IT Incendiary

What is a White Paper? 

Technical White Papers have evolved over the last ten years from tomes of analytical analysis towards easy-to-read marketing collateral.  Wikipedia has a pretty good article about how these pieces of literature have evolved and you can read that article here . 

According this article, a Technical White Paper is almost always considered to be marketing collateral, supporting the jargon that the salesperson is employing to position a product or a service.  And indeed, most WP documents written today look increasingly like things churned out by people more versed in "lingo" than technology.

My own approach to writing WP documents is somewhat different, and the reasons reflect my own background as a technologist, System Engineer, and IT manager.

What is that approach? 

A White Paper Explains Technology

First of all, a WP should identify the key elements of any technology used so that the reader can understand how it is a benefit to the company.  It should be more than just a reiteration of buzz-words, but a real investigation of how a particular underlying technology can be leveraged by an organization.

But it has to be more than just a dissertation. 

One of my favorite humor pieces is a video made in 20th Century in John Cleese introduces the Compaq Portable III.

 

Of course, the question is "How do you explain technology without boring the audience?"

My wife, who teaches at the university level, recently queried her students:

Do you read for pleasure or for information?

Their responses were interesting, in that a significant proportion (more than half) said they read for information.  What was more astounding was that her students were all English Majors!

Of course, the point should be inverted when it comes to reading a White Paper: A White Paper is information!  But there is no pretense that it should be great literature.  It just has to be well written.

And if you write it well, it should not bore, but educate the reader. 

Let's face it, technology is interesting to most of us, and the process of learning about technology should lead the reader to new ideas.

What kinds of ideas?  Well, from the salesperson's perspective, it should make them want them to investigate the product. 

The connundrum is "How do you do that?"