#14169
How To Evaluate a Content Management System
Selecting and implementing a content management system (CMS) will be one of the largest IT projects tackled by many organisations. With costs running into the millions of dollars, it is vital that the right CMS package be selected. This article outlines some of the lessons that we have learnt when assisting clients to chose a CMS. It offers ideas and tips, and provides an approach for identifying your business' actual requirements for a CMS.
Robertson, James. Step Two (2002). Articles>Content Management>TC
#26253
All STC community leaders know the difficulty of finding volunteers. In recent years, the Orlando chapter has seen steadily increasing membership counts and meeting attendance figures, implemented creative and successful chapter initiatives, and even won consecutive Chapter of Distinction awards. But when it comes to soliciting volunteers for chapter leadership positions, you may as well be asking them to wrestle the sharks at SeaWorld! On the other hand, there are some things you can do to at least lessen the pain.
Murray, Mike. Tieline (2005). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#20335
How to Provide Internet Communication Services 
A new role for technical communicators is providing internet communication services such as web, FTP, and email. These services can enhance communication and collaboration, thereby increasing the quality of our organization and products.
King, Dusty. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Online
#23441
How We Educate Technical Communicators in the United States
Schools sending a representative to the annual CPTSC meeting have increased over the years from 9 in 1974 to 39 in 1993. Approximately 10 to 12% of the Society for Technical Communication membership identifies itself as being associated with academic programs-- although not all these programs offer certificates or degrees in technical communication.
Warren, Thomas L. TC-FORUM (1998). Articles>Education>TC
#30502
Human-Computer Interaction: The Role of the Technical Communicator
Throughout the history of the computer, human-computer interaction has taken many forms; from gears and levers to electronic desktops and virtual reality. Development of the computer has been driven by advances in technology making the computer smaller, cheaper, more powerful, but not necessarily easier to use. Today, the computer is ready for an evolutionary change from a number cruncher to a true communications medium. Sound, voice, and video are the future of the computer and technical communicators will become important in making this technology easier and more practical to use.
Calkins, Andrew J. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>TC
#13987
A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing 
A discussion of how to argue that technical writing has humanistic value. Reviewing the common belief (at least in 1979) that tech writing was of necessity a 'skills' course, this article counters the traditional 'plain style' rhetorical theory by suggesting possibilities for professional and theoretical alternatives for the field.
Miller, Carolyn R. North Carolina State University (1979). Articles>TC>Rhetoric>Minimalism
#30319
If You Want Something Done Right, Don't Do It Yourself
When you get fed up and do decide to blaze your own trail, don't forget to take some friends along with you. You never know when you're going to run into a wild past participle that you need help taming.
Allen, Jennifer. Boston Broadside (1992). Articles>TC>Collaboration>Workplace
#29127
Illustration and Language in Technical Communication 
Many technical documents present information both graphically and verbally. While much is known about the verbal tools of technical professionals, technical graphics have been less fully examined. Here the drawings of a United States patent are examined revealing a system for organizing and presenting visual information that is analogous to commonly-used models for organizing and presenting verbal information.
Donnell, Jeffrey. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2005). Articles>TC>Technical Writing>Technical Illustration
#29654
Imagination and Innovation: Remembering the Child Within
In today's crazy, busy world we often forget to dream -- to imagine. Just think what the world would be like if all those dreamers -- all those innovators -- let themselves be driven only by the day-to-day. Where would we be? This paper endeavors to get you thinking about imagination and innovation. It hopes to get you to look up from your desk and away from your computer screen. To remember what it was like as a child to dream, to imagine, and to believe anything was possible. And, hopefully, to help rekindle that inner child so it will serve you in the future, and perhaps rekindle that sense of excitement.
Crawford, Vanadis. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>TC
#30775
The Impact of Social Media on Technical Communication
In this podcast, I talk with Bill Albing, founder of KeyContent.org, about the impact of social media on technical communication. Bill talks about different ways social media helps audiences interconnect and interact. Good social media technologies enable professionals to collaborate easily, without being encumbered by complicated technology or even burdened by managing and filtering feeds. Bill explains that the web is more than just a venue for publication -- it's a medium that allows people to interconnect and work/collaborate with information. This is the direction we're moving towards, and technical communicators are starting to integrate social media, such as user forums, directly into their help.
Albing, Bill and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>Online
#29219
Technical communication practices have been changed dramatically by the increasingly ubiquitous nature of digital technologies. Yet, while those who work in the profession have been living through this dramatic change, our academic discipline has been moving at a slower pace, at times appearing quite unsure about how to proceed. This article focuses on the following three areas of opportunity for change in our discipline in relation to digital technologies: access and expectations, scholarship and community building, and accountability and partnering.
Gurak, Laura J. and Ann Hill Duin. Technical Communication Quarterly (2004). Articles>TC>Multimedia>Online
#14032
The Implied Author in Technical Discourse
The task of conveying technical information is usually taken to be the responsibility of the writer-researcher, aided possibly by editorial and supervisory reviews. And the test of success is usually understood to be a technically objective and accurate text, effectively presented to the intended reader. The subject of this paper is an inquiry into the existence of a fictitious personage, created by the writer-researcher, deliberately or not, to mediate between the author and the reader on the one side, and the author and the text on the other. If such a personage exists, the next question is whether this presence, often referred to as an implied author or 'second self' in literary studies, is an appropriate rhetorical device for technical discourse; whether it enhances or distorts the information transfer from writer to text to reader. Such questioning can, I believe, lead to a more refined understanding of the nature of technical discourse and its relation to the reality it addresses.
Coney, Mary B. JAC (1988). Articles>Rhetoric>TC
#28176
Improving technical reviews, when subject matter experts, or SMEs, review content for technical accuracy, is a challenge every technical communicator faces sometime during their career. Every year, journal articles are published, presentations are made, and discussions are initiated on this very topic. Most of them conclude that SMEs are difficult. It's your job to bribe, cajole, or coerce a better review out of your SME. I don't agree.
Idoura, Alexia. Carolina Communique (2004). Articles>TC>Collaboration>SMEs
#18711
Improving Your Interpersonal Skills
To succeed in the corporate world, then, technical types have to learn to live with -- even serve -- nontechies. This article gives tips to help you get along with -- and maybe even learn to like -- people, whether the same as us or different.
#21646
Speculates about what the future will hold for technical communicators.
Martin, Maurice. Intercom (2004). Articles>TC>History
#23712
Several stories of Lone Star and Rocky Mountain Chapter STC members who have achieved victories over disabilities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>TC>Accessibility
#26126
Increasing Visibility: Building Demand for Technical Communication Services
Good technical communication is critical to the success of products and ultimately to the success of companies. But even the most perfect manuals may go unread, and the most elegant help systems may go unnoticed unless you take the time to promote the quality and necessity of your work. You need to showcase your talents and to encourage people throughout your company--and the community--to value and understand the work that you do. This will ideally lead to more respect, better pay, and more interesting work.
Huettner, Brenda P. TECHWR-L (2005). Articles>TC>Marketing
#19515
Increasing Visibility: Building Demand for Technical Communication Services 
Good technical communication is critical to the success of products and ultimately to the success of companies. But even the most perfect manuals may go unread, and the most elegant help systems may go unnoticed unless you take the time to promote the quality and necessity of your work. You need to showcase your talents and to encourage people throughout your company--and the community--to value and understand the work that you do. This will ideally lead to more respect, better pay, and more interesting work.
Huettner, Brenda P. TECHWR-L (2003). Articles>TC>Workplace
#29947
In order for chapters to stay relevant to their members, they must provide intrinsic value to their members and show themselves as professional and authoritative leaders in the field of technical communication.
Opsteegh, Michael. Tieline (2007). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#24394
The Influence of Text Factors on Readers
The objectives of the research study presented here are to increase the discipline's knowledge about reader performance with technical documents, help writers and editors better allocate their efforts, and explore multivariate studies of text variables. For this study, subjects read and recalled one of two technical texts. Their recall protocols were analyzed for syntactic and semantic characteristics. Preliminary results suggest that information has a greater chance of being recalled if it is in clauses, independent clauses, more important idea units, or the first paragraph of the document. Additional results will be discussed at the conference.
Spyridakis, Jan H. and Carol S. Isakson. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Editing
#22730
Information and Communication Technologies and the Global Digital Divide
This article examines the global digital divide-and discusses conditions and circumstances that have contributed to its creation. An important issue this article explores is whether there is a convergence, absolute convergence, divergence, or relative divergence in the application and diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) between developed countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and if so, which of these conditions will continue.
Rice, Mitchell F. Johns Hopkins University (2003). Articles>TC>International
#24393
Information Development at Rockwell Software – Part 2: Standards and Tools and Technology
Rockwell Software is a $60-million company specializing in plant automation software. Our offices in West Allis, Wisconsin, and Mayfield Village, Ohio, provide technical communicators with the opportunity to work closely with development teams to design, test, and release usable, consistent software and information products. While Rockwell Software's information development process is a multi-faceted endeavor, this paper focuses on the following four steps we implement to create our information products: interviewing customers to establish information guidelines, writing Getting Results guides, selecting tools, and programming for technical communicators.
Giordano, Jennifer L., Michael R. Huber, Kimberly B. Ness and Beth A. Williams. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Case Studies>Ohio
#30780
Information Development in a Flat World
The flat world has had a clear impact on information development and will continue to increase competitive pressure on the profession in the foreseeable future. By adapting to the realities of global organizations and global audiences and instituting a disciplined work environment that thrives on standards and best practices, technical communicators can remain competitive.
Hackos, JoAnn T. Intercom (2008). Articles>TC>International
#20683
The Inmates are Running the STC
The latest on the STC Transformation blog mentions that of the thousands of STC members, only 1% are contributing their views to the blog. So, they wonder, what do the other 99% have to say? One commentor thinks that this 99% are silent because they're happy with their memberships. I think this group has probably just forgotten they're members.
Berger, Jenny L. Creative Tech Writer, The (2003). Articles>TC>Organizations>STC
#24390
Innovate, Illuminate, Activate-Write!
This workshop will help you ignore old patterns, tap into your creative potential, and find innovative answers to anything. Bring your sense of humor and an outlandish willingness to stretch.
Oestreich, Linda L. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC
