Technical Writers’ Companion

▪A flat structure is easier to comprehend.

▪Emotionally, a flat structure is less daunting than a hierarchically deep structure. A flat structure encourages even inexperienced readers to explore your document.

▪In a flat structure, the total number of topics is smaller. You need fewer topics for the sole purpose of building up the hierarchy.

▪In a flat structure, there may be a large number of subtopics under one main topic. This can sometimes be confusing.

▪Due to the larger number of topics on the same level, finding a particular topic can sometimes take longer in a flat structure. This may be irritating, particularly for advanced users who have already acquired sufficient knowledge to understand and remember a deeper structure.

Tipp:
To make even a long list of topics clear, follow the key rules for writing user-friendly headings. In particular, position the main keyword at the beginning of each heading, and make headings short and parallel (siehe Find meaningful headings and Tips for writing headings).

▪Include related information under one common heading.

▪Don’t think scientifically—think pragmatically. Even if there is some hierarchy, this doesn’t mean that your document must reflect it. Feel free to simplify.

▪Always question whether it’s actually important for the reader to understand the hierarchy of a particular relationship. Often, things are organized hierarchically within a product, knowing and understanding this hierarchy, however, is only important for developers but not for users. If the hierarchical organization isn’t important for users, don’t reproduce it in your document.

▪Instead of creating several topics, consider layering the same information within one single topic. This reduces the total number of topics (siehe Layer information).

▪When writing online help, use expandable sections.

▪When writing a printed manual, use subheadings.