Asking Your Users and Doing What They Need: The Story of How Federal Express Ground Operations Revamped Its User Manuals  

Worldwide Communications & Policy is a relatively new department in Federal Express, created to manage communications and produce policy and procedure (P&P) manuals for the largest division in our global company. We asked an outside consultant, JoAnn Hackos & Associates, to evaluate the existing divisional P&P manuals and conduct an audience analysis. We emerged from the process with a plan to change the existing manuals, which tried to be all things to all people, into a collection of audience-specific, task-oriented documents.

Gill, Sadie P., JoAnn T. Hackos, Mary Hartmann, Carol Sowell, and Julian S. Winstead. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Assessing Publications Process-Maturity: The Experiences of Two Organizations at Different Levels of Process Maturity  

As Information Development organizations grow and mature, their organizational structure should grow and mature as well. The optimal structure for an organization in its early stages should focus on achieving stability and repeatable quality. As an organization matures, the optimal structure may need to be significantly different to develop a more thorough understanding of customers and contribute substantially to customer satisfaction.

Hackos, JoAnn T., Lisa Blaschke, Brenda MacKay and Deborah J. Rosenquist. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Information Design>Assessment>Case Studies

Building Usability in from the Beginning: Analyzing Users and Their Tasks  

In this interactive session, attendees will practice their skills in interviewing users, creating task scenarios from the users’ perspective, and turning the task scenarios into designs for information products.

Hackos, JoAnn T. and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Usability>Methods

Centralized versus Distributed Organizational Structures  

The nature of a corporation and its product line(s) influences the optimal structure for your information-development organization. When lines of business are unrelated, information-development organizations may best function independently; when lines of business are interrelated, the groups need a unified strategy. While favored by product developers and business leaders, distributed structures can produce inconsistent information quality to customers. Centralized organizations can meet customer needs, but they are often perceived as focusing on publication quality rather than content. The best solution may be a hybrid structure that takes advantage of the strengths of both.

Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Information Design>Workflow

Creating An Information Model

An Information Model provides the framework for organizing your content so that it can be delivered and reused in a variety of innovative ways. Once you have created an Information Model for your content repository, you will be able to label information in ways that will enhance search and retrieval, making it possible for authors and users to find the information resources they need quickly and easily.

Hackos, JoAnn T. WebRef (2002). Design>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Web Design

Customer Partnering: Data Gathering for Complex Online Documentation  

Technical communicators today must document complex applications used in complex environments. Information about users and use models is important under these conditions, especially if documentation will be presented online. Customer partnering, a method of information gathering that supplements surveys, contextual inquiries, usability testing, and interviews, provides a way of involving the users of complex applications in the design of information delivery systems. We used this method to help a client gather important information about user and use models and design a new information library for complex server computer systems.

Hackos, JoAnn T., Molly Hammar and Arthur Elser. ComTech Services (1997). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Collaboration

Demystifying Information Modeling  

The information model is a framework for organizing all the information people need.

Hackos, JoAnn T. ComTech Services (2002). Design>Information Design>Project Management>Metadata

Distributed or Centralized: How to Maintain Quality When They Keep Reorganizing Your Organization  

Is there a 'best' way to organize technical publications? One central organization? Many small organizations per business unit? Communicators distributed through the development teams? Discuss the pros and cons of organizational structure and its relationship to quality.

Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Writing>Quality>Technical Writing

Focus Groups: Planning the Education of Technical Communicators During the Next Ten Years  

These focus groups continue the dialogue begun in focus groups organized by Ken Rainey and Katherine Staples, Education and Research PIC, at the 1993 annual conference in Dallas. Participants discussed the topic of how partnerships among the Society, business and industry, and colleges and universitates could strengthen academic programs in technical communication, empower the profession, and promote research.

Barnum, Carol M., Saul A. Carliner, JoAnn T. Hackos, Rita Reaves, Stuart A. Selber and Sherry G. Southard. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Education>Industry and Academy>STC

From Theory to Practice: Using the Information Process-Maturity Model as a Tool for Strategic Planning     

Strategic planning is no longer an option for an information-development organization that hopes to survive and thrive in the current climate of downsizing and outsourcing. Information developers must prove their value to their products and their organizations and demonstrate that they are aligned with corporate goals and objectives. Use strategic planning both as a tool to improve your organization and as a sign that you are willing to look closely at the old and comfortable ways of working and make significant quality and process improvements.

Hackos, JoAnn T. Technical Communication Online (1997). Design>Information Design

The Future of Technical Communication: The Perspective of a Management Consultant    

This commentary summarizes the seven articles in this special issue and also argues that technical communication as a profession is in the midst of a disruption caused by low-cost innovators. Technical communicators can counter this trend by drastically reducing costs and increasing productivity in current operations. But the most valuable strategy is the difficult task of pursuing customer knowledge, which is difficult to replicate by those with little access to customers. Working for the customer and providing them with the information they need to be successful in using products and systems is critical to the future of technical communication.

Hackos, JoAnn T. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Management>TC

Global Transitions   

This panel will examine continuous publishing movement from paper to HTML formats, and localization management, which are currently in global transition. Panelists from a translation agency, a consulting firm, and a hardware computer corporation will address how the technical communications organizations must transition in these areas to meet the global requirements of the industry.

Hackos, JoAnn T., Deborah Rosenquist and Jaap van der Meer. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Publishing>International>Localization

Implementing a Content Management System  

Before you begin a pilot project using a CMS, you must understand how it will work. Read on to learn how to define your information model, set up your folder structure, create a metadata scheme, assign roles and responsibilities, define your workflow, and measure results.

Hackos, JoAnn T. Intercom (2007). Articles>Content Management>Project Management

Information Development in a Flat World    

The flat world has had a clear impact on information development and will continue to increase competitive pressure on the profession in the foreseeable future. By adapting to the realities of global organizations and global audiences and instituting a disciplined work environment that thrives on standards and best practices, technical communicators can remain competitive.

Hackos, JoAnn T. Intercom (2008). Articles>TC>International

Integrating Training and Documentation  

The potential problems I detailed in working to integrate training and documentation functions do indeed occur in many organizations. They have also found that working out the problems is worth the effort.

Hackos, JoAnn T. ComTech Services (1994). Articles>Documentation>Tutorials

Is a Documentation Wiki in your Future?

If we can solicit user participation in a Web 2.0 knowledge community (a volunter wiki documentation, for example), we might have a powerful means for creating high quality content. But how should this process work?

Hackos, JoAnn T. Center for Information-Development Management (2007). Articles>Documentation>Content Management>Wikis

Is DITA Going to Tip?

We seem to be heading in the right direction. The danger is that we keep talking to one another rather than evangelizing to a broader community.

Hackos, JoAnn T. Center for Information-Development Management (2005). Articles>Documentation>Standards>DITA

Issues and Questions on Usability Testing: An Open Discussion Session  

Many technical communicators are assuming new roles as usability specialists or are doing user analysis, task analysis, and usability testing for their own documents. Many others would like to start disability testing. In this open discussion session, you can ask questions and share experiences with a panel of four technical communicators/usability specialists and with other conference attendees.

Hackos, JoAnn T., Janice S. James, Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish and Chauncey E. Wilson. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Usability>TC

Let's Stop Writing Documentation and Start Working for the Users  

Technical communication's long-time focus on task-oriented documentation has left customers with too many tasks and too much information; itï¿Âs time for a new approach. A user-centered approach reflecting a thorough understanding of users and how they engage the product is the surest route to effective documentation and training. To understand what users need, we need to get closer to them by spending time in their workplaces, watching them execute everyday tasks, and listening to them. Through this kind of ethnographic activity, we will become user experts, gaining credibility within our own organizations and our user communities.

Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design

Making the Business Case for Single Sourcing  

Discusses ways to communicate the financial benefits, customer value, learning and growth opportunities, and internal process improvements made possible by single sourcing.

Hackos, JoAnn T. and Tina Hedlund. ComTech Services (2004). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Business Communication

Moving Legacy Documentation into DITA: An Interview

JoAnn Hackos, content management and information design expert, gives her best advice on what organizations need to know about moving legacy documentation to DITA.

Hackos, JoAnn T. Data Conversion Laboratory (2007). Articles>Documentation>Content Management

Oblivious Organizations and Content Management: Not Yet Ready for Prime Time  

In brief, documents are created everywhere by everyone. They each develop the documents any way they like, with no common look and feel. Company officials have vehemently opposed hiring technical communicators for the R&D teams. They feel that the engineers know the products best and should be able to write about them. Marketing materials are created independently by many different marketing staff and even by executives who regularly post announcements to the company intranet and Internet sites.

Hackos, JoAnn T. ComTech Services (2003). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Case Studies

Process Maturity Model for Publications Organization  

Since 1994, I have continued to develop and test the Five-Level Process Maturity Model. The model has been validated with a number of publications organizations. As a result, the assessment questionnaire is complete, and an assessment process is in place. I have isolated eight significant characteristics that help the publications organization efficient and effective in meeting user and customer needs.

Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Project Management>Publishing

Publications Process Maturity Model: Key Practices for an Effective Organization  

The publications process maturity model provides a way for organizations to look at themselves and evaluate the effectiveness of their current processes. The model provides them with a set of standards. Dr. JoAnn Hackos will present a picture of a mature organization and provide an opportunity for participants to discuss how their organizations compare.

Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Management>Organizations