Why Documentation Bottlenecks Happen — and How to Break Them
At Canvas we spend a lot of time talking with the technical communicators, documentation specialists, and engineers who create, update, and manage critical technical content in complex manufacturing environments every single day.
They go by many titles —Technical Writer, Technical Publications Specialist, Process Engineer — and for some, documentation is just one part of a broader role in engineering, quality, or product support.
The challenges faced by these (often) unsung heroes are strikingly similar across a wide range of manufacturers and verticals. So based on our many conversations, we’ve put together a typical work day for one of them; a composite character we’ll call Sarah Thompson.
Morning: The First Round of Changes
Sarah starts her day reviewing Engineering Change Requests (ECRs) in the company’s product lifecycle management (PLM) system. Overnight, five new ECRs arrived — all affecting manuals she finished last week.
The challenge? Sarah doesn’t have direct access to the company’s CAD data. Instead, she is forced to request screenshots or exports from design engineers — who are already busy with their own deadlines. For every single image she needs, there are strings of emails, Teams messages, or desk-side conversations.
It’s time-consuming for Sarah, disruptive for the engineers, and frustrating for everyone involved.
Mid-Morning: Accuracy on the Move
In a design review meeting, Sarah asks whether a fastener specification is now final. The answer: “It might change next week.”
This puts her in a bind. Does she wait and risk missing her publishing deadline — or update now and potentially re-do the work when the change comes through? In regulated industries, accuracy isn’t optional, and rework is almost inevitable.
Lunchtime: The Backlog Grows
Sarah eats at her desk, scanning through new regulatory guidelines that will require torque specifications to be updated across dozens of documents. Each change ripples through the technical content ecosystem, multiplying the hours she needs to get it all right.
And with her dependency on engineering for every new image, the backlog grows faster than she can clear it.
Afternoon: Deadlines and Dependencies
The Quality Assurance manager stops by with an urgent request: updated service instructions are needed for an audit next Thursday. Sarah calculates that, at her current pace, she’ll need at least three more days for illustrations alone.
Even creating a single set of visualizations for technician training means going back to engineering for the right views, angles, and callouts — and hoping nothing changes before the job is done.
The Bigger Picture
Sarah’s story is familiar because it’s the reality for so many in complex manufacturing:
- No direct CAD access, creating bottlenecks between documentation and design teams
- Fragmented workflows between CAD, graphics, and authoring tools
- Constant change management challenges due to late-stage design updates
- Regulatory demands that make accuracy and traceability non-negotiable
- Time pressures that leave little room for quality improvements
What If It Could Be Different?
Imagine a workflow where:
- Technical authors can work directly with 3D data to create sophisticated visualizations and animations in a platform that requires no technical expertise or steep learning curve.
- Changes in engineering automatically update linked documentation assets
- One source of truth powers all output formats, from manuals to training materials
For professionals like Sarah — whatever their job title — this isn’t just about convenience. It’s about enabling them to work at the speed of innovation without sacrificing accuracy.
If Sarah’s day sounds familiar, it’s time to explore what model-based, integrated visualization and documentation solutions can do for your team.
