The Best Machine

Several weeks ago, a supercilious colleague informed me that spell checkers and grammar checkers had rendered editors and proofreaders obsolete. When I attempted to explain that electronic grammar and spelling checkers are not reliable because they yield false negatives and false positives, she disagreed strongly. I went on to further explain that language is more complex than any computer can fathom, and that until artificial intelligence truly arrives, the best grammar checking program will continue to live between our ears. I am sorry to say that my colleague arrogantly declared that I was mistaken. I wrote the verse below in her honor.

Kasper, Rosa. MetroVoice (2002). Articles>Language>Word Processing

The Best of Both Worlds: Combining Usability Testing and Documentation Projects  

Describes two cases in which usability testing and documentation projects were performed in conjunction with one other. It describes how usability testing affected the design and content of the documentation and how follow-on usability studies added significant new data not revealed in the initial tests.

Kantner, Laurie, Stephanie L. Rosenbaum and Connie Leas. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Documentation>Usability

The Best of Eyetrack III: What We Saw When We Looked Through Their Eyes

In Eyetrack III, we observed 46 people for one hour as their eyes followed mock news websites and real multimedia content. In this article we'll provide an overview of what we observed.

Outing, Steve and Laura Ruel. Eyetrack III. Articles>Usability>Methods>Eye Tracking

Best of Show  

Highlights from the winners of STC's international technical art, technical publications, and online communication competitions.

Intercom (2003). Articles>TC

Best of Show -- Winners of STC's International Competitions  

Read about the Best of Show winners of the 2005•2006 competitions in international technical art, international online communication, and international technical publications. Also, meet the winner of the international student technical communication competition.

Intercom (2006). Articles>TC>Document Design>International

Best of the Best of the Best: Winners of STC's International Competitions  

This article profiles the winning entries in STC's international technical publications, technical art, online communication, and student technical communication competitions.

Intercom (2004). Articles>TC>Collaboration>STC

Best Practices for Developing Sales Proposals  

Help differentiate your company from the competition by using Schoenecker's suggestions to create effective sales proposals.

Schoenecker, Michelle M. Intercom (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Proposals

Best Practices for Digital Archiving  

The rapid growth in the creation and dissemination of digital objects by authors, publishers, corporations, governments, and even librarians, archivists, and museum curators, has emphasized the speed and ease of short-term dissemination with little regard for the long-term preservation of digital information. However, digital information is fragile in ways that differ from traditional technologies, such as paper or microfilm. It is more easily corrupted or altered without recognition. Digital storage media have shorter life spans, and digital information requires access technologies that are changing at an ever-increasing pace. Some types of information, such as multimedia, are so closely linked to the software and hardware technologies that they cannot be used outside these proprietary environments [Kuny 1998]. Because of the speed of technological advances, the time frame in which we must consider archiving becomes much shorter. The time between manufacture and preservation is shrinking.

Hodge, Gail M. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2000). Articles>Publishing>Online

Best Practices for Globalization and Localization

Dos and don'ts from pros! This article advises on technical, cultural and political issues of software localization.

Microsoft (2004). Articles>Language>Localization

Review: Best Practices in Policies and Procedures  

Page's book makes the first attempt to open the door to examples of tables of contents of P&P from a variety of organizations. He also makes an admirable attempt to position and show the P&P analyst/writer as more than a scribe, as a leader who adds value by formulating best P&P practices in collaboration with others for their organization.

Urgo, Raymond E. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

The Best Word Processor for Mac OS X

I would like input on the best WP for X, the best for the buck. I don't need a whole office package, just WP.

MacWorld (2003). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Macintosh

Betriebswirtschaftliche Lüsungen zur Kostensenkung Technischer Dokumentation

Die meisten TD-Verantwortlichen besitzen einen technischen Hintergrund. Daher verwundert es nicht, dass sie Lösungen für Kostenprobleme ebenfalls in der Technik suchen: Datenbanken, Content Management oder Translation Memory. Doch die Investitionskosten sind hoch. Und oft dauert es Jahre, bis sich entsprechende Systeme amortisieren – wenn überhaupt. Ein Betriebswirtschaftler würde das Problem anders lösen: ohne Technik und ohne Investition, durch gezieltes Setzen von Prioritäten und mit optimierten Prozessen. Bewährte Ansätze aus der Betriebswirtschaft gibt es viele, denn andere Unternehmensbereiche leiden unter genau denselben Kostenproblemen. Dieser Beitrag zeigt die wichtigsten Methoden und gibt Beispiele für deren Anwendung in der Technischen Dokumentation.

Achtelig, Marc. indoition engineering (2006). (German) Articles>Management>Project Management>Workflow

Better Business Analysis through User Interface Prototyping

User Interface (UI) prototyping can help business analysts to address many challenges, even though it is usually considered to be part of design rather than requirements analysis. The rest of this article briefly describes UI prototyping, and some of the benefits and risks it offers to business analysts.

Kussmaul, Clif. BA Collective (2008). Articles>User Interface>Business Communication

Better Content Management through Information Architecture

Content Management Systems promise so much: content is easier to publish, easier to update, and easier to find and use. Lots of promises, but do CMSs really deliver? Masood Nasser examines why Content Management Systems often fail and shows how Information Architecture can come to the rescue.

Nasser, Masood. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Articles>Content Management>Information Design

Better Readability for Improving the Number of Site Viewers

Web content readability is an often underestimated aspect for a web site. There are design rules for designers to follow, and there are SEO tips and tricks for SEO experts to use. But this is not all. Though beautiful designs and search engine optimization are extremely important, there are also other issues that a web marketer needs to consider in order to run the site successfully. Readability is one of them.

Stoyanova, Tsvetanka. SEOchat (2005). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Search

Better Reports: How to Communicate the Results of Usability Testing  

You've spent several days setting up a usability test, recruiting the participants and running it. Then you've pored over the data. What next? If you are doing usability testing as part of user-centred design within a business setting, then there are many ways that you can communicate the results. This paper looks at reports and then considers presentation and observation as alternatives to reports.

Jarrett, Caroline. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Usability>Reports>Testing

Better Search Engine Design: Beyond Algorithms

Search engine accuracy is important, but convenience may be more important than squeezing the last few ounces of performance out of your system. Peter Van Dijck demonstrates simple but effective query analysis, best bets, and controlled vocabularies -- tools to make your search engines more effective.

Van Dijck, Peter. O'Reilly and Associates (2004). Articles>Web Design>Search>Controlled Vocabulary

Better Structuring and Designing  

There is something to be learnt from the way a good architect works: before beginning with the planning, he takes a look at the site and the future inhabitants of the building, and asks them for their requirements and desires. He takes the general conditions imposed by building regulations and the budget into consideration, and designs the construction in such a way that the inhabitants can use it optimally. And this is exactly how we as information architects should also go about our business.

Oehmig, Peter. tekom (2006). Articles>Information Design

Beware: Generic Words Can Indeed Be Trademarked

In article by Sabra Chartrand in the New York Times (March 13, 1995), makes it clear that the name of electronic products — books, photos, music, and titles — can be a bone of contention. Did you know that the Microsoft Corporation owns the rights to use the word bookshelf as applied to any CD-ROM product? In 1991, the software giant trademarked the term to cover its collection of reference books, Microsoft Bookshelf.

Editorial Eye, The (2003). Articles>Intellectual Property>Trademark>Writing

Beware of Adverbs

Beware of adverbs. They can dilute the meaning of the verb or repeat it.

Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Diction>Rhetoric

Review: Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies    

While the potential return on investment may indeed be worth the effort, globalization and personalization come with substantial cost. To ensure you’re heading down the right path (and that you avoid the expensive mistakes of the trailblazers before you), it’s best to have a roadmap.

Abel, Scott. STC Hoosier (2003). Articles>Reviews>Web Design

Beyond Copy-Editing: The Editor-Writer Relationship

Editing is often narrowly defined as making corrections after a document is written. This approach typically relegates the editor to a low-status role within the organisation.

Durham, Marsha. Technical Editors Eyrie (1991). Articles>Editing>Collaboration

Beyond "Couch Potatoes": From Consumers to Designers and Active Contributors  

The fundamental challenge for computational media is to contribute to the invention and design of cultures in which humans can express themselves and engage in personally meaningful activities. Cultures are substantially defined by their media and tools for thinking, working, learning, and collaborating. New media change (1) the structure and contents of our interests; (2) the nature of our cognitive and collaborative tools; and, (3) the social environment in which thoughts originate and evolve, and mindsets develop.

Fischer, Gerhard. First Monday (2002). Articles>Cyberculture>Web Design>Community

Beyond End-User Documentation: Opportunities for Technical Communicators  

A large number of people in the technical communication field create end user documentation; therefore, many people seem to believe that technical writing is synonymous with writing end user documentation. On the contrary, creating end user documentation is only one of many roles that a professional technical communicator can perform. In this paper, we will describe several roles for technical communicators.

Vaughn, Joan E. and Katie Walton. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>TC