Writing, editing and indexing services

Abelard Consulting is a specialist producer of technical documentation and manager of documentation projects. We provide the full spectrum of documentation services: from editing a single document written by others to managing fully out-sourced project teams writing user documentation of many types, in many media and in many languages. Our whole-of-project management encompasses:

  preparation of documentation plans
  job scoping and estimating
  developing documentation (paper and online)
  editing and indexing
  technical illustration
  usability testing
  localisation and translation
  typesetting
  documentation maintenance

We can also take on discrete phases in the typical documentation development lifecycle (such as just review and editing, or just translation).

  Project planning and estimating
Our documentation consultants are experienced developers of documentation plans. We produce plans in accordance with Australian Standards AS 4258, AS 3876, AS 3897, AS 4598, and AS/NZS ISO/IEC 15910 and ISO/IEC 26514. Such plans include deliverable and audience definitions, task breakdowns and estimates, Gantt charts, review plans, and everything else needed to accurately define the documentation project and crystallise stakeholder expectations.

We can also extend the basic documentation plan to include templates, style guidelines, a subject-specific thesaurus (for vocabulary control) and acceptance test criteria.

And when the time comes for the project to begin, we can provide the technical writers to do the work: either in-house or at our offices.

  Documentation services
We have close to 30 years experience producing technical documentation. Our writers have produced standard operating procedures, user manuals, service manuals, getting started guides, release notes, and a host of other end-user documentation, often using single-sourcing methodologies. We fully understand traditional offset and modern digital printing, and tailor our developments accordingly.

Our illustrators and graphic artists work with our technical writers to ensure that the final product is of the quality you would expect from a respected book publisher.

We are also expert developers of online help systems (AIRHelp, WebHelp, FlashHelp, JavaHelp and so on) and online user guides (in PDF, HTML and XML formats). We also produce multimedia software tours and tutorials.

Our authoring toolsets are extensive and include Adobe FrameMaker^®, Adobe InDesign^®, Adobe RoboHelp^®, Adobe Captivate^® and Microsoft Word^®.

   Editing and indexing
Abelard Consulting specialises in editing and indexing technical and scientific documentation. All our writers and editors are members of the Australian Society for Technical Communication (ASTC) and the Society of Editors, and our indexers are members of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers (ANZSI). Our chief editors have also been accredited by the Institute of Professional Editors.

  Localisation and translation
Abelard Consulting has built up strong relationships with the technical translator community in Australia and in the United States. Technical translation into Asian, European and South American languages can be integrated into any documentation project (or we can project-manage stand-alone translation projects for you).

  planning and estimating
  single-sourcing methodologies
  user manuals and guides
  installation manuals
  work instructions
  policy & procedures manuals
  technical documentation
  online help systems
  online documentation
  document conversion
  technical illustration
  localisation & translation
  style guidelines
  subject-specific thesauri
  editing and indexing

Is a search facility better than a human-generated index in electronic documents? Find out here.

If you have a query about our services, complete our query form. We will endeavour to respond within two working days.

For urgent enquiries, call us on our Freecall number: 1800 601 116. Calls to this number are free.

  For more information, call 1800 601 116 (a free call).