Select Supporting Detail
Make supporting documentation digestible by presenting it selectively and visually,
and guiding the reader through it. Use charts and graphs to illustrate or emphasize
important points. Delegate technical detail to appendices.
• Avoid extraneous information. It is not neutral! It imposes costs! If one or two
reasons for your recommendation are sufficient, keep the other reasons in
reserve. Resist the impulse to include everything you know about the topic.
• Do not allow contextual detail to diffuse the message. A lengthy contextual section
may merely slow the reader down. Consider whether you can integrate
contextual detail into the problem definition, or the analysis of options.
• Select appendices wisely. Only include information that is essential to deepen
understanding of what you are recommending, and why. This will almost always
involve a selective draw from data you have found or created. Simplify the
format so that the findings are clear and overt.