Control Charts, Quality Assurance, and Information Development  

The purpose of this paper is to explore a method that allows information developers to measure the quality assurance being invested in the products they create. A successful project achieves a balance between the time it takes to produce information, the associated cost, and the quality of the end product.

Murphy, Stephen W. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Information Design>Assessment

Identifying Critical Content - An Alternative to the Outline  

This paper presents a practical, easily applied approach for designing information from the reader’s perspective. It also contrasts the traditional outline with the new approach. The Corporate Standard: Functional Thinking and Writing is a flexible and reader-oriented methodology that allows writers to get started quickly and readers to find and understand the information they need quickly.

Murphy, Stephen W. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation

Managing Project Expectations  

For a writer at the beginning of a project, the process of identifying the assumptions and expectations of the team that he or she is working with is as critical as the writing effort itself. Through discussion and review, the writer can help the team focus, from a writing point of view, on the risks and dependencies that are inherent in any project. While this process may not aid in avoiding seen and unforeseen problems later in the project, it does establish a context from which the writer can communicate to the team in way they will understand. It also provides an opportunity to make clear to the team the needs of the writer. This paper provides an approach for the writer to take to establish a context by which to identify and manage the expectations of others.

Murphy, Stephen W. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Management

Recruiting a Quality Technical Communicator  

In this technical communicator’s market the average time it takes for a professional to get hired in less than 30 days. Due to the short time these professionals are on the market hiring managers, in order to find and quickly bring on board quality people, may need to adjust their expectations and their hiring strategy.

Murphy, Stephen W. STC Proceedings (2000). Careers>Interviewing

The Paragraph: the Weak Link in Corporate Communication?   

The paragraph has been a writer's design convention for centuries. It can be applied to any kind of writing. It is flexible. It is easy to learn. It is what everyone is taught from about third grade onwards as the sole design for writing information. However, two different fields of endeavor are impacting the use of the paragraph as the best convention for communicating written information in the corporate world. They are: Cognitive science research; online media.

Murphy, Stephen W. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric