http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Documentation/Standards A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and Documentation and Standards in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Documentation/Standards http://tc.eserver.org/35684.html http://tc.eserver.org/35684.html Under the European law, the user manual is an integral part of the product. Faulty instructions or lacking safety information may lead to unforeseen liability claims. Several standards and directives give guidance on how to fulfill safety requirements, but also regulate design, use of language and information architecture of any high-quality manual. http://tc.eserver.org/34899.html http://tc.eserver.org/34899.html People use different terms to describe quality and if they actually use the same term, then it is highly unlikely that they will use the same definition for the term. So the first problem faced in the review process is the vocabulary used to describe quality attributes in a document. http://tc.eserver.org/34806.html http://tc.eserver.org/34806.html In our consultancy, we have developed a set of terms that represent what we consider to be an effective set of descriptive markers. Markers that help to measure how well a document is communicating. We characterize our set of markers as “Document Standards” for all forms of technical and scientific writing. http://tc.eserver.org/34807.html http://tc.eserver.org/34807.html Most people involved with authoring and reviewing process do not have good markers to inform them of the overall communication quality of a document. So without good markers they are left to utilize really poor markers to help them measure document quality. http://tc.eserver.org/33859.html http://tc.eserver.org/33859.html Organizations develop policies and procedures to support industry certification and compliance requirements. Unfortunately, companies often develop P&P information that is not helpful to all employees who must use the information. In fact, one study found that 40 percent of U.S. companies failed ISO certification because of problems with unclear or missing P&P documentation, resulting in wasted time, money, and effort. http://tc.eserver.org/33861.html http://tc.eserver.org/33861.html Auditing and enforcing compliance with P&P content should not be the responsibility of a P&P group or included in the job description of a P&P practitioner. However, the charter or job description may state that P&P practitioners are responsible for supporting compliance efforts. http://tc.eserver.org/33338.html http://tc.eserver.org/33338.html Information Mapping is a proprietary method for the analysis, organisation, and presentation of information. It is based on the needs of the users and their purpose in using the documentation. Information Mapping has three parts: analysis, organisation, presentation. http://tc.eserver.org/32698.html http://tc.eserver.org/32698.html Why should technical communicators be interested in ISO's user documentation standard? Hayhoe discusses the various advantages of this new systems and software engineering standard, and makes an argument for how the profession can gain by adhering to it. http://tc.eserver.org/30830.html http://tc.eserver.org/30830.html The look and feel of a help system can differ greatly from one product to the next, as can the writing. So how can the technical writing community emphasize the importance of software documentation standards and create a more unified help experience that users can adapt to? http://tc.eserver.org/30777.html http://tc.eserver.org/30777.html Today, Help authors take HTML for granted. But XML is starting to displace HTML, bringing with it new technologies like DITA and Web 2.0, as well as the potential for disruption. Perlin examines how to prepare for the change through adhering to standards. http://tc.eserver.org/30077.html http://tc.eserver.org/30077.html Is your documentation and training a solution for complex product design? Whether designing software, hardware, documentation, online help, or a telecommunication network, a strategy for usability is essential to user-friendly design. Every organization has a product life cycle but not every organization is user-focused because of absence of a usability process. Where do you begin? This paper describes two ISO standards that I have used as a strategy for usability, and accompanies a presentation that demonstrates how to put the standards to practice. http://tc.eserver.org/28776.html http://tc.eserver.org/28776.html This paper, the second of a series, closes the loop by examining implementation issues from a technical perspective. It explores best practices within the five key steps of a successful transition. http://tc.eserver.org/28773.html http://tc.eserver.org/28773.html Product documentation is expensive--often, much more expensive than it needs to be. With DITA promising savings of 50% in product documentation preparation costs, and 80% in translation costs, managers need to know what DITA is and if it can work for their organization. This white paper distills the information that managers need to know about DITA. http://tc.eserver.org/28181.html http://tc.eserver.org/28181.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/28086.html http://tc.eserver.org/28086.html Makes the case for DITA and provides a compare-and-contrast of DITA and DocBook. http://tc.eserver.org/28083.html http://tc.eserver.org/28083.html S1000D is a military standard for the creation and delivery of technical documentation. Many companies can benefit from its methodology. Review its history and principal concepts, and learn important information to keep in mind when applying the standard to your work. http://tc.eserver.org/26308.html http://tc.eserver.org/26308.html DocBook is a powerful tool for creating and maintaining documentation. However, there are a number of factors you should consider before you move your documentation to DocBook. This article discusses reasons for and against making the switch to DocBook. http://tc.eserver.org/26306.html http://tc.eserver.org/26306.html There are a number of tools available for transforming DocBook XML documents to various formats. All of these tools have strengths, as well as some noticeable weaknesses and drawbacks. This article looks at the benefits of using the XMLmind FO Converter, a graphical, highly configurable, and cross-platform application designed to transform DocBook XML files to any supported output format. http://tc.eserver.org/26193.html http://tc.eserver.org/26193.html This is a collation of some Frequently Asked questions regarding Docbook. The initial focus will be on the XML version of the DTD, and the XSLT based stylesheets. http://tc.eserver.org/26197.html http://tc.eserver.org/26197.html A tutorial on writing documentation that will be used in a particular project. http://tc.eserver.org/25444.html http://tc.eserver.org/25444.html This chapter is intended to provide a quick introduction to structured markup (SGML and XML). If you're already familiar with SGML or XML, you only need to skim this chapter. To work with DocBook, you need to understand a few basic concepts of structured editing in general, and DocBook, in particular. That's covered here. You also need some concrete experience with the way a DocBook document is structured. http://tc.eserver.org/24456.html http://tc.eserver.org/24456.html The ISO 9000 series of Quality Standards redefines how business will be conducted into the next century. The series is designed to measure the effectiveness of the Quality System in place, thereby ensuring both customer and company needs are always satisfied. The foundation of a robust Quality System is its documentation: problems in this area represent the largest single cause of registration failures. Quality System documentation also forms the basis upon which the 3rd party registrar builds the audit plan for your company. http://tc.eserver.org/24328.html http://tc.eserver.org/24328.html Creating your operating manuals for technical devices includes attention to audience as well as to organization. Your highest priority is to deliver to the user an operation section with a safe and efficient sequence. After you have sorted information into audience-appropriate sections, the user suffers fewer interruptions during operation. In addition, your manual must support other audiences before the end user ever sees a technical device or your manual. The authors propose a standard method applied early in the process of creating your operating manual. The standard method is a tool for writers who must create manuals that simultaneously deliver uninterrupted sequence and meet worldwide requirements. http://tc.eserver.org/23411.html http://tc.eserver.org/23411.html The contribution deals with the transposition of projects on the basis of the AECMA-1000D-specification. The author explains problems which exist outside aeronautics with the application of this specification. http://tc.eserver.org/22842.html http://tc.eserver.org/22842.html The IS0 9000 series of Quality Standards redefines how business will be conducted into the next century. The series is designed to measure the effectiveness of the Quality System in place, thereby ensuring both customer and company needs are always satisfied. The foundation of a robust Quality System is its documentation: problems in this area represent the largest single cause of registration failures. Quality System documentation also forms the basis upon which the 3rd party registrar builds the audit plan for your company. http://tc.eserver.org/21385.html http://tc.eserver.org/21385.html This article lists the basic differences between WinHelp version 4, Microsoft compiled HTML help, WebHelp and pure HTML help. Samples are available. http://tc.eserver.org/21383.html http://tc.eserver.org/21383.html Experts from around the World are working on a new ISO standard for software documentation (Guidelines for the design and preparation of user documentation for application software). This article outlines how the standard is being produced, its current status and what it contains. http://tc.eserver.org/21024.html http://tc.eserver.org/21024.html Managing for quality requires effective, enforced standards. Effective standards make it possible for everyone on the information team to be responsible for quality – for what J.M. Juran has called 'fitness for use.' This paper examines why standards improve quality and what actions are necessary to manage for quality by creating and using effective standards. http://tc.eserver.org/19827.html http://tc.eserver.org/19827.html The ISO 9000 series of Quality Standards redefines how business will be conducted into the next century. The series is designed to measure the effectiveness of the Quality System in place, thereby ensuring both customer and company needs are always satisfied. The foundation of a robust Quality System is its documentation: problems in this area represent the largest single cause of registration failures. Quality System documentation also forms the basis upon which the 3rd party registrar builds the audit plan for your company. http://tc.eserver.org/15118.html http://tc.eserver.org/15118.html Describes how technical writers can make their documentation comply with ISO 9001, the latest quality management system from the International Organization for Standardization. The article includes a list of suggested readings.