Technical terms speed up communication between people who share the same expertise. For others, the same technical terms are just incomprehensible.
Use technical terms only:
▪if you’re writing for experts ▪if a term is also used in other materials for the same user group as your document and you can’t change these materials ▪if a term is used in the user interface of your product If you can’t avoid using technical terms, explain them when using them for the first time.
▪In a printed manual, the “first time” is the page with the lowest page number. ▪In online help, the “first time” is the topic that will be used either the earliest or the most frequently. |