Martina Hartmann

Rethinking Technical Documentation:

Why Information Developers Are More Than Writers.

Modern documentation is more than writing—it’s information architecture, strategy, and user guidance. That’s exactly why I see myself as an information developer.

Technical documentation is essential—it ensures complex products are understandable and usable. Yet the people who create this documentation are often reduced to a traditional role: technical writers. Modern information development encompasses far more than simply writing instructions. My practical experience has shown me that it’s not just about formulating content, but strategically planning, structuring, and adapting it to user needs. This especially applies to documentation in software, IT, cybersecurity, and management systems like quality and information security management—areas where strategic information development is essential.

What Does Technical Documentation Mean?

Traditionally, technical documentation involves creating user manuals, online help, or installation guides. Technical writers often work within fixed documentation formats, accompanying products from development to release. Precision, consistency, and comprehensibility are paramount. But expectations for documentation have shifted: users now expect quick, targeted answers rather than comprehensive PDFs or static manuals. This particularly affects IT and software, where agile methods and continuous development are standard. In areas like cybersecurity or compliance, effective documentation must be more than mere instructions—it needs to be an integral part of security concepts, audit preparations, and risk management strategies.

Information Development: An Expanded Perspective

Information development goes beyond this. It encompasses not just creating documentation, but strategically planning and optimizing information flows. This includes:

• Information Architecture: How is information structured to be easily discoverable? Especially in IT systems, cybersecurity frameworks, and management systems, clear structure is critical for efficiency and compliance.
• Audience Analysis: What information do users actually need? In management systems, IT documentation, and security-critical processes, content must be tailored for different audiences (e.g., developers, administrators, auditors).
• UX Writing & Content Design: How can content be formulated to be intuitively understood? This is particularly relevant for software documentation, user guides for complex systems, and security-critical instructions.
• Standards & Requirements: Documentation of standards, guidelines, and regulatory requirements in areas like information security, quality management, or data protection to make processes traceable, auditable, and sustainably usable.
• Interactive and Dynamic Content: Documentation that evolves with the product (e.g., API documentation with Swagger, automated compliance reports, dynamic policies in ISMS tools, or interactive risk management systems).
• Automation and Modularization: Using structured formats like DITA to create and maintain documentation more efficiently. This is essential in management systems and regulated environments to ensure traceability and currency.

Technical Skills for Information Developers

Information development means not just refining existing content, but actively participating in technical development processes. Especially in IT, software, and security teams, it’s important to speak the language of developers and administrators and understand their workflows. Information developers who master technical tools and methods are perceived as valuable partners, not just writers or documentation managers. They succeed in adopting the mindset of technical teams and developing solutions that integrate seamlessly into existing workflows. This also means using the same tools and processes to establish documentation not as a foreign element, but as an integral part of product development.

Some key skills information developers should bring:

• Docs-as-Code: Using Markdown, AsciiDoc, and Git for version-controlled documentation.
• Diagrams-as-Code: Creating technical diagrams with PlantUML, Mermaid.js, or Graphviz.
• Programming Basics: Understanding Python, JavaScript, YAML, or JSON—especially for API documentation and automated workflows.
• Automation: Integrating scripts for documentation testing or continuous integration (CI) of documentation into software development processes.

A Practical Example:

In a software development team working with agile methods, API documentation needs to be created and maintained. Instead of writing Word documents after the fact, the information developer uses Docs-as-Code directly in the development team’s Git repository, versioning documentation alongside code. New API endpoints are described by developers, while the information developer refines this raw information and enriches it with examples. This keeps documentation current, traceable, and directly tied to development. It creates acceptance and saves time because no one has to switch between different systems.

This shows that information developers who use the same tools and workflows as developers are perceived as valuable partners—not as additional burden.

A Profession in Transition

These technical skills and the associated role understanding show how the classic technical writing profession is evolving into information development. The role of technical writers has changed. Previously, the focus was on static manuals—today, documentation is integrated into software, created in agile teams, and must keep pace with shorter development cycles. Information developers take on a bridging function between technology, UX, and product management. They design, plan, and optimize rather than just documenting.

A practical example: In cybersecurity, companies must constantly adapt their security policies to address new threats. Classic technical writers would update security documents after a policy change. Information developers, however, work closely with IT and compliance teams to dynamically embed security policies into existing processes, promote risk-based thinking, and support automated security controls through documented best practices.

Why This Distinction Matters

Understanding yourself as an information developer means taking on a strategic role. While classic technical documentation often acts reactively—a product is developed, then the manual follows—information developers start in the conceptual phase. They help teams make knowledge usable rather than just managing information. This has crucial advantages:

• Better User Experience: Content is more precisely tailored to actual needs, especially in IT and security contexts where time is critical.
• Higher Efficiency: Documentation is more sustainable because it’s modular, reusable, and automated. This is especially important in regulated areas like information security and quality management.
• Strategic Influence: Information developers shape processes and thus improve not just documentation, but the entire product or management system.
• Higher Organizational Acceptance: Through their interdisciplinary role, information developers can mediate between development, product management, cybersecurity, and compliance, ensuring all stakeholders share a common understanding of knowledge transfer.

Time for a New Self-Understanding

Technical documentation remains a core task, but the profession must evolve. Information developers aren’t just writers, but active architects of knowledge processes. They bridge the gap between technology, users, and regulatory requirements, making information a strategic asset.

Instead of merely managing documentation, they set new standards for integrated, user-centered, and automated information delivery. By employing modern methods like Docs-as-Code, Diagrams-as-Code, and structured content strategies, they ensure knowledge isn’t just present, but effectively usable.

This role requires a new self-understanding: away from pure documentation, toward active process co-creation. Companies that recognize this and involve information developers early in their product and security strategy benefit from more efficient development, better compliance, and enhanced user experience.

What Does This Mean in Practice?

• Early Integration in Product Development and Security Processes: As an information developer, don’t just join at the end of a project—be involved from the start.
• Master Technical Tools: Those familiar with API documentation, automation, ISMS, IT compliance, and structured formats become an indispensable interface in the team.
• Focus on the User: Regular feedback collection and user behavior analysis help continuously improve documentation and adapt to changing security or quality standards.

Information development is more than a technical discipline—it’s a central component of successful and future-ready organizations.