#24903
Juggling or Struggling: The Art of Managing Online and Hardcopy Documentation 
While company budgets are increasing little or none, the responsibilities of technical writers continue to multiply as they are expected to produce online help as well as hard-copy documentation in short time periods. This demonstration explains how technical writers at Computer Power, Inc. produce usable online and hard-copy documentation from one source file. Participants will learn how to plan the file, create appropriate graphics, and use macros to convert text and other information for use in online help.
Bates, Michael P. and Catherine Cooper. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Project Management
#31508
Laws of Web Site Management and Digital Branding
We urgently need a quick crash course on web site management; otherwise, connecting with potential customers will become a very tough challenge. Lucky are those who have a unique domain name without the additional baggage of extraneous language, numbers, dashes or slashes. Studies have shown that 90 percent of business names are problematic. These problems are serious issues for achieving higher visibility.
Javed, Naseem. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Web Design>Project Management>Marketing
#22456
Review: Life in the New Work Order, or What Was I Doing Reading Death March? 
So what is there in this book for the technical writer? There is some obvious advice, such as don't enforce a process that gets in the way of reaching goals; and don't try out radically new tools on this project. There is also good advice that most of us would take years to discover on our own, about the high-level politics that might help the project and some strategies to try during negotiation. If you are managing a group, it also gives some ideas on the different social roles that every team seems to need.
Lizak, Samantha. TECHWR-L (2004). Articles>Reviews>Project Management
#22795
Long-Distance Teams: Facing the Challenges
Offers advice for managers of long-distance teams on working across time zones, accommodating team members' cultural norms, easing the difficulties of language differences, and nurturing team spirit.
Legg, Kathy A. Intercom (2004). Articles>Project Management>Collaboration>Online
#31832
Making the Case for Explicit Documentation Requirements
Clearly defined documentation requirements are instrumental in ensuring the appropriate documents are created accurately and in a timely manner. This article will make a case for using explicit documentation requirements and will recommend a method for putting it into practice.
Das, Pradipto. Usability Interface (2008). Articles>Documentation>Project Management
#29349
Manage the Document Life Cycle for the Important Documents on Your Project 
Not all documents require a full lifecycle, but if you understand the nature of building documents, you will be better able to plan for the time required to complete them successfully.
Mochal, Tom. TechRepublic (2005). Articles>Project Management>Documentation
#26816
Management Methods to Lower Documentation Costs
Most people who are in charge of technical documentation have a technical background. No wonder that they look to technology for solving their cost problems: databases, content management or translation memory. But the investment costs are high, of course. And it often takes years for such systems to amortise, if at all they do. A business manager would adopt a different approach to solving the problem: without technology and without investments, by setting priorities and by using optimized processes. There are several tried and tested approaches from the domain of business management that have been succesfully used in other departments to deal with very similar problems. This article explains the most important of these methods and gives examples of how they can be applied to technical documentation.
Achtelig, Marc. indoition engineering (2006). Articles>Project Management>Management>Workflow
#23793
Managing a Company-Wide Policies and Procedures Project
It takes skills in three different areas to manage a company-wide policy and procedures project. First, people must be organized and motivated to participate. Executive support is critical here. And the persons actually performing the tasks must be the ones to document it. Second, the project must be clearly defined and tracked. The document creation and review process must be structured simply, to take full advantage of the documentation team’s limited time. Finally, the information published must be accurate and controlled. Work processes should be analyzed before the procedures are documented, and published procedures must be distributed to specified manual holders.
Creps, William B. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Project Management>Documentation>Policies and Procedures
#30166
Managing a Large Web Page Project
Web page projects can be completed in minimal time if you have your team's buy-in. You need a team leader that finds creative ways to energize the team and has excellent organizational and communication skills. Standards, spreadsheets, and databases, and a knowledgeable technical and creative group provide essential tools to success. But, enthusiasm and synergy are the key components that make the project work, with upper management behind you all the way. Completion of the project finds excellent bonuses for a job well done!
Ricks, Debra. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Web Design>Project Management
#22621
Managing and Documenting Your Project, XML Style
Here are links to the listings described in Managing and Documenting Your Project XML Style.
Fisher, Timothy. XML Journal (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>XML
#21374
Risk management is as much art as science. Being aware of what risks are and how they can affect a project can be the difference between success and failure. Three elements of risk management—regardless of project size or scope—will influence success: understanding what risks are; developing and detailing categories of risk; and building a mitigation plan into the project plan. This approach to risk management benefits the project manager by bringing into focus—as early as possible in the project life cycle—many potential detriments to project success. When folded into a repeatable project management methodology, these processes can translate into dollars as the probability of meeting calendar and budget goals increases.
Bierbower, James G. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Project Management>Risk Communication
#29661
Managing the Monster, Managing the Zoo
Every technical communicator, whether controlling a single large project or a dozen small ones, must develop a set of management skills appropriate to the task in order to remain a qualified member of the communication team. This calls for being part diplomat, part technical expert, part salesman, and part rhinoceros.
Wise, Daniel E. and Elizabeth Bailey. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Project Management>TC
#30521
Managing Your Documentation Monster: Project Management for the 90's
If you've ever had trouble figuring out what your boss wants or needs, and how to deliver the project in a timely manner, this is the demonstration for you! From a nuts and bolts approach to developing an iron clad project plan, to managing the process and marching the completed project in a timely and professional manner, this demonstration covers a lot of ground in a short time. Tips, tricks, and checklists will be available to each attendee.
Glick-Smith, Judith L. and Karen A. Steele. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Project Management
#28138
Review: Managing your Documentation Projects 
Documentation projects require a significant amount of coordination and planning, and managers often find themselves faced with the challenge of successfully integrating a range of new elements including international legal requirements, new players, budgets and scheduling demands to make a product successful. Most often they look around for solutions to develop an effective strategy for their documentation projects that places control in their hands.
Kudesia, Saurabh. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Reviews>Documentation>Project Management
#29434
Acting without planning can be expensive, and because of the potential cost of poorly thought-out actions, we should not only plan, but plan twice.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2000). Articles>Project Management>Planning>User Centered Design
#22602
We are all against bonded labour and slavery. I ask you: are software professionals (including technical writers), better off than slaves and bonded labourers?
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management
#26927
Notes on the Role of Project Managers in Interface Design
This describes the role that I played as program manager for IE5.0, and the basic process we used (the essay is derived from an old post to chiweb). It's a good anecdote as to how one team managed the cross discipline work of design and usability, with the engineering and development process.
Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2002). Articles>Management>Project Management>Interaction Design
#26132
Offshore Project Management : The Business to Technical Communication (Part II)
As a project manager there are many things going through PM's mind. Many tasks - knowledge bank - technical and as well as business wise.
Khanna, Manoj. RapidBlog (2005). Articles>Project Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#25757
Give me the smallest, smartest team possible, with the right tools and infrastructure. Work like fiends for two or three months to get infrastructure and applications started right, then grow slowly to maintain and build additional applications on the core technology.
Boynton, J.R. Diamond Lane, The. Articles>Project Management>Collaboration
#27250
One Process is Not a Fit For All Projects
We should know that software development methods are situational, so why do so many people believe one process should work for every project? One size does not fit all and rarely do quick-fix methods help the process fit. In this week's column, Pete McBreen considers why we jump on the latest software development trend and what the fallout is when the trend and the project don't match.
McBreen, Pete. StickyMinds (2006). Articles>Project Management
#21225
Organizational Preparation for Efficient Localization
This panel will examine upstream activities that can make the more effective and efficient use of both resources and budgets. Panelists from software and hardware corporations will address questions about preparing organizations for localization.
Moe, Kevin R., Elizabeth G. Nichols, Nancy Niland and Deborah Rosenquist. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Project Management>Localization
#31742
Paradigm Shifts are Never Pretty: Advice on Making the Move to XML Authoring
Most people are risk-averse, and profound changes such as the move to structured authoring require new skills and workflows. To ensure a successful transition, XML implementers need to assess their team members, identify allies, and build their implementation strategy around the staff members who embrace change.
O'Keefe, Sarah S. Content Wrangler, The (2008). Articles>Content Management>Project Management>XML
#24636
Planning a Web Site Redesign in Six Steps
True Web site redesigns focus on much more than visuals. Brink and Regenold's redesign process will help technical communicators rethink a site from the ground up.
Brink, Marcia and Michele Regenold. Intercom (2004). Articles>Web Design>Redesign>Project Management
#22120
Planning an Electronic Performance Support System Project
Electronic performance support systems are software programs that directly support a worker's ability to perform tasks. Such systems go beyond passive task-oriented online help. To be effective, EPS systems should be closely interlocked with the supported product's user interface and its online help. This paper outlines some of the planning considerations and steps involved in an EPSS project, and some of the problems and complications that arose during a specific project.
Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (2002). Articles>Project Management>EPSS
#30240
Playing to Win: Building a Strategic Plan
This workshop uses games to provide an overview of strategic planning. The first step in strategic planning is identifying the objectives of your project. Participants play a version of musical chairs to identify and prioritize objectives. The second step is developing a vision of meeting those objectives. Participants play a version of darts. The third step is building the plan that fulfills the vision. Participants play a board game to create the best plan with limited resources.
Merritt, Leila and Emanuel Katzin. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Management>Project Management>Planning
