Technical Writing Best Practices

Technical writing usually follows Good Documentation Practices (GDocP), the standards for creating and maintaining documents. The term is linked most closely with pharmaceutical and medical device companies, but the same principles apply in many organizations.

This 60-minute technical writing best practices training defines general guidelines for creating and maintaining documents so that work from different functional groups stays consistent, alongside your company's own in-house requirements.

You'll cover the basics and general requirements, how to avoid violations, how to make corrections, how to treat numbers, and how to reference source materials.

• Apply technical writing best practices to any document
• Follow the general requirements of Good Documentation Practices
• Avoid documentation violations
• Make corrections the right way
• Treat numbers consistently
• Reference source materials correctly

• Basics of technical writing best practices
• General requirements
• Avoiding violations
• Making corrections
• Treatment of numbers
• Referencing source materials

Every discipline produces documents, so IT, scientific, HR and even legal staff can benefit from applying consistent technical writing practices.

This session suits chemists, engineers, scientists and technicians in R&D, QA, IT, manufacturing and operations professionals, HR, and administrative staff who prepare documents supporting R&D and operations.

• IT Personnel
• Scientific Personnel
• Human Resources
• Any highly specialized company personnel
• Chemists
• Engineers
• Any highly technical, highly specialized personnel
• Scientists, engineers, and technicians in research and development
• Quality assurance (QA)
• Information technology (IT)
• Manufacturing
• Other operations professionals
• Administrative staff that must prepare documentation in support of R&D and operations activities
• Anyone who wants an in-depth and comprehensive overview of the structure of the language and writing within the broad range of reporting that the industry requires

After obtaining a B.S. and an M.S. in Chemistry from Tuskegee University, Robert Peoples joined the pharmaceutical industry as a Research Chemist with a concentration in analytical chemistry at Wyeth/Lederle. While at Wyeth/Lederle Robert was primarily responsible for the analysis of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) in various drug delivery formulations, e.g. aerosols, capsules, creams, ointments and tablets. He joined Organon/Merck as a Research Chemist responsible for the development of stability-indicating methods of analysis using HPLC.

While at Organon/Merck, Robert transitioned into technical writing. As a Technical Writer he was responsible for the creation of procedures for instrument qualification, test scripts, IQ/OQ/PQ protocols for sample handling, cleaning validation reports, method transfer reports, method validation reports, stability reports, Change Control and CAPAs. Later he joined Johnson and Johnson as a Technical Writer where he created stability strategies, protocols and reports as well as SOPs, developed training materials and competency profiles in addition to proofreading and improving written reports for other departments. He also edited policies and procedures, user guides, and job aids.

After leaving Johnson and Johnson Robert became a consultant to other pharmaceutical companies where he created SOPs for analytical method validation as well as pharmaceutical stability studies and stability program management. For another client company he created stability reports that addressed FDA concerns about OOS/OOT results. For yet another client company he created stability reports, protocols and strategies for medical devices. He also created written assessments for software-controlled laboratory instrumentation.

Robert also has extensive experience in data review, stability management and training.