4.4. Design reports

Design reports are pieces of writing that present engineering and scientific designs^. They have two audiences, other engineers and scientists interested in how the design works and how effective the design is, and manage­ment or potential purchasers or investors interested in the application and effectiveness of the design.

This is a commonly used organisation for design reports:

1. abstract;

2. introduction;

3. discussion;

4. conclusion;

5. appendices.

Abstract

Abstract, also called summary or executive summary, is a stand-alone synopsis of the design itself, of the motivation for having the design, and the design's effectiveness. If the summary is called an abstract, it is intended for a technical audience. Likewise, if an executive sum­mary is requested, the readers will be managers.

Introduction

The introduction of a design report identifies the design problem, the objectives of the design, the assumptions for the design.

Discussion

The discussion presents the design itself, the theory behind the de­sign, the problems encountered (or anticipated) in producing the design, how those problems were (or could be) overcome, and the results of any tests on the design. This part usually consists of two, three, or four main headings. In regard to that consider what would be a logical division for your particular design.

Conclusion

The conclusion section summarises the design and testing work completed and assesses how well the design meets the objectives presented in the introduction, and the predictions of how it will be used in the future

Appendices

The principles for writing design report appendices comply with those of laboratory reports detailed in previous chapters.

4.5. Instructions

The focus of this chapter is on one of the most important of all uses of technical writing - instructions. Instructions are step-by-step explanations of how to do something, how to perform a process. Engineering is all about processes, so engineers are often required to write instructions. Those can be, for example, specifications to technicians on how to machine a device, or you may have to write a software manual for computer users on how to run a contour-plotting program. In engineering, the formats of instructions can vary from single-phrase to thick handbooks on procedures (J.S. VanAlstyne 2001).

Instructions have some usual aspects of style. First, instructions of­ten include numbered steps. Using numbered steps with white space be­tween each step allows readers to perform a step of the process and then quickly find their place in the instructions. Also, instructions include the use of the imperative mood, in which the subject is an understood you. The im­perative mood need not be used in every sentence, but is recommended for those important. In the language for instructions, you also use cautions to warn readers of difficult or dangerous steps. Finally, with instructions, you use more illustrations or examples than with other types of documents.

Good instructions require:

- clear, simple writing,

- a thorough understanding of the procedure in all its technical detail,

- your ability to put yourself in the place of the reader, the person trying to use your instructions,

- your ability to visualise the procedure in great detail and to capture that awareness on paper.

At the beginning of a project to write instructions, it is important to determine the structure or characteristics of the particular procedure you are going to write about.

Audience and situation. Early in the process, define the audience and situation of your instructions. Remember that defining an audience means de­fining its level of familiarity with the topic as well as other such details.

Number of tasks. An important consideration is how many tasks there are in the procedure you are writing instructions for. The term proce­dure refers to the whole set of activities your instructions are intended to discuss. A task is a semi-independent group of actions within the procedure. Some instructions have only a single task, but have many steps within that single task.

Best approach to the step-by-step discussion. For most instruc­tions, you can focus on tasks, or you can focus on tools (or features of tools).

In a task approach to instructions on, for example, using a phone-an­swering machine, there would be sections on recording greetings, playing back messages, saving, forwarding, and deleting messages. These are tasks, the typical things we would do with a phone-answering machine.

On the other hand, in a tools approach to instructions on using a photocopier, for instance, there would be sections on the copy button, the cancel button, the enlarge/reduce button, the collate/staple button, the paper tray, the copy-size button, and so on. If you designed a set of instructions on this plan, you would write steps for using each button or feature of the pho­tocopier. Instructions using this tools approach are hard to make work. Sometimes, the name of the button doesn't quite match the task it is associ­ated with; sometimes you have to use more than just the one button to ac­complish the task. Still, there can be times when the tools/feature approach may be preferable.

Groupings of tasks. Listing tasks may not be all that you need to do. There may be so many tasks that you must group them so that readers can find individual ones more easily. For example, the following are com­mon task groupings in instructions: unpacking and setup tasks; installing and customising tasks; basic operating tasks; routine maintenance tasks; troubleshooting tasks; and so on.