How are professional documents created in technical writing? Christiane Zehrer explores how external and immediate conditions of professional writing influence specialized texts. She employs a specially developed model of the situated editorial process, which allows for a theoretically rigorous integration of external influences—such as economic conditions—and immediate influences—such as the availability of illustrative materials or terminology resources—into the analysis. Through two case studies, the author presents typical factors that affect the content and presentation of technical documents and ultimately provides fundamental insights into the work processes and products of professional communication.