Glossary Updates6 new terms added to the glossaries · October 11, 2026, 13:38 CEST
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Glossary · 1 · Documentation models

Task-based documentation

Also known as: Task-oriented documentation, Task-based writing

German: aufgabenorientierte Dokumentation

In technical communication, task-based documentation is documentation whose content is selected, organized and named according to the tasks users perform to reach their goals with a product, as identified by task analysis, rather than according to the product’s features, components or menus.

  • Documentation models
  • Tasks
  • Minimalism

In one sentence

Task-based documentation selects and organizes content by the tasks users perform to reach their goals, identified by task analysis, not by features.

Example

The manual of a labeling machine is organized into “Prepare the machine for a new product”, “Change the label roll”, “Clear a label jam” and “Clean the applicator”, instead of one chapter per menu of the HMI; each procedure links to the reference data it needs.

How it applies

  • Selection and order: A task analysis identifies the users, their goals and their tasks; the documentation set is then built from these tasks. Procedures carry goal-oriented titles, prerequisites and steps; conceptual and reference content is included where tasks depend on it. Functions that support no identified task receive little description.
  • Structures: In DITA, the DITA task topic type models a procedure with prerequisites, context, steps, results and post-requirements, and DITA concept and DITA reference topics provide the background and data. Task-based documentation does not require DITA; templates and editorial rules achieve the same.
  • Machinery and devices: Operating and maintenance instructions are typically organized by lifecycle phase and task — transport, installation, operation, cleaning, maintenance, troubleshooting, decommissioning. Safety-related instructions are placed at the steps where a hazard arises, in addition to the general safety information; see Warning message and Information for use. Task orientation decides structure and placement, never whether required information is included.
  • Software: Help systems and user guides name topics after what users want to do (“Export a report”) and link to the reference for each dialog.
  • Limits: Not all information is task-shaped: understanding a system, diagnosing an unknown fault or comparing options needs conceptual and reference content, and task lists based on assumptions rather than observation may not match the work actually done.

Task-based documentation vs. topic-based authoring

Topic-based authoring concerns the unit of content: information is written in self-contained topics that can be combined and reused. Task-based documentation concerns the selection: which content exists and how it is organized follows from user tasks. The two are usually combined — tasks written as topics — but a topic-based set can be feature-oriented, and a task-based manual can be written as one continuous document.

Task-based vs. feature-oriented documentation

Feature-oriented documentation describes each function, screen or component in turn and leaves it to the reader to work out which functions serve a goal. Task-based documentation starts from the goal and brings together whatever functions the task needs.

External references