The Need for Technical Communication in IT Departments

Although many would not believe such to be true, there is a vast amount of communication that must be done in the IT world. This is even truer when the IT organization is involved with a regulated industry (e.g., pharmaceutical). In general, procedures and practices that went into the development, installation, and use/maintenance of a system require documentation and the communication of outages to the user community are also important. Among the more specific areas are help documentation, user instructions, code comments, installation instructions, and maintenance procedures/schedules. When a problem arises, it is often necessary for the IT professional to explain exactly what happened and provide the resolution in a coherent, layman-termed method, whether it be verbal or written (or both). Unfortunately, not all IT professionals are capable of doing this.

Mardekian, Beth. MetroVoice (2004). Articles>TC>Technology>Collaboration

Networking the World Over  

Technical communicators working in countries outside the U.S. share their thoughts on their profession.

Bouquet, Luc, Ken E. d'Albenas, Frederic R. Menezes, Alison Reynolds and Valerie Gilliotte. Intercom (2001). Articles>TC>International

Networking Your Way to Success

You don't have to spend hours making cold calls or squander money on invisible advertisements in order to find new clients. In fact, savvy businesspeople--technical writers included--know the best way to expand your client base is by leveraging the resources you already have. You might ask, "What resources?" Well, pull out your personal address book. This database of contacts--friends, relatives, and co-workers--is a gold mine when prospecting for business. By knowing how and who to ask, you can soon have as much business as you can handle!

Chroust Ehmann, Lain. TECHWR-L (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>Collaboration

NetWorks or, How to Make Professional Connections When You Live and Work in the "Sticks"

NetWorks is an association of people involved in public relations, technical/computer documentation, marketing, fund raising, planning and development, training, journalism, editing, video production and publishing. We have a common interest in sharing ideas, information and resources.

Olander, Karen Wise. Boston Broadside (1992). Articles>TC>Collaboration>STC

Review: New Essays in Technical and Scientific Communication: Research, Theory, Practice  

Anderson, Brockmann, and Miller have compiled an anthology of essays devoted to research in technical and scientific communication that should be read by any professional writing teacher who hopes to maintain a career in this field and by graduate students who are contemplating applied communication as an area of concentration. While the editors have not dealt with the pragmatic reasons for doing research (preferring to stress the scholarly motives), this anthology could well be subtitled “How to Write for Promotion and Tenure if You Teach Technical Writing in an English Department.” For technical writing teachers facing the publish or perish mandate in English departments, the essays exemplify the kinds of research that will help one survive amid literature-oriented colleagues who often think that technical writing teachers have nothing to publish or teach that has any depth or value. The essays, 12 in all, cover five currently popular main research areas in scientific and technical communication.

Tebeaux, Elizabeth. JAC (1983). Articles>Reviews>TC

New Media for Technical Communicators

For more than forty years, the Society for Technical Communication (STC) has helped its members explore new ways to communicate. The theme of the STC's 41st annual conference held recently in Minneapolis, 'Explore Communication,' was therefore apt. Participants at the conference discussed new ideas for communication via computer, and charted the beginnings of STC's foray into Internet-based scholarship.

December, John A. Computer-Mediated Communication (1995). Articles>TC>Multimedia

New Ways to Access Old Skills  

How technical communicators in Canada’s second largest bank promoted their skills, developed an intranet site on a shoestring budget, and established themselves as one of CIBC’s pre-eminent online publishers.

Tunbridge, Marie and Stephanie Copp. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Web Design

Non-Rule Environmental Policy: A Case Study of a Foundry Sand Land Disposal NPD    

This historical case study of a non-rule policy document (NPD) adopted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management describes an emerging genre in environmental discourse. The NPD standardizes environmental public policy for land disposal of foundry sand, a solid waste. The collaborative writing process took six months with industry input, and the NPD was presented to two environmental boards. Two contrasts, in process and format, distinguish NPDs from rules. The NPD is an entirely new kind of writing which includes guidance for implementing statutes. The writing process in the case involves government writers and industry representatives, although it does not include other public input such as public hearings. Instead, the staff of the pollution control agency simply presents the NPD to the appropriate environmental policy boards and arranges for its publication. This article adds to the body of knowledge about technical writing in government, specifically environmental policy and non-academic genres.

Griggs, Karen. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>TC>Government>Policies and Procedures

Non-Traditional Roles: Case Studies

This is a collaborative article with a list of case studies of technical communicators who assume new roles beyond the traditional ones like writing and editing. When they do so, they add value to their clients and organizations — as well as making themselves more valuable. This is in connection with the presentation slides from the STC Annual Conference (May 8-11, 2005 in Seattle, WA). The editor hopes these case studies will provide inspiration and encouragement for technical communicators who are looking for ways to add value.

Kunz, Lawrence D. KeyContent.org (2005). Articles>TC>Case Studies

Nostradamus the Technical Writer

Sue Gallagher, a longtime technical writer, once posed the following riddle: 'How are science fiction writers like technical writers?' The answer, of course, is that both professions write about things we imagine will happen in the future, but that often don't--as anyone who's documented software or hardware for a startup company can confirm. With the new year arriving soon, I find my thoughts turning to a different form of science fiction: Eschatology, the art of predicting the future. It occurs to me that the role of technical writer as prognosticator has a proud history, and one that dates back to the days of Nostradamus the Prophet, one of the most famous eschatologists.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. TECHWR-L (2003). Articles>TC

October 15, 2001, through January 15, 2002  

This report covers specifications, standards, and amendments received from October 15, 2001, through January 15, 2002.

Bach, Claudia. Intercom (2002). Articles>History>TC

On Advertising our Profession

All over the world professional organizations advertise the technical communication profession. My personal impression is this: Many of these activities address students of higher schools (which is basically fine), while others address professionals already working in the field (which only makes sense if the objective is to sell memberships or training). What I have not seen up to now are activities to address young people in the early process of planning their higher education and professional careers. The following thoughts contain some ideas for those trying to make our profession known to young people and to encourage them to consider a career in technical communication.

Schilliger, Reto. TC-FORUM (1999). Articles>TC>Professionalism

On Writing, Technical Communication, and Information Technology: The Core Competencies of Technical Communication    

This article contributes two arguments to the disciplinary conversation of technical communication with the aim of exploring leadership opportunities our field has in the field of information technology. The arguments assert that 1.) Writing is the core technology in any IT system, and all IT systems attempt to leverage the core strengths of writing to make these systems more valuable. 2.) Technical communicators have a central role to play in IT systems consonant with our core competencies: we attend to the balance of situated as opposed to generalized strategies and the balance of appeals to identity in writing about the practical use of technology, and we are well prepared to attend to these balances in other important arenas of IT discourse. Together, these two arguments are meant to begin or continue conversations—in workplace and academic contexts alike—that bring the issues of IT development and the future of technical communication closely together.

Hart-Davidson, William. Technical Communication Online (2001). Articles>TC>Writing>Technical Writing

An Online Approach to Teaching International Outsourcing in Technical Communication Classes    

The growth of international online access has given rise to a new production method--international outsourcing--that has important implications for technical communication practices. Successful interactions within international outsourcing require individuals to understand how cultural factors could affect online interactions. Today's technical communication students therefore need to understand how factors of culture and media could affect the success with which they operate in international outsourcing activities. This article provides technical communication instructors with a series of Web-based exercises they can use to familiarize students with different aspects that can affect intercultural online interactions. It also provides a series of online resources students can use to enhance their understanding of cross-cultural communication in cyberspace.

St. Amant, Kirk R. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2005). Articles>TC>Outsourcing>Education

Online Communities, Member Maps, Virtual Chats, Sparkpeople, Intercom, and More

In this podcast, Heidi and Tom talk about online communities, member maps, virtual chats, Sparkpeople, Intercom, and more.

Johnson, Tom H. and Heidi Hansen. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>TC>Community Building>Online

Online Teaching Opportunities for Technical Communicators    

Supplement your income and provide students with real-world knowledge and experience. Learn what kinds of online teaching opportunities are out there for technical communicators.

Petit, Angela. Intercom (2008). Articles>Education>TC>Online

Open Access Digital Repositories: An Indian Scenario  

Open access digital repositories give barrier-free access to literature for study and research to users worldwide. They solve the pricing and permission crises for scholarly materials. This paper deals with open access digital repositories in India. The results of the study reveal that the repositories contain both published and unpublished documents, like seminar proceedings, conference papers, theses, dissertations, research reports, books, and so on. The results also point out that open access digital repositories in India are mostly subject specific and commonly use open source information repository software like DSpace, Greenstone Digital Library Software, and GNU EPrints. It is observed that generally the open access digital repositories use OAI-PMH (protocol for metadata harvesting), so that they can be accessed using search tools such as Web search engines, whereas a few don't use it but provide direct access to their documents through their websites.

Ahmed, Fayaz and Rafiq Rather. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>TC>Information Design>International

Operating at the Edge of Technology    

This article was originally going to discuss design issues for online documentation and help to be displayed on handheld devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs) and Web-enabled cell phones. The tiny screens and limited or nonexistent storage and processing would make design a challenge. However, by the time I began writing for this special section of Technical communication, the industry had changed so much that the original article was no longer relevant. Instead, I will look at those industry changes to examine the risk of operating at the edge of technology. Note that this article is a not a traditional journal article. Instead, it's a practitioner's commentary based on 4 years of working with handheld devices, giving presentations, and developing multiple WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) programming courses.

Perlin, Neil E. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Technology>TC

The Other ITC  

Technical communication flows across borders. Talking about 'international technical communication' makes about as much sense as talking about a 'flying airplane.'

Martin, Maurice. Intercom (2004). Articles>TC>International

Over Technische Communicati

Technische communicatie omvat de communicatieve acties, middelen en systemen die mensen ondersteunen bij het uitvoeren van taken, vooral - maar niet uitsluitend - in een technische omgeving of als er technische producten in het geding zijn.

STIC (2007). (Dutch) Articles>TC

Overcoming Dilemmas in Technical Communication  

Experience and common sense are not easily conveyed in textbooks. Discussing the following real-life scenarios provides an opportunity to learn from experienced communicators without risking a job or a deadline. Each presenter will offer one scenario and possible solutions.

Hurst, Robert G., Brenda Jameson, Laurie Modrey, and Emily A. Sopensky. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>TC

An Overview of the STC Transformation Initiative

because technical information is ever changing, we accept the fact that our work will be continually various, constantly in flux. It's just the nature of the beast. This is the essence of the purpose of the STC national organization's transformation initiative: Keeping up with the changing times.

MetroVoice (2004). Articles>TC>Planning>STC

An Overview of the Technical Communication Industry

The more you know about the field, the more effectively you can find employment, market your services, develop your skills, develop perspective, and perform meaningful work.

Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio. Articles>TC

Overview of Transformation  

The Transformation Team consists of STC board members and a number of chapter and SIG leaders. The team was formed in response to concerns heard over the past several years from many of you. Some of these concerns have arisen from changes in the business world, such as globalization and the downturn in the economy.

Teich, Thea. STC Transformation (2004). Articles>TC>Planning>STC

Panel Discussion: STC-Sponsored Research in Progress  

This panel discussion reports on technical communication research in progress that is being sponsored by the STC. The research topics include an assessment of intentional learning techniques applied in an online environment, rhetorical study of the writing of a 19th century woman scientist, and a survey of the teaching of research methods in technical communication graduate programs. The researchers use both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Sanders, Scott P. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Research>TC