
 Protecting technical and commercial data of
units with an assembly forecast of 10.4 million units.
newly developed products
 Creating, editing, reviewing, and maintaining
In South America, the vehicle sales reached 3 million
content
units in 2009, a record-breaking 12.7% increase over
sales in the 2008. This growth is expected to  Preparing training material, online Help,
continue, both in sales and assembly. graphics and illustrations
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5. Value of Technical Publications
Technical Publication for Transferring Publications for Different Levels of
Product Knowledge Technical and Product Knowledge
The purpose of technical publications is to transfer
In the automotive industry, it is necessary to create
product knowledge to the end user, in a
several different types of documentation for
comprehensible format. The strategies of
different purposes: design documents, technical
communication and levels of information vary
reports, specification documents, user manuals and
depending on the type of product.
training material and so on. Each of these
documents addresses a different audience, each of
When delivering a product, whether a hardware whom has a specific role in the automotive
product or a software application, it is equally industry. It is important that documents be created
important to give the users information about the keeping in mind the role of the person who will use
product’s operation and maintenance. the documentation.
In the real world scenario, technical publications are For example, a technical analyst, who is
often developed as an afterthought. This usually accustomed to reviewing satellite images on a
results in inaccurate and hard-to-understand material. workstation, needs to learn how to use the system
As a result, the users dislike these materials and and software to magnify the image, but not how to
avoid using them. analyze the image.
Inaccurate and hard-to-understand material also For users who start without technical or product
results in the user’s inability to understand and knowledge, you need to provide instructions to use
implement high-end technologies. The users might the product as well as information they need to look
reject the product. for as a result of using the product. This presents a
more difficult problem.
Faulty Assumptions that Result in
Problems in Documentation Different needs of the end users and the gap
between their technical and product knowledge
These faulty assumptions result in incomprehensible determines the amount of information that goes into
documents: technical publications.
 The developers know the product better than Attractive Publications as Useful
anyone else: With time constraints and limited Marketing Tool
resources, many companies are tempted to let the
programmers do the documentation. The
Providing useful and accurate documents is critical
engineers and developers know the product very
well. However, the developer is likely to provide to ensure that the user can easily find the required
technology-centered information; where as the information. If the end users cannot find the
answers to their problems, they assume that the
end user requires task-centered information.
documentation is useless.
For engineers and developers it is almost
impossible to step back and look at the To be useful, the documentation must be clear,
application from the end users point of view. concise, and well designed. The documentation
that is accurate and complete also needs to be well
designed.
 The application is complicated; having a writer
learn about it will take too long: Learning the
product should not be a major obstacle for the Accurate and easy-to-understand technical
writers with the right technical background. documentation is the only way to provide
information to the end user, and it is also cost-
effective.
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6. Conclusion
 The Importance of the Automotive Industry: The automotive industry is among the few that have shown
steady growth during the last few years, particularly with the troubled economy. The automotive industry is
important not just for its direct effects, but for its indirect effects as well. The industry has a large, complex
supply chain, which draws from both specialized component suppliers and material suppliers. The automotive
industry is one of the largest consumers of products of the aluminum, rubber, glass, plastics and steel
industries. For many industries, the automotive industry is a leading consumer, whose requirements provide
an impetus to innovations that benefit other sectors.
 Value of Technical Publications: Technical Publications are very essential for transferring product
knowledge to the end users. Providing proper material to use technology and products enables the user to
accept and efficiently use the product. Frequently, the quality of documentation is a factor which directly
contributes to a customer’s decision to purchase or reject a product. Faulty assumptions about
documentation lead to inaccurate and hard-to-understand material which discourages end users from the
product itself. This also decreases the changes of marketing the products in the global markets.
 Role of Documentation Outsourcing: The complexity involved in automotive engineering, arising from the
integration of electric, electronic, manufacturing, software, and hardware systems requires that vendors and
purchasers look at outsourcing their documentation needs to well-established Technical Publications
Solutions providers. This helps the company cut costs and at the same time deliver their products with quality
documents.
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7. TWB Services
TWB is India’s leader in technical communication outsourcing and education. TWB offers a complete suite of services that
allow our customers to effectively publish their technical knowledge with their people and processes. TWB’s customers range
from Global 500 – including Cisco, Accenture, McAfee, LG, Samsung, Citrix, SAP, Siemens, AOL, Intel; Indian technology
majors – including Infosys, Wipro; Global defense majors - Pratt & Whitney, Honeywell, DRDO, HAL; and exciting technology
startups. TWB's expertise in technical communication ranges from IT Products and Outsourcing, ITES, Banking, Financial,
Aerospace, Defense, Ship Building to Hi-tech Manufacturing, and Discrete and Process Manufacturing.
TWB’s services include:
Technical Marketing Technical Product Documentation Quality
Solutions Documentation Management
 Datasheets
 Administrator’s Guide
 Datasheets  Copy Editing and Proof Reading
 API Document
 Cheat sheets  Managing Writing
 Configuration Guide
 Solution Briefs/Solution Brochures  Editing Services
 Functional Specifications Document
 Presentations –  Layout and Design
Products/Corporate Profile  Installation Manual
 Creating SLAs
 Brochures and marketing collateral  Interface Document
 Web content  Interactive Electronic Technical Business Documentation
Manual (IETM)
 Audio and video scripts
 Maintenance Manual  Business Proposals
 Press releases
 Online Help  Legal Disclaimers
 Direct mail
 Operation Manual  Policy Manuals
 Newsletter design copy
 Product Demo  Style Guide Design
 Sales catalogues
 Product Specifications Document  Template Design
 Sales sheets
 Product Overview Document
 Quick Reference Guide
Business Communication Content Management
 Release Notes
 Short Reports  Requirement Analysis Document
 Single Sourcing
 Proposals  SDK Document
 File Version Control
 Case Studies  Troubleshooting Manual
 Document Naming Conventions
 Lab Reports  User Manual
 Consistent Document Formatting
 Memos  Open Source Documentation
 Data Transformation
 Progress/Interim Reports  Programmers Guides
 Writing for Electronic Media  Functional Specifications Document
 Use Cases Web site Development
Illustrations  Online Help /Context Sensitive Help
 Web 2.0 development
 Troubleshooting Guides
 Graphic Designing  Web content

 Info graphics  Web applications
Qualitative Analytics for
 2D & 3D animation
Decision Support Translation and Localization
 Line drawings and illustrations
Services
 Economic Business Research
Process Documentation
 Industry Analysis  Software Translation Services
 Workflows  Market Opportunity Analysis  Document Translation Services
 Standard Operating Procedures  Competitive Business Analysis  Localization (L10N) Testing
 ISO Documentation  Company & Prospect Profiling  Internationalization (I18N) Testing
 CMM Documentation  Reporting Solutions
 Assessment of Unmet Market Needs Records Management
Deployment and Support  Status and Potential of Technologies
 Document Management Solutions
 Benchmarking of Strategies Vs
 Record Management Storage and
 Installation and Configuration Competition
Retrieval
Guides  Forecasting
 Operations Manual  Sales Force Effectiveness
 Market Assessments
 Competitive Intelligence
 Opinion Leadership
 Emerging Markets - evaluation and
research
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8. TWB Software Tools Expertise
Our technical proficiency in software and authoring tools includes:
Unstructured Content XML Structured Editors Multimedia/Authoring
Development
 Epic  Adobe Flash®
 Microsoft Word®  FrameMaker+SGML  Adobe Dreamweaver®
 Adobe FrameMaker®  X-Metal®  Microsoft FrontPage®
 Adobe InDesign®  Adobe Captivate®
 QuarkXPress® Macromedia Captivate
 Adobe PageMaker® Graphics/Animations
 Multimedia/Authoring/
Illustrations  Adobe Flash® Supporting tools
 Adobe Photoshop®
 Adobe Flash CS4 Professional  Adobe Fireworks®  Adobe Flash®
 Adobe Illustrator CS3  Adobe Flex®
 CorelDRAW Online Help  Adobe AIR®
 Microsoft-Expression Graphic  Adobe Dreamweaver®
Designer  Adobe Acrobat®
 Xara Xtreme (Windows & Linux)  JavaHelp
 Microsoft Silverlight®
 CuteDraw  Adobe RoboHelp 7.0
 Adobe Authorware®
 Publisher3D(for animation)  HelpScribble
 Adobe Director®
 Sketsa SVG Editor (for vector  WebWorks Publisher
 Adobe Captivate®
graphics)  PowerCHM
 Trivantis Lectora®
 Techsmith Camtasia  Doc-To-Help
 ASP.NET
 Adobe Flash CS4 Professional  WinCHM
 JSP
 Arbortext IsoDraw (technical  HelpSmith 2.1.1(Windows)
 JAVA
illustrations for 2D and 3D)  Fast-Help
 MadCap Flare Standards
Graphics/Animation  Help-Server
 NVU Help
 SCORM 1.2 / 2004
 Adobe Flash®  AICC
XML
 Adobe Photoshop®  W3C
 Adobe Illustrator®  Section 508
 Adobe Fireworks®  XMetal®  QTI XML
 Microsoft Silverlight®  Microsoft Word 2003®,
 Microsoft Word 2007®
Databases Development and Publishing
tools
CMS/ LMS
 Microsoft Access  XSLT/XSL
 Microsoft SQL Server  EDD
 Sharepoint®
 Moodle
Flowcharting  Joomla,
 WordPress
 Microsoft Visio  Media Wiki
 iGrafx  CMS Builder
 EDraw  Author-it (formerly AuthorIT)
 RFFlow  Alfresco
 Flowbreeze
 Smart Draw
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9. Industries Served
TWB services a wide range of technology and knowledge driven industries, helping them meet their markets better, these
include:
 Banking, Insurance and Financial Services  ITES/ KPO/ BPO
 Consulting and Business Services  Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
 Defense, Aerospace and Hi-Tech Manufacturing  Process Manufacturing and Allied Industries
 Education and Learning  Steel, Ship Building, Construction and Aviation
 IT, ITES  Telecom and Digital Communications
TWB has been the preferred technical documentation outsourcing company for:
The TWB Building US Office:
No: 4062, 19th Main Road, TWB
HAL 2nd Stage, 11701 Norwegian Wood Drive
Bangalore – 560008 Austin, TX 78758
India.
Landmark: Behind Carlton Towers
Telephone: Telephone:
+91.80.40741400 / +1.512.586.8357
+91.80.41256367
Corporate Enquiries:
corp@twb.in
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