ISO 9001: “Of TC, by TC, and for TC”  

Our company obtained ISO 9001 certification as of May 8, 1998. This certification covers 'planning, design, and production of publications based on orders received' (including operation manuals, work manuals, brochures, leaflets, training textbooks, and booklets; and electronic editions of such publications). We are the first publishing firm in Japan to receive any of the 39 certifications available in the ISO 9000 series (hereafter referred to as “ISO 9000s”). Given the vital role that the publishing industry plays in today’s multimedia era, information quality has assumed a role of unsurpassed importance. If members of the industry are to fulfill their key role, they will be required to achieve greater conformity both to ISO standards and to technical communications (TC) needs.

Shidahara, Nobuyoshi. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>TC>Assessment>ISO 9001

Issues in Risk Assessment

The scientific basis, inference assumptions, regulatory uses, and research needs in risk assessment are considered in this two-part volume. The first part, Use of Maximum Tolerated Dose in Animal Bioassays for Carcinogenicity, focuses on whether the maximum tolerated dose should continue to be used in carcinogenesis bioassays. The committee considers several options for modifying current bioassay procedures. The second part, Two-Stage Models of Carcinogenesis, stems from efforts to identify improved means of cancer risk assessment that have resulted in the development of a mathematical dose-response model based on a paradigm for the biologic phenomena thought to be associated with carcinogenesis.

Committee on Risk Assessment Methodology, National Research Council. National Academies Press (1993). Books>Writing>Assessment

It's In the Numbers: Using Metrics to Plan Documentation Projects

It's in the numbers. Creating documentation is not an exact science, yet as communication leaders, we are expected to provide real estimates for how much time we need to document a project, or what we can produce given a predetermined timeline.

Yundt, Margie and Sherry McMenemy. Writing Assistance (2006). Articles>Project Management>Documentation>Assessment

Keep Office Politics Out of Your Design

Everyone has an opinion about design. If your debate is based only on opinions, the person with the most power always wins. Almost always. The team that has rational support for its conclusion can trump power and opinion. User research can give you concrete proof that one direction is better than another.

Young, Indi. Adaptive Path (2003). Design>Web Design>Assessment

Key Issues in Conducting and Writing Integrated Assessments  

Integrated assessments of environmental concerns consider the economic and social effects of a change as well as the environmental effects. Topics that should be addressed in such an assessment and the weight given 10 each are thorny problems for the assesment team and writer to deal with. The results of a workshop of experts in public policy, utility management, regulation, political science, government, technical communication and environmental science identified and characterized the key issues in shping and defining this new genre of environmental writing.

O'Hara, Frederick M., Jr. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Environmental>Assessment

Klare's "Useful Information" is Useful for Web Designers    

In many ways the writing principles that Klare recommended 37 years ago to promote high readability scores still apply to web-site design. Behind the pursuit of readability lies audience analysis, a concern with the intellectual level, previous experience, motivation, and reading goals of ones intended audience. Suitably adjusted to take account of online interactivity, those same concerns should guide design work on web structure and interfaces today.

Zibell, Kristin. Journal of Computer Documentation (2000). Design>Web Design>Writing>Assessment

Knowledge Audit: Is it Necessary for Your Organization?

IJTC invited several experts to share their views on various dimensions of the knowledge audit (KA) process, and how organizations can use this tool to achieve organizational objectives. During the discussion, participants analyzed the pre-requisites, advantages, and process of the knowledge audit. This article presents a summarized version of the issues discussed.

George, Ginu. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Knowledge Management>Assessment

Knowledge Discovery: New Ground, New Challenges

Before taking the challenge of handling information efficiently head on, automated programs for Knowlege Discovery and data analysis have to prove their worth by providing easy-to-use tools for everyday use.

Kudesia, Saurabh. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Knowledge Management>Assessment>Software

Last Rites for Readability Formulas in Technical Communication    

Some reading researchers and technical communicators assume the efficacy of readability formulas. Reading researchers use such formulas to equalize the reading difficulty of texts used in experiments. Results of an informal Internet survey indicate that some professional writers and editors use readability formulas that are integrated into word-processing software. This article proposes that readability formulas fail to predict text difficulty. The results of an experiment demonstrate that "text difficulty" is a perception of the reader and therefore cannot be objectively calculated by counting syllables, word length, sentence length, and other text characteristics.

Connatser, Bradford R. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1999). Articles>Writing>Assessment>Formulas

Learning from Customers  

Illustrates how technical writers can track customer complaints and use the information to improve the usability of products and documentation.

Bist, Gary. Intercom (2002). Design>Usability>Assessment

Linking Industry Best Practices and EC3(g) Assessment in Engineering Communication

Enthusiastic comments about 3(g)--one of the most widely appreciated ABET 2000 criteria--have masked disagreements about what 'effectiveness' is and how it should be defined in relation to schools' missions. Most of the methods that have been recommended for assessing engineering communication imitate procedures used for large-scale testing in English composition. The main purpose of this paper is to show that these methods have nothing to do with effectiveness or audience, and that they provide meager feedback to guide curriculum improvement. This uncertainty provides an opportunity for cooperation between engineering and communication faculty in individual institutions as well as between ASEE and professional organizations in engineering communication. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of industry best practices seem well suited to provide engineering schools with assessment strategies that can be updated as communication practices in industry change. Research projects should focus on exemplars' adaptations to new technologies and audiences. Collaboration between organizations for technical communication and the ASEE and between faculty from engineering and faculty from technical communication on individual campuses can ensure that engineering programs are realistically preparing students to meet future challenges.

Driskill, Linda. Rice University (2000). Articles>Education>Engineering>Assessment

Maintaining Quality Control in Documentation  

If all of us were more focused towards quality in our lives, we would have it in abundance. We would have higher satisfaction levels and therefore, have lesser complaints. This paper presents cases and reasons why user manuals and guides are not up to the expected standards. Do we need to go beyond checklists before shipping a document? Are reviews and checklists sufficient? This paper briefly talks about the measures that we could take to ensure that a good document is delivered.

Singh, Neelam. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Documentation>Assessment

Making Decisions about Distance Education: Organizational and Individual Perspectives  

Decisions about distance education, whether from the perspectives of academic or corporate organizations, are often made on the basis of economical, pedagogical, and psychological perspectives. Decisions are also made by potential distance learning students. Distance learning delivery organizations often include student self-surveys in their initial online promotional materials. This metaanalysis of several student distance learning 'readiness' surveys identifies their major common elements, and it offers a checklist of topics to include in distance learning student 'readiness' surveys. Finally, recommendations are offered concerning the ethical and research dimensions of the decision-making required for effective distance education delivery.

Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Online>Assessment

Making Usability Recommendations Useful and Usable    

This paper evaluates the quality of recommendations for improving a user interface resulting from a usability evaluation. The study compares usability comments written by different authors, but describing similar usability issues. The usability comments were provided by 17 professional teams who independently evaluated the usability of the website for the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York. The study finds that only 14 of the 84 studied comments (17%) addressing six usability problems contained recommendations that were both useful and usable. Fourteen recommendations were not useful at all. Sixteen recommendations were not usable at all. Quality problems include recommendations that are vague or not actionable, and ones that may not improve the overall usability of the application. The paper suggests characteristics for "useful and usable recommendations," that is, recommendations for solving usability problems that lead to changes that efficiently improve the usability of a product.

Molich, Rolf, Robin Jeffries and Joseph Dumas. Journal of Usability Studies (2007). Articles>Usability>Assessment>Reports

Managing Quality: Systems and Metrics for Ensuring Quality in Products

There is, at present, no common definition of quality in technical communication--no common set of quality measurements for our profession.

Fisher, Lori H. STC Orange County (1998). Presentations>Management>Quality>Assessment

Manual Evaluation Workshop  

Experts in document design will analyze your document for organization, page layout, writing style, and use of graphics. Each document analysis lasts approximately 30 minutes. You must have a ticket for this session and bring a document to be evaluated.

Brogan, Barbara B. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Assessment

Measure Your Publication Program's Dollar Value to Your Organization

Get no respect? Then do the math to prove how much money your publications save and make for your employer.

Writing that Works (2003). Articles>Publishing>Assessment

The Measurement Of Readability: Useful Information For Communicators    

Discusses the application of readability principles and formulas. It is based upon the survey of the literature presented in succeeding chapters, and represents an interpretation of these data.

Klare, George R. Journal of Computer Documentation (2000). Design>Typography>Assessment>Formulas

Measuring How You Add Value

As a technical communicator you know that the work you do adds value to the final product, but how do you demonstrate this to management? Research that I have undertaken recently focused on how technical communicators add value to the development of software, particularly information systems. What is presented here are some examples of how I found technical communicators added value and how I measured the value.

Fisher, Julie L. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>TC>Assessment

Measuring Integrated Marketing Communication from Start to Finish

Many companies have taken a limited view of the impact that marketing communication can have on overall corporate objectives, reducing their understanding of the value of marketing communication. One reason for this resistance is that the value of IMC can be complex to measure in a world where marketing usually moves at a dynamic pace and is driven by a changing competitive landscape and seemingly unpredictable shifts in customer attitudes. The potential revenue and customer satisfaction benefits of implementing an IMC program can be so dramatic that companies shouldn't ignore the movement any longer.

Woods, Julie. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Assessment

Measuring Intellectual Assets

Twelve techniques used to value corporate intellectual assets.

Montague Institute Review (1997). Articles>Knowledge Management>Assessment

Measuring Search Engine Marketing ROI

Spending on search engine marketing (SEM) is rising dramatically, yet surprisingly few companies are measuring the effectiveness of their campaigns. In a short survey conducted by web analytics vendor NetIQ, more than 800 participants responded to questions about their search engine marketing efforts and their attempts to measure success. The survey responses provide interesting insights into the state of search engine marketing ROI.

Sherman, Chris. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Assessment

Measuring the Success of Visual Communication in User Interfaces    

This article discusses three key areas of visual communication we address in user interfaces (UIs): conventional—emphasis on imitating generic forms that meet readers' expectations; icon recognition; visual appeal or 'look-and-feel'. The article uses five case histories to demonstrate how usability research has helped the authors evaluate the quality of visual communication in navigation, icon recognition, and look-and-feel. It describes some of the research methodology the authors use, with examples from the case histories. For each of the three topic areas, we discuss the lessons we learned from the case histories about both usability testing methodology and visual communication guidelines. We mention, but do not concentrate on, related topics such as visual clutter.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. and J.O. 'Joe' Bugental. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>User Interface>Assessment>Visual Rhetoric

Measuring the Value Added by Professional Technical Communicators    

Many organizations underestimate what technical communicators do for them. This article studies how to quantify the measure of return on investment in TC.

Ramey, Judith A. and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (1993). Articles>TC>Assessment

Measuring the Value Added by Professional Technical Communicators: Results of a Study  

For the past year, we have been studying how to measure the value that technical communicators add to organizations. We have been investigating questions like these: How can technical communicators show that they add value? How much difference do technical communicators make in specific cases? In this panel, we report on results.

Blackwell, C. Al, Reva F. Daniel, Denise D. Pieratti, Judith A. Ramey, Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish and Cathy J. Spencer. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>TC>Assessment