 | | Careers 276-299 of 1,211 found. Page 12 of 49. |
#14146
Establishing and Building Mutual Respect with Technical Team Members 
As a technical writer, are you finding yourself wishing for just a bit of respect from the engineers, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), or other technical people you work with? Are you finding that these folks seem to stonewall you on every question you have or every goal you're trying to achieve? Are they obstreperous? Difficult? Or just plain unhelpful? When I hear technical writers complaining about--er, describing--such troubles when working in a team environment, my first reaction is to want to sit and observe how they actually interact with those seemingly impossible team members. In my experience, I've found that the problem isn't always with a surly SME or with an engineer who lacks communication skills. Certainly, there are cases where other team members just don't value any contribution other than their own; however, most often, I have found the problem is with the technical writer's approach to the team environment--and have found that the problem began from the very start of that writer's involvement with the team.
Ray, Eric J. TECHWR-L (2002). Careers>Collaboration>Workplace>SMEs
#22600
Estimating a Technical Writing Project
How do you go about estimating the number of hours that a project would take?
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2000). Careers>Consulting>Writing>Technical Writing
#15130
Estimating Documentation Projects 
Outlines a system for estimating the costs, in time and money, of a documentation project.
#18645
Estimating Editorial Tasks: A Five-Step Method
Accurate time estimates are essential to projecting the costs of doing work, whether it's for external clients or other departments within an organization. In the olden days, it didn't seem to matter how many hours were spent editing, as long as all the errors were caught. Now, managers everywhere are looking for ways to cut costs; they want to know in advance how long things will take so they can monitor their increasingly strained budgets. Publications are often a prime target for cost cuts.
Cormier, Robin A. STC Northeast Ohio (2001). Careers>Editing>Pricing>Estimating
#18537
Describes a detailed process for estimating the time and costs of online communication projects.
Drakeley, Caroline A. Intercom (2003). Careers>Web Design>Consulting
#29410
Estimating Project Times and Costs Without Losing Your Shirt--Or Your Sanity
Determining how long it takes to complete a job is essential for planning and for budgeting your time, whether you're a wage slave or a freelancer. In this article, I'll focus on the needs of the freelancer, but the same approach will work equally well for managers of teams of technical communicators and even for lone writers.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2006). Careers>Freelance>Proposals
#27978
Estimating Resources in Technical Writing
Project management principles that can easily be applied to working as a documentation manager.
Prabhakar, Rahul. Blogspot (2006). Careers>Management>Project Management>Technical Writing
#22031
One of the more challenging parts of being a contractor or managing a writing project is developing an estimate of the fee or costs. Sure, there are various techniques out there, some more accurate than others, but generally no hard and fast rules applicable across the spectrum of potential assignments. Therein rest at least part of the key to doing a viable estimate, i.e., what kind of document development are you doing.
#26153
Estimating the Cost of Writing and Editing
The cost depends on how long and complex the document is, and how much editing is required. Most editors have a fixed hourly rate, and will quote for a job after they have studied the document. Skilled wordsmiths usually charge more per hour, because they do the job faster. When you find a fine wordsmith, handle with care. They are not exactly thick on the ground.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Careers>Consulting>Writing
#28555
In today's shrinking global marketplace, many technical communicators face challenges related to intercultural communication. This article examines ethical issues in intercultural communication, beginning with a brief survey of classical ethical models, then focusing on the guidelines for ethical communication developed by Allen and Voss to provide a framework for discussion. Of Allen and Voss's 10 values for ethical communication, we focus on privacy, legality, teamwork, social responsibility, and cultural sensitivity. We offer specific suggestions for avoiding stereotyping, tokenism, and ethnocentrism in technical documentation, including before-and-after examples. We examine the risks involved in using graphics and icons and in attempting to translate idiomatic usages. The article concludes with guidelines for technical communicators preparing documentation for international audiences and with suggestions for managers who wish to give their employees guidance regarding ethical and effective intercultural communication.
Voss, Daniel W. and Madelyn Flammia. Technical Communication Online (2007). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#10838
Ethics in Scientific and Technical Communication
Discusses many ethical issues including: taking personal responsibility for one's actions, Behaviour toward colleagues, subordinates and others,Dealing with experimental subjects, interviewees, etc, Telling the 'truth', and choosing between advocacy and objectivity.
Weber, Jean Hollis. WISENET Journal (1998). Careers>Advice>Ethics
#10301
Evolution-Revolution: Toward a Strategic Perception of Technical Communication 
Although we tell ourselves that technical communication is important to the bottom line of organizations and all of the business literature reinforces our convictions that information is strategic to business success, few of us feel 'strategic' to the organizations we work for.
Carliner, Saul. Technical Communication Online (1996). Careers>Management
#19488
This is a real proposal for a real client. We changed the name of the client and the product. Download to see what we detail in our plans.
#20764
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses: A Manager’s Guide
Sometimes it seems your employees spend more time thinking of excuses than actually working. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to respond to common excuses and how to avoid them in the first place.
#21669
Your professional development and the ultimate success of your career depend upon you alone. If you don’t want to be viewed as 'just another doe writer,' broaden your career plan by expanding your talents into areas that are important to your organization's goals.
Henderson, D.L., Bonnie J. Davis and Genie Vidal. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Education>Continuing
#25317
A sure way to find new work opportunities is to expand the range of skills you offer your employer or clients.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2004). Careers>Advice>TC
#29101
Expanding Internships to Enhance Academic-Industry Relations: A Perspective in Stakeholder Education
To improve technical communication education, educators and internship providers need to find ways to revise internship experiences so that educators, internship providers, and students/interns can use internship experiences in a way that benefits all three parties. This article uses a stakeholder education approach to propose two new kinds of internship processes to benefit all three groups. The first approach--colloquia--allows all three parties to interact via the same scheduled event. The second approach--student publications groups--shifts internship from a workplace to a school activity. By including such approaches into their curricula, technical communication programs can both improve their relationships with local internship providers and improve the training received by their students.
St. Amant, Kirk R. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2003). Careers>Internships>Industry and Academy
#23657
Exploring Our Future: Technical Communication in the Year 2013
Recent fluctuations in the technical communication job market prompted this examination of trends that are likely to affect our careers. STC and other professional organizations’ publications describe how we can increase the value of our profession by embracing new skills and new technologies, but they rarely examine the larger environment in which these skills and technologies might be applied. For that, the researchers examined futurist publications and more general news sources. As well, they continue to survey technical communication professionals about their past, present, and future work. This paper reveals the initial findings of the research.
Highby, Marie and Beau Cain. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>TC>Planning
#28174
Exporting Technical Writing Jobs
Traditionally, contractors have played an important role in the technical writing field by providing specific expertise, thereby allowing companies to focus on their core competencies. Contactors have made it possible for companies to add temporary personnel when needed ' an important benefit in a field where work output peaks periodically.
VanNorman, Maggie. Carolina Communique (2004). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#26590
FACE Considerations in Upward Influencing in an Indian Workplace
This study is a first attempt at using Speech Act Theory (SAT), as a way to analyze and explain how upward influence (UI) strategies are performed. Based on SAT and considerations of face, as explained by Brown and Levinson (1987), this study tries to explain UI strategies used by members within an Indian workplace. We carefully selected six examples of UI to demonstrate how SAT can be useful in analyzing UI strategies. We found that even the slightest change in the anticipated degree of willingness or receptivity of the receiver necessitates a change in the strategy to be adopted. Violations of sincerity conditions and/ or inappropriate threats to face create infelicitous conditions and may lead to failed attempts at UI.
Kaul, Asha and Charlotte D. Brammer. Association for Business Communication (2005). Careers>Management>International>India
#15036
How do you get a group of socially withdrawn, uncommunicative techies' attention? Speaking expert Anne Warfield of Impression Management, often asks them to think of the last 20 people in their company who got promoted and assess whether they were the most technically qualified. 'Almost all of them will say they were not,' says Warfield. To get ahead these days, techies need a good mix of technical and communication skills. From PC support specialists to C++ coders, techies are infamous for their lack of communication skills -- and that's a polite way of putting it. Nontechies often think of technical folk as jargon-crazed, gadget-obsessed and not particularly interested in people. An extreme characterization? Yes. Unfair? Maybe. A stereotype? Sure it is, but techies have a well-deserved reputation for placing a priority on skills -- knowledge of XML, say, or Windows device drivers -- rather than personal relationships or being able to communicate what they know to others.
Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2002). Careers>TC
#13487
Feng Shui for the Tech Writer's Workspace
It sounds like something from a late-night infomercial: Enhance your productivity by cranking out online help files in half the time! Increase your prosperity by being promoted to head of the documentation department! Improve your interpersonal relations so that Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are just waiting to review your documents. Ensure a long and healthy life, despite the stress of vaporware product launches! If an advertisement lurking in your emailbox claimed to have an ancient secret to give you all the above, you'd likely press Delete faster than you can say 'looming deadlines.' But what if millions of people--some as well-known and successful as Donald Trump--and major corporations, such as Virgin Airlines, The Wall Street Journal, and Citibank, attested to this 'magic' secret's power? In that case, you just might sit back in your office chair and listen.
Chroust Ehmann, Lain. TECHWR-L (2002). Careers>Workplace>Ergonomics>SMEs
#19638
A Field Guide to Technical SMEs
Although not rare birds in urban high-tech environments, technical subject matter experts (SMEs) are a fascinating species to observe—and a challenging breed for corporate communicators to manage. This tongue-in-cheek field guide identifies four common sub-species, and explains how to spot each by its distinctive markings and how to cope with its behaviors for companionable nesting.
Lange, Penny L. Intercom (2003). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>SMEs
#18358
The Field of Technical Editing
Technical editing is more than checking spelling and grammar of a document; it is a professional career. Both employer and employee can benefit from the skills involved. This report is designed to inform those associated with technical communication – including current students, potential students, their parents, professionals/practitioners, other schools, and employers – about the purpose and function of technical editors. The information in this report came from many sources. Mostly, I used websites from professional societies such as the Technical Editing Special Interest Group (TE SIG). I also interviewed two expert technical editors: Diane Feldman – the manager of the TE SIG – and Julia Neunreiter – the newsletter editor for the TE SIG. In this report, I will discuss the role of the editor, the types of editors, advice for starting in the field of editing, advice for dissipating negative opinions about editors, information about trends in the technical editing field, and the benefits to companies and editors.
Wofford, Tracey Norden. Mercer University (2002). Careers>Editing
#18934
Fifteen Tips for Remote Collaboration
It will always be easier to rally a group of people who work in the same building, but you can accomplish just as much (or more) with a motivated remote team. Getting team members motivated in the first place and holding their interest are your goals. Here are fifteen quick and useful tips to get you started.
Young, Indi. Adaptive Path (2003). Careers>Collaboration>Online
| Copyright © 2001-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. | Add a Work | Site Preferences | Discussion Forum | Habitués |
