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Module incorporate as many relevant stakeholders as possible given time and resource constraints. There
7 must be a good feedback mechanism within this process so that collaborative decisions are taken.

However, it must be made clear that the decisions of the designated product management team are

final, in order to avoid unnecessary complaints.

Peer review (in Module 2 see Stage 5 of the IEA process) is an important element of the review
9-12 December, 2013 process to ensure the credibility for larger more complex products. The objective of the peer review

is to check for adherence by the authors to the specifications provided at the start of the assignment,
to check the reliability and appropriateness of the scientific basis of the analyses, and the reliability
and appropriateness of the data and information used for the analyses. It can also be used to provide

relevant and up-to-date data and information to enrich the analyses, and to ensure that the sources
of information as well as citations are used correctly.

Quality publications demand quality editing functions including copy, literary and technical editing.
Technical editing ensures that the content is accurate and scientifically sound. The technical
editor should be familiar with the subject being presented, and be familiar with the technical
terminology used within the subject. The literary edit ensures that the document conforms to
the guidelines and standards of the organizations, and ensures consistency within the document

(e.g., referencing, capitalization, spelling, hyphenation of compound words, use of symbols and
use of italics or bold). The literary edit also covers copy-editing, which is to ensure that spelling,
grammar and punctuation are correct, that sentences are complete and comprehensible, that no
material is missing, that illustrations and references to graphics are correctly inserted, and that

tables are laid out correctly.

As the language edit is the most important from the reader’s perspective, it is important that ideas are
expressed clearly, that sentences are not too complex, that the flow of ideas is logical and that excessive

jargon is avoided. Only when the original text is finalized does it go to the translation if other language
versions are requested.

Layout

Layout is another crucial part of the process. Bad layout will easily confuse the reader and hide your
message. A long report can be made more reader friendly through layout and design. For your message

to stick out in the crowd of information products, it needs the right packaging. The layout is in many ways
the final touch where you will have to think of such issues as harmony between text and illustrations, a
good use of graphics and photographs, space and structure. The aim should be to have a product that
is easy for the reader to navigate.

26 Creating Communication Outputs from the Assessment