#14676
Technical Communication: The Next Wave 
Perlin examines cutting-edge developments in technical communication and discusses their possible impact on the workplace.
Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2001). Articles>TC>Workplace
#23451
Technical Communicators - the Need for Categorisation
We all know that products are designed and developed by a variety of experts, such as engineers, programmers, scientists, and designers. And each of these experts belongs to a particular category. For example, engineers are divided into such categories as Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, or Aeronautical Engineer. Without that categorisation, there is no way that we can possibly know in what field a particular expert specialises. But who creates product documentation?
Curwen, Chris. TC-FORUM (2001). Articles>TC>Professionalism
#29086
Technical Communicators as Purveyors of Common Sense 
In this article I argue that technical communicators are in the position to foster users' commonsense understanding of products. The notion that technical communicators can increase the common sense of users is absent in the field of technical communication literature. Reasons for not recognizing the legitimacy of common sense range from its unexamined nature to a belief that it cannot be taught. After discussing different definitions of common sense, I suggest that including scenarios, common metaphors, and language that promotes procedural knowledge in product information can strengthen users' commonsense understanding of the products they use. Moreover, in failing to make use of commonsense appeals, technical communicators are ignoring a sound persuasive strategy.
Praetorius, Pete. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>TC>Usability>Rhetoric
#23423
Technical Communicators for the Global Marketplace
Today, the translation of technical documentation is no longer a process which can be ignored until the source text has been produced. Translation issues need to be taken into account both prior to and during source-text production, and thus, to some extent, they become tasks of the technical communicator. This article gives an overview of current developments in the workflow patterns leading to multilingual technical documentation and outlines the consequences these developments should have for degree programmes in technical communication and translation.
Göpferich, Susanne. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>TC>Localization
#14724
Technical Communicators Go to the Moon
This article highlights the contributions of technical communicators to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mercury and Apollo programs, which culminated in 1969 with the landing of men on the moon.
Rutkowski, Ed. Intercom (2001). Articles>TC>History
#23419
Technical Communicators vs. Developers Through the Ages
For technical communicators, usually busy looking ahead, the new milennium is an occasion to review our history and achievements so far, and the development of our slightly strained relationship with those who tend to emphasize the T and disregard the C in TC: the developers.
Wigestrand, Henrik. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>TC>History
#20786
Technical Communicators, Windows NT and Unix/Linux
An overview of the importance of computer operating systems to technical communicators.
Albert, Thomas and Becky Phung. WordDesign (1999). Articles>TC>Operating Systems>Linux
#14254
Technical Editing as Quality Assurance: Adding Value to Content
Technical editing is sometimes perceived to be simply a matter of grammar checking and proofreading. Perhaps fast-paced development environments, which often leave little time for editing functions, contribute to this perception—or, more precisely, this misperception. The levels-of-edit systems have helped technical editors manage the editorial functions in these hectic environments by providing a 'framework within which editors can choose appropriate editorial tasks for a particular document'. Recently though, technical editors are focusing even more on content editing, collaborating closely with technical writers on developing high-quality information. Taking this progression one step further, technical editing is beginning to be viewed as a quality assurance activity.
Corbin Nichols, Michelle, Pat Moell and Mike Boyd. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Editing>TC
#24886
Technical Publications, Art, And Video Competition Forum
STC's local, regional, and international-level Technical Publications, Art, and Video competitions provide the society with the opportunity to showcase its members' talents. A great deal of work goes into making these competition successful, and an open dialogue between participants, competition managers and judges is important at all levels. This forum give local, regional, and international competition managers, and anyone else interested in competitions, the chance to discuss all aspects of STC competitions.
Hoyt, Thomas B. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#15209
#14312
Technical Writing - An Introduction
This is the importance of technical writing. One wrong statement by the technical writer could be dangerously misleading to the person who is operating according to the instructions given in the instruction/user manual.
Malik, Suman Lata. Technical Communications Group (2002). Articles>TC
#23412
The reason for the relatively low number of technical writers in India is because India has been concentrating mainly on doing projects. It is only in recent years that many top multinationals have set up their development factories here. This has dramatically increased the technical writers' population in India. In some companies in Bangalore and Pune, one gets to hear of teams of 10 and 20 technical writers. Otherwise, India is no different to other countries: a large number of technical writers work alone in their companies. Today, all these technical writers have come together to share information and ideas through TWIN, the Technical Writers of India mailing list.
Kamath, Gurudutt R. TC-FORUM (1999). Articles>TC>Regional>India
#14729
Bush clarifies the role of technical editors in light of the particular purposes of technical documents.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2001). Articles>Editing>TC
#26695
Technically, It's All Communication: Defining the Field of Technical Communication
There is a certain need to define the field of technical communication: a definition that we as practicioners and scholars can adapt for different audiences in order to create a clear image. The reasons to create a definition are stronger than the reasoning behind letting our field remain perpetually undefined.
Metz Bemer, Amanda. Orange Journal, The (2005). Articles>TC>Professionalism
#18289
The Technological Challenges of Digital Reference
Much has been written about the various tools for digital reference, technical issues associated with their implementation, and the potential for these tools to reach new patrons. In this article, the author focuses on the need to understand the technical environment within which digital reference occurs, from issues of patron definition and access, to the role of cooperative relationships and networks in meeting the shared needs of librarians and patrons. The author provides an overview of today's reference environment along with data and practical examples from services like QuestionPoint™, the Library of Congress, and Ask Joan of Art® to demonstrate the importance and effect understanding audiences, appropriately using technology, and working cooperatively can have for libraries in digital reference.
Penka, Jeffrey T. D-Lib Magazine (2003). Articles>TC>Online
#27886
Technology and Knowledge Transfer: Science and Industry Working Together
Science and technology are intimately related. The technology sector that drives the modern economy would never have arisen without basic scientific research, and that research is now being funded by companies seeking to gain a technological edge over their competitors. Despite this mutual dependence, technical communication has taken different paths in science and industry. Technology and knowledge transfer, the communication of research results to an audience that can implement the results, bridges these two solitudes and strongly resembles much of the work done by other technical communicators.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>TC>Research>Workplace
#30316
Technology Sets the Pace: Evolution of Technical Communication
Technical communicators will take on increasingly important roles as technology becomes ever more sophisticated. After all, we must be able to use this equipment once it is installed.
Marriott, Tony Rhodes. Boston Broadside (1991). Articles>TC>Technology
#19465
Technology Theory And Research: Technical Communication’s Partner In The Age Of The Smart Machine
A review of theory and research of technology and technological development as a social phenomenon reveals striking similarities to changes within the Technical Communication field during the recent decades of extreme techno-social upheaval. These similarities suggest that Technical Communication and Technology Theory and Research should create a strong, positive, symbiotic partnership. Such a partnership will provide the field of Technical Communication with greater resources for pro-active identification and development of the constantly evolving strategies needed to most effectively maximize the positive social aspects of rapid technological change.
Tytko, Stephen M. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>TC
#13377
Tell It Like It Is: Rehabilitating Positivism in Technical Communication
For over thirty years, “humanistic” theorists in the field of technical communication have attempted to link it to the more established academic disciplines of rhetoric and literary theory. These theorists, such as Carolyn Miller and David Dobrin, have based their attempts on the following (grossly simplified) logic: objectivity, in language as well as reality, is a sham; therefore, those of us in technical communication do not objectively report reality, but rather, persuade readers to accept reality as we see it; furthermore, to claim that we do anything less is to distort the truth. Patrick Moore subscribes to an opposing view termed “positivist,” yet it is so universally panned that no one outside the sciences presently dares embrace it. Moore notes that Miller “expresses her concern that technical communication is ‘coercive’”, and goes on to cite other humanistic theorists, such as Dobrin and Charles Bazerman, who try to make technical communication theory dance to the tune of rhetoric, which is more pleasing to their ears.
deMaagd, Christian. Orange Journal, The (2001). Articles>TC>Theory
#28793
Ten Lessons Learned as a Technical Communicator: Interview with Rahul Prabhakar
Rahul Prabhakar talks with us today about ten lessons he has learned as a technical communicator. Rahul is an Indian technical writer living in South Korea working for Samsung.
Prabhakar, Rahul and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>TC>Podcasts
#15211
Ten Myths about Working in Europe
Debunks ten myths about working in Europe, giving Americans a realistic view of the difficulties of working abroad.
Koster-Lenhardt, Victoria 'Vici'. Intercom (2000). Articles>TC>Regional>Europe
#10500
Ten Technical Communication Myths
As any other profession, technical communication has accumulated its share of mythical rules of thumb, but the good news about our profession's myths is that they too contain grains of truth and insights into things that are truly important to us. The bad news is that we've also internalized some of these myths to the point that we no longer question them and have begun to let them constrain our choices rather than to help us remember and see the truth. Some communicators even overgeneralize the occasional rule to the point where it loses its validity and become dangerously misleading. (This work is reprinted at http://tc.eserver.org/32155.html, but not locked for STC members only.)
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>TC
#14170
Ten Things to Know About Selecting a Content Management System
Will Snow, Engineering Manager for Sun Microsystems' Web portals for Java[TM] and Solaris[TM] application developers, is bullish on content management. Here is Snow's list of the ten things he learned about selecting a content management system.
Ort, Ed. Sun Microsystems (2000). Articles>Content Management>TC
#29103
Textual Grounding: How People Turn Texts Into Tools
The author argues that users see texts as tools when they recognize the texts' specific value and function within highly localized use settings. The author argues that users "ground" their texts to local use settings by altering the ways in which the texts structure and represent information (e.g., underlining, annotation, and sketching). The author discusses three practices by which texts are grounded as tools in document reviews: mode shifting, layering, and marking. These practices reflect different ways by which users add, subtract, and restructure information in a text so that it is usable under very specific conditions. This article explores document review as a practice in which grounding is the object of discussion (how others use the reviewed documents) and a practice by which review is facilitated. These observations will be important for exploration of technology to support "grounding" practices.
Swarts, Jason. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Articles>TC>Collaboration
#29898
The Future of Technical Communication According to Those Who Teach It
What do those who teach technical communication think about the present state of the field? How do they envision its future? This article answers those and related questions by presenting results from a survey of technical communication teachers in higher education. The Web-delivered survey was administered in 2003 by the author in collaboration with Stephen Bernhardt (University of Delaware). The data we analyzed came from 228 members of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW), almost half of the organization's members. Among the respondents were 185 teaching faculty. These teachers' diverse views about the future of technical communication reflect a fundamental fault line within the academic sphere of our discipline.
Dayton, David. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>TC
