Recently, while revisiting my personal mission statement, I discovered a distinction that changed how I think about communicating value — both personally and in technical writing. This insight was inspired by Jay Acunzo’s article on apparent vs discovered value. As I reflected on my own work, I noticed the same dynamic shows up in documentation. Users often encounter content that is accurate and thorough, but they do not immediately recognize the impact. That realization made me think about balancing what users notice first with the deeper value that emerges over time.

When someone uses documentation, apparent value is what they notice immediately. It is the quick win: finding an answer, completing a task, or understanding a concept without frustration. It is about clarity, relevance, and trust.

Discovered value appears later. Users realize they can rely on the documentation over time, understand the product more deeply, and notice improvements in workflows, onboarding, and team efficiency.

A strong documentation strategy balances both:

• Apparent value gets users in the door.
• Discovered value keeps them coming back.

Often, we focus too much on discovered value — accuracy, completeness, consistency. Those elements are important, but they are not what users notice first. Leading with apparent value makes the impact of our work visible immediately, while still allowing deeper benefits to emerge naturally.

For example, a well-structured troubleshooting guide gives users an immediate answer — the apparent value — while the consistent style, clear context, and helpful examples build trust and reduce support tickets over time — the discovered value.

This framework helped me see that communicating the value of technical writing is not just about describing outputs. It is about framing outcomes for the audience, making the work’s impact clear, and letting the deeper value reveal itself.

Naturally this leads me to think about the questions for further reflection:

• [?] How often do we highlight discovered value without first showing users what they gain immediately?
• [?] How might leading with apparent outcomes change how teams and users perceive our work?

For the personal side of this reflection — how revisiting my mission statement helped me discover these ideas — you can read my post on Odyssey.

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