Right-to-Repair, or how technical authoring can mend the world

Let us begin with a story. Once upon a time, a child rode their bike. When the tyre went flat, the child was gifted a magical book that explained all there was to know about bicycle maintenance and repair. Together with a handy parent, the child learned how to find the hole in the innertube and patch it, and replace the tyre before cycling off again on more adventures.

Repair was so common that it was not even commented on. If my clothes grew holes, I  mended them. If my  bike broke, I fixed it. If my car broke down, I could buy the spare parts and fix it myself or choose from any number of local garages to have a professional mechanic fix it.

Alas, as time went on, it became harder and harder for me, like other consumers, to repair things myself. We, as a society, adopted smartphones, cars with computers, and smart washing machines. Consumer technology became much more complex and manufacturers made use of closed-source software to control the machinery they produced.

Demand for spare parts decreased, raising their prices, and special software was introduced to debug on-board computers; eventually, the cost of repairs outstripped the cost of simply buying new.

The culture of repair was in peril…

What is Right to Repair?

It has always been in the interest of manufacturers to retain control of all intellectual property, and to retain income from consumers for as long as possible. This created barriers that prevent people from repairing the physical items that they own. These barriers can include:

• The availability of spare parts
• Lack of access to schematic diagrams, forcing repairers to reverse engineer the technology.
• Licensing restrictions preventing users from mandatory upgrades, preventing their hardware from functioning
• Lack of access to debugging information.

On a planet with limited resources, being able to reuse and recycle the things we already have is an important way to ensure that resources are not wasted. When a consumer is unable to affordably repair an item, they have no option but to discard it, contributing to an ever-increasing mound of waste.

Governments are now stepping in to mandate that manufacturers remove these barriers, which creates  financial incentives for them to manufacture products that are reparable.

In the UK, professional repairers (but not consumers) need to have access to spare parts and technical information to use those spare parts. While these parts and information are not available directly to consumers, it still provides consumers with options for having their technology repaired at lower cost to themselves and the environment, rather than replacing and sending their old technology to landfill.

The ‘right to repair’ provides ‘professional repairers’ with access to spare parts and technical information from July 2021, but manufacturers have a grace period of up to 2 years to make spare parts available [1].

Where does documentation fit in the Right to Repair landscape

Different legislative bodies across the world are currently deciding what manufacturers must provide to enable repair of their products. For most places, providing information is one of the requirements. Depending on the product and the jurisdiction, the required minimum information can range in format, from schematic diagrams to detailed step-by-step repair instructions.

How can technical authors apply their writing skills to repair manuals?

I have been a technical writer since I was a kid, explaining to my parents how to record their television programmes on VHS. So often, we Technical Authors begin by explaining how things work, so that our usage descriptions have a context and make more sense to the user. Repair documents make perfect sense within a suite of documentation that already includes installation guides, operating instructions, and maintenance manuals, simply providing a different perspective on the subjects we already describe extensively.

Understanding audiences

It is possible to have a single document that covers all of the information that anyone could possibly need to know about a topic, but such exhaustive documentation  can overwhelm a reader. Typically, information is best organised into separate documents for different target audiences, providing them with only the information relevant to them and in language that is easiest for them to understand.

• An Installation Manual for a team of engineers installing a piece of machinery.
• An Operator’s Manual for someone who operates the machinery on a daily basis.
• A User Guide for an office worker trying to use a software application.
• An API guide for a software developer creating the software application.

Each target audience requires a specific information in order to complete their tasks; for example, a machine operator will need to know how to safely operate their machine, they won’t need the instructions on initial machine assembly.

We can understand which information is required by our audience and target our content to them to maximise their success, and can apply this to repair manuals.

Clear writing and content structure

As experts in technical authoring, we have a leg-up in creating repair manuals. We are well versed in identifying the information that is required by a particular audience and communicating it clearly to that audience. Manufacturers are already familiar with producing some documentation, such as installation, assembly, and maintenance guides, but may not have the experience of how best to write repair manuals.

For Technical Authors, we are already experienced with writing clearly and structuring information in a way that is accessible for our audiences. In the case of repair manuals, we can format the documents like installation or assembly manuals, but with content more similar to maintenance manuals.

Single-sourced, comprehensive documentation sets

One of the core skills of Technical Authors, strengthened with experience, is optimising our documentation. Using tools such as Madcap Flare, we’re able to single-source and create multiple documents from the same content.

Harnessing technical authoring expertise

As Technical Authors, we are in an ideal position to collate existing knowledge into repair manuals to meet the requirements of Right to Repair legislation. How?

• If you’re already working in the manufacturing industry, discuss with your company’s legal team what the local requirements are for providing repair information.
• Use your product domain knowledge to create a user persona for a repairer of your products. [2]
• Identify the types of repairs that can be done for your products by a repairer.
• Identify the information you already have in your existing documentation that can be repurposed for a repair manual.
• Identify what information you’d need to create comprehensive repair information.
• Assemble your first repair manual.
• Celebrate!

Call to arms for technical authors

Why should a Technical Author care?

• Work opportunities
• Extend the life of more hardware

Documentation is the way that we, as Technical Authors, are already creating change in the world. Our writing streamlines product onboarding, answers the questions of frustrated users, and ensures that operators are safe in their day-to-day work. By creating repair manuals, we’re broadening our impact – by enabling people to extend the life of products that they already own. Every device that is saved from landfill reduces immediate waste, and lessens the demand for raw material extraction to create new devices. While our contributions may feel small, by enabling repair and re-use, we are contributing to the wider sustainability movement.

Are you ready to get started?

References

[1] Research Briefing Number 9302 by Lorraine Conway 24 September 2021 https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9302/CBP-9302.pdf

[2] https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2010/10/using-personas-during-design-and-documentation.php