Writing

Auditing

We provide complete contract writing services. We can also audit existing documentation to determine the extent to which it meets readability, completeness, accuracy, rapid random-accessibility, security, and customer-needs criteria.

Writing

We write original (start-from-nothing) and semi-original (start-from-something) documents, including:

Engineering Specifications
Hardware and Programming Reference Manuals
Data Sheets
User Guides
Operations Manuals
Maintenance Manuals
Application Notes

Our methods page tells how we work. Our projects and examples pages include many examples of our writing about the following technologies:

Integrated Circuits: microprocessors (hardware and programming), digital signal processors (DSPs), embedded processors, systems-on-chip (SoCs), controllers, programmable logic devices (including reconfigurable logic), gate arrays, mixed-signal devices, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and application-specific standard products (ASSPs).
Networking: routers, switches, LAN, WAN, and other communication and telecommunication systems using Internet (TCP/IP and other) protocols, Ethernet, 10Ge, 40Ge, 3G, 802.11, WiFi, ultrawide band (UWB), wireless, IR, RF, Bluetooth, and optical technologies.
Electronic-Design Automation (EDA): system partitioning; executable specifications using transaction-level modeling (TLM) in SystemC; logic design and simulation in a hardware description language such as Verilog, SystemVerlog, or VHDL; design capture; register-transfer-level (RTL) design; physical design, synthesis, layout, and floor planning; verification; and model libraries.
Semiconductor Processing: vacuum, power, deposition, transport, testing.
Computer Systems: hardware, operating systems, parallel processing, communication and networking devices, peripherals, system control.
Programming: C, C++, and Java languages. Compilers, debuggers, testers, and other software created and used by programmers.
Security and Data-Collection Systems: supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA), distributed control systems (DCS), building and communication security, security audits, building security and automation.
Software Applications: object-oriented, database, financial and large-system modeling, enterprise resource planning (ERP).
Electric Power Generation and Transmission: load balancing, production cost, capacity planning and management, integrated system operator (ISO) protocols, regional transmission operator (RTO) protocols.
Biomedical and Clinical Medical Systems: hardware and software systems used in molecular-biology research and clinical analysis.

Documentation Audits

Inaccuracy, incompleteness, and inappropriateness for a specific audience are among the most common problems of technical documentation. If your company is spending too much time providing personal technical support to your customers, your documentation may be one source of the problem. An audit of your documentation can expose the problem and propose corrections.

Audits can analyze criteria such as:

Completeness of content.
Accuracy of content.
Consistency and usability of organization.
Consistency in covering topics.
Ability to rapidly find specific information.
Consistency in use of language, observance of copyrights, and other conventions.
Readability for audiences who have learned English as a second language.
Protection of confidential information.
Compliance with standards.

Products such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and distributed control systems (DCS) may be especially vulnerable to errors in documentation. Such systems are often the cornerstones of security infrastructures and must be kept safe, accurate, and fully functional at all times. Documentation audits can help achieve this.