Filtering traffic on your Help servers

So you've moved your help content onto a server. Wonderful! Server-based content offers a lot of advantages, including the ability to analyze how users are accessing that content. Such feedback allows you to optimize your help topics accordingly.

However, how can you tell if those help visits are from internal testing or actual users?

One way is to filter the traffic by IP address. Much like your street address or the URL for your website, an IP address is a unique identifier for the machine accessing your help servers. The IP address of each visitor is recorded in the .LOG files on your servers, and can be viewed in your traffic analysis tool.

To filter by IP address, set your analysis tool so that it excludes all IP addresses assigned to your company. Usually, a company will have a range of IPs assigned to it. By filtering out these IPs, any visits from machines inside your company will be excluded from reports of traffic data.

If you are unable to filter IP addresses, you may be able to use cookies instead. A cookie is a small bit of code that gets saved on a PC when it visits a website. Create the cookie so that it never expires. Then, have all internal users visit the page with the cookie. After the cookie is set on their machines, set your analysis tool so that it filters out all visits that include the cookie.

Both of these methods will allow you to sort out whether traffic on your Help servers is coming from internal testing or actual end-users. If you need technical assistance, try contacting the team that manages your servers. They should be able to help you evaluate which solution is best and assist with implementation.

When you deliver help topics on a server, knowing where your traffic is coming from is very important. Internal testing behavior will differ greatly from how actual users navigate through your help topics. You don't want to make improvements based on data from internal testing.

If your help is not delivered via a server, you might want to consider whether such a move would be worthwhile. Server-based help allows you to monitor how your help is used, update content without assistance from developers, and more.

Related: Can help authors afford to ignore Google?

How to add value to mobile applications

If you have a smartphone, you've probably noticed how little help content is available for mobile applications. Most technical writers are used to large applications that require extensive user assistance. However, the lightweight, intuitive GUIs present in most mobile apps don't require such extensive instructional content.

So how can technical writers add value in a mobile world?

First, take a positive view of the situation. Less content means that you can spend more time focusing on writing something really helpful.

Concision is vital when you are working with limited screen space. This works to your advantage. As a technical writer, you've been eliminating jargon and writing concisely for your entire career. Now you can use those skills to create minimalist documentation that addresses the exact needs of your readers. It's like switching from prose to verse; you will use fewer words, but those words must be carefully chosen. In fact, you may find that writing such documentation requires more work and attention than a non-mobile application.

Second, get involved in the design stage. Leverage your usability skills to help developers craft an intuitive interface. Technical writers can add a lot of value by helping choose button names, assisting with usability testing, and more. Also, your writing and project management skills can be incredibly valuable for tracking key development decisions, getting consensus across teams, and more. Remember, your skills can be just as valuable for internal technical communications as they are for writing end-user documentation.

Third, involve yourself in user communities and start answering questions. Many users learn how to use their mobile apps by asking questions in Internet-based communities. Some of these discussions will happen in user communities provided by your company, and others will happen in social media applications such as facebook or on third-party blogs. Work with your company to determine what your policies are for getting involved in these groups, and then dive in and provide authoritative answers whenever possible. Be sure to disclose to the group that you are an employee of the company; this will work to your advantage because the community will recognize you as an expert who can provide solid answers to their questions.

Don't worry. Mobile apps may be lightweight, but they still need the skills of experienced technical writers.