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Presents guidelines on writing technical articles for the `IEEE Software' serial publication in the U.S. Preference for articles about real, hands-on experiences; Presentation of background information and technical conclusions with clarity; Target audience; Lack of focus in multiauthor papers; Overgeneralizing from experience; Reluctance to submit a short paper.

The author reflects on the essential components of an article for it to be published in the periodical. The author posed that Steve McConnell, in his essay "How to Write a Good Technical Article," said that focus, clarity, accessibility, quick progression, brevity, and objectivity must be present for an article to be considered for publication.

The article offers information about the ideal design process of computer software development. A design process should be one that generates a large amount of explanatory information, in the form of arguments for correctness, efficiency, and generate fitness and in the reasons for rejecting alternatives. Writing explanations as one goes along the process gives him a cascading benefit. Furthermore, explanatory technical writing uses texts as the primary mode of expression, with diagrams playing an important, but subsidiary, role of illustrating selected aspects only.