#26224
Be an Author, Not a Writer: Breaking into Retail Computer Book Publishing 
Miscellaneous documents to assist authors as they consider writing/publishing a book.
Corbin Nichols, Michelle and Christopher J. Benz. STC Orange County (1998). Presentations>Publishing>Technology
#28826
Core Principles of Information Architecture
Technical editing is like information architecture. As technical editors, we complete development edits and usability edits to ensure organization, labeling, navigation and search meet the users' needs. As information architects, we are involved with "the design of organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems to help people find and manage information more successfully."
Corbin Nichols, Michelle. STC Proceedings (2007). Presentations>Information Design>Technical Editing
#27651
Design Checklists for Online Help
Online help systems have evolved over the past 20 years to meet the needs of our users. Designers must consider the content, format, presentation, navigation, and access methods of online help systems. A series of design checklists based on the past 20 years of research are presented in this paper, which summarizes a journal article currently being considered for publication. The latest trend in online help system design is embedded user assistance, which includes integrating information into the interface and including an embedded help pane within that interface to display a context-sensitive online help system.
Corbin Nichols, Michelle. WritersUA (2004). Articles>Documentation>Help>Online
#10284
This article discusses how the use of multiple windows affects online information design by examining key concepts and presenting a set of design principles based on research and the authors' experience designing online information.
Corbin Nichols, Michelle and Robert R. Berry. Technical Communication Online (1996). Design>Information Design>Rhetoric>Visual Rhetoric
#23661
From Online Help to Embedded User Assistance 
Online help systems have evolved over the past twenty years to meet the needs of our users. Designers must consider the content, format, presentation, navigation, and access methods of online help systems. A series of design checklists based on the past 20 years of research are presented in this paper, which summarizes a journal article currently being considered for publication. The latest trend in online help system design is embedded user assistance, which includes integrating information into the interface and including an embedded help pane within that interface to display a context-sensitive online help system.
Corbin Nichols, Michelle. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#14254
Technical Editing as Quality Assurance: Adding Value to Content 
Technical editing is sometimes perceived to be simply a matter of grammar checking and proofreading. Perhaps fast-paced development environments, which often leave little time for editing functions, contribute to this perception—or, more precisely, this misperception. The levels-of-edit systems have helped technical editors manage the editorial functions in these hectic environments by providing a 'framework within which editors can choose appropriate editorial tasks for a particular document'. Recently though, technical editors are focusing even more on content editing, collaborating closely with technical writers on developing high-quality information. Taking this progression one step further, technical editing is beginning to be viewed as a quality assurance activity.
Corbin Nichols, Michelle, Pat Moell and Mike Boyd. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Editing>TC
#30602
Usability is Everybody's Business
Different types of usability tests can be performed at different phases in the product development cycle for different reasons. Writers can plan and implement a usability test and then incorporate recommendations into their documentation, thereby improving its usability. You can improve the usability of your documentation by performing one or more types of usability tests, no matter the size of the product or the time frame involved.
Corbin Nichols, Michelle, Judith R. Fisher, S. Dawn Achee, Julia C. Stovall, David J. Dixon and Jane Emans Jesser. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Usability>Planning
#23589
User Preference Tests: Show and Tell for Information Design
This article relates the author's experiences with user preference tests. User preference tests help a technical communicator make design decisions. To illustrate this point, the author describes a real-world scenario, the prototyping efforts involved in preparing for a user preference test, and three types of user preference tests.
Corbin Nichols, Michelle. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Information Design>User Centered Design
