Jonathan Shearman (trading as Texterity) provides professional services in technical writing, instructional design, and documentation systems. Practicing since 2004, Texterity has supported a diverse range of organisations across various industry sectors. I’m seeking freelance and contract opportunities in technical writing and documentation management.
How Can I Help?
At its core, the key skill of a technical writer is plain English, along with the ability to comprehend and explain how systems and products work. Technical writers bridge the gap between systems and users.
My specific fortés include product documentation, implementation guides, and help systems. I’ve also had experience with policy and procedure documentation. I am an advocate for SharePoint, with extensive experience in content and knowledge management (see the case study Utter Declutter). I’m proficient with major desktop applications and have over 10 years’ experience with SAP Payroll & HR modules, including SAP SuccessFactors. I also have about a year’s experience with SalesForce.
I am strongly solutions focussed, illustrated by my Case Studies, with a proven track record of devising innovative solutions to documentation problems.
About This Site
This site serves as a representative portfolio, offering insight into my writing style, approach and abilities. The Case Studies highlight documentation solutions I’ve developed in real-world scenarios, while the Articles include some contracted pieces, others on topics relevant to technical writing and some of general (if technical) interest. Much of the work that technical writers produce is behind corporate firewalls, embedded in secure systems, or classified as commercial-in-confidence. As a result, most of my professional output is not publicly available although some proprietary materials are available for brief review upon request.
Using AI
Like everyone, I am now able to draw upon AI to greatly enhance my technical capabilities. AI allows me to work with command-line tools and programming techniques that were previously out of scope. It enables me to onboard new systems and technical concepts faster than ever before, expanding my capacity to deliver high-quality documentation.
This is why I prefer to describe AI as ‘Augmented’ rather than ‘Artificial’ Intelligence—because it enhances, rather than replaces, human expertise. AI augments my ability to do what I do best: write and manage technical documents.