Structured writing: a systems engineering approach

The author proposes a methodology for developing engineering documents based on the concepts of systems analysis, structured programming, and object-oriented computing. The basic assumption is that the two principal elements of a technical document are its structure and its integrity. The structured methodology parallels the software development process, but is specific to the writing task and covers the following areas: systems-level planning, scheduling, modularity, functional relationships, detailed design, visual impact, document validation, and quality control. A corollary of using a structured writing model is the ability to communicate in a higher-level language than text, i.e., the language of structure. The writer can progress, therefore, from a one-dimensional to a three-dimensional model where the communication model parameters are text, graphics, and structure. By applying the principles of structured writing, both users and writers can obtain a technical document that is superior in terms of correctness and correspondence to their needs