Why Documentation Deserves a Role in Business Strategy: Insights from Nikhar Sawhney, Cisco

AI Summary

• Nikhar Sawhney, a senior technical writer at Cisco with over 16 years in the tech industry, discusses documentation’s role in revealing product capabilities, promoting user-first thinking, and improving customer satisfaction.
• Effective documentation results from cross-functional collaboration with engineering, product, and research teams; good structure maps complex functionality into real-world context.
• User-centered content should focus on what users need to accomplish, with clear sections such as installation, configuration, and troubleshooting, and one idea per section.
• A user-friendly hierarchy, clear headings, smart labelling, navigation, and effective search help users find useful content, even with incorrect keywords.
• Documentation can reduce support tickets, uncover features, drive engagement, improve satisfaction, increase adoption, enable faster resolution, and support successful integrations, although ROI can be difficult to measure.

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In this episode we have Nikhar Sawhney, a Senior Technical Writer from Cisco. He discusses how excellent documentation not only helps users but also reveals product capabilities, promotes user-first thinking, and improves customer satisfaction. Nikhar talks more about the significance of collaboration, good structure, and searchability in developing effective documentation.

Watch the full podcast episode video here

Quick jumps to what’s covered:

4:27 – Documentation as a strategic product enabler

7:00 – Empowering users and reducing support load

7:28 – Creating impactful, user-centered documentation

9:17 – Structuring content and search for usability

10:48 – Business value and feedback-driven improvement

14:36 – Challenges with ROI and internal adoption

About Nikhar

• Nikhar’s LinkedIn

• Nikhar Sawhney is a senior technical writer at Cisco with over 16 years of experience in the tech industry. He began his journey in documentation unexpectedly during the 2008 recession and has since built a strong career in technical communication. Having a software background and the ability to present intricate concepts in a simple way, Nikhar has worked throughout startups and big MNCs, as a writer, product owner (documentation), and content strategist.

Key Takeaways

• Great Documentation Unlocks Product Discovery

  A well-crafted documentation does not just support the product, it reveals the hidden capabilities of the product or service. It could be an API combination or an unexpected integration, documentation can result in the wow moments that no demo or sales pitch would provide.

• Documentation By Building Together

  Cross-functional collaboration is the start of high-impact documentation. Working closely with engineering, product, and research teams would also be useful to profoundly comprehend the purpose of every feature. The clarity helps technical writers to map the complex functionality into real world context, which makes sense to the users.

• Never Stop Putting User-First

  Documentation is not solely regarding what the product is capable of doing, but what users are required to accomplish. Whether it is a developer searching through APIs or a business user working with workflows, the content must drive them towards solutions in the most efficient way. By formatting information into sections, such as installation, configuration, and troubleshooting, and having a single idea in each section, both new and returning users can discover value.

• Assist Users to Locate What They Require

  The most detailed documentation is useless when it is difficult to search. A user-friendly hierarchy and effective search experience ensure that users end up on useful content even when they use the incorrect keywords. It is seamless with good navigation, clear headings, and smart labelling.

• Drive Impact Beyond Support

  Documentation does more than reduce the support tickets. It uncovers hidden product features, drives customer engagement, and improves satisfaction. While ROI can be tricky to measure in documentation, outcomes like faster resolution times, increased adoption, and successful integrations prove its worth over the long term.

Rapid Fire

• What are some valuable resources you would recommend to the viewers?
  Write The Docs, Soap! conference.

• One word that comes to mind when you hear “documentation”? 
  Enablers 

• Advice to your 20-year-old self?
  Try to build real-world connections early on. Reach out to seniors, alumni, or industry professionals whenever possible. The exposure makes all the difference.

You can listen to the full episode on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.