Why Technical Writers Should Understand and Consider Adopting iiRDS
Upcoming training courses teach how the iiRDS standard can help you deliver structured content for a smarter, more scalable future
Tech writers today are under pressure to deliver content that’s accurate, personalized, and instantly accessible—across a growing range of platforms and a dizzying number of use cases. That’s where the intelligent information Request and Delivery Standard (iiRDS) comes in.
iiRDS is an open standard that anyone can use. It helps organizations deliver digital product information—such as service instructions, user manuals, and operating procedures—in a consistent, structured format.
With iiRDS, content can be organized to make it easier to locate, share, and repurpose across different tools, platforms, and vendors.
iiRDS started in Europe, but it's gaining global traction. It's now on the path to becoming an international standard through the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the organization responsible for setting worldwide standards in electrical and electronic technologies.
👀 See also: April 2025 special issue of tcworld magazine dedicated to helping you understand iiRDS
Why iiRDS Matters For Documentation Teams
If you work on a tech docs team trying to deliver personalized product information at scale—especially in manufacturing, medical devices, or other complex product environments—iiRDS can help you move from static documents to dynamic, structured content experiences.
For example, imagine a field technician scanning a QR code on a device and receiving just the repair information that applies to the specific problem and their level of certification. No hunting through long PDFs. No irrelevant content. That’s the kind of outcome iiRDS enables.
What iiRDS includes
iiRDS defines:
A metadata model to describe the context and purpose of content (e.g., product, audience, task, lifecycle stage)
A package format for exchanging content with metadata across systems
A request and delivery mechanism that allows content consumers (like apps or portals) to pull only the information they need
It’s built to work alongside existing standards like DITA and integrate with your current authoring and content management tools.
Learn How To Apply iiRDS
The eight-week online course from the iiRDS Consortium introduces participants to the fundamentals of iiRDS. The self-paced learning course includes live online sessions and practical exercises to help you put iiRDS to use.
Key topics covered:
What iiRDS is and where it fits in smart content delivery
How the metadata model and package format work
How iiRDS relates to other standards and classification systems
How to create and validate iiRDS packages using authoring tools
How organizations use iiRDS to deliver intelligent information
See the training schedule and learn more.