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Simplifying complexity is the name of a series of posts I wrote following this thread. The posts aim to dig deeper into this core motto that many technical writers herald as their prime goal and value to technical projects: reducing the complexity of information into language that is easy to read, steps that are easy to follow, so that users can have success.

The following content is in the simplifying-complexity category:

New post in Simplifying Complexity series -- Principle 11: Be both a generalist and specialist at the same time

Tech comm trends -- why tech writers will be collaborating more with engineers

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part I)

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part II)

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part III)

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part IV)

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part V)

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part VI)

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part VII)

Pages at a glance -- the importance of the first two sentences of any topic

New article in Simplifying Complexity series -- Iterate and increment on content following an agile approach

If writing is no longer a marketable skill, what is?

My conflicted thoughts about the decentralized web (while taking the Census of Technical Communicators survey)

Articulating stories that influence product adoption (new article in Simplifying Complexity series)

Reducing the complexity of technical language (new article in Simplifying Complexity series)

Hiding Complexity -- A new Simplifying Complexity article

New article in Simplifying Complexity: Reconstructing the absent user

New Simplifying Complexity article on shaping information into familiar schemas, especially story

New article on Simplifying Complexity: Reduction, layering, and distillation as a strategy for simplicity

New article in Simplifying Complexity -- Ensuring information harmony in the larger documentation landscape

New Simplifying complexity tutorial: Discoverability through metadata

New section on my site: Simplifying complexity

About Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in the tech comm, be sure to subscribe to email updates below. You can also learn more about me or contact me. Finally, note that the opinions I express on my blog are my own points of view, not that of my employer.