Going into the Field

Writers can increase the value of their documentation by visiting customers where the customers work and seeing what they are doing. It's easier to write targeted topics when you know what readers need. Ann Beebe, User Education manager for Visual Studio, gave me two examples of writers who went into the field and discovered how the customer's experience can be very different from the experience in the development team.

Miller, Harry. Microsoft (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>User Centered Design

Harry Miller on Multimedia Documentation

Miller, a technical editor at Microsoft interested in multimedia documentation, talks about why multimedia documentation is a growing trend and how writers can get started. He discusses Microsoft's Channel 9 and the human element with instructional screen demos.

Miller, Harry and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Documentation>Multimedia

Harry Miller's Technical Writing Blog

Podcasts about documentation, technical writing, and technical editing.

Miller, Harry. Microsoft. Resources>Writing>Technical Writing>Podcasting

When Writers Make Mistakes

If you take on projects outside of your basic job description, chances are some of them won't work out the way you wanted them to. Generally that isn't too much of a problem around here--nobody should be sticking right to the basic job description, and not every project can succeed. But you also have to work at minimizing the risk.

Miller, Harry. Microsoft (2006). Articles>Writing>Management

A Writer's Thoughts about Technical Writing, Part 2

I have recorded episodes with two of the writers on the Microsoft VSTO UE team (McLean and Norm), and here is the third writer, Brett Samblanet. We talked about the writing process, how Brett became a writer, how school prepared him for his work, and the importance of being able to communicate well and to take criticism.

Miller, Harry. Microsoft (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Audio

Writing the First Draft, Part 1

How technical writers prepare their first drafts--how they get started creating a document out of a bunch of facts and features. That's such an interesting topic I'd like to get as many people as I can to talk about how they do it.

Miller, Harry. Microsoft (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing

Technical Communication in the 4th Dimension

A discussion of how to plan for the use of time in video documentation projects.

Miller, Harry. Microsoft (2009). Articles>Documentation>Video>Screen Captures