Building a More Effective Documentation Group  

Suggests ten ways that managers of technical communicators can make their departments more efficient, effective, and valuable to their companies.

Smith, Susan E. Intercom (2003). Careers>Management>Documentation

Documentation Team Leadership in the 1990s  

In the 1990s, product life cycles are short, technology is ever-advancing, work environments are fast-paced, and there is an ongoing agenda to cut costs. This environment requires documentation teams to accomplish more faster with fewer personnel resources These requirements have redefined the roles and responsibilities of technical writers and documentation team leaders. Leadership skills have become critical to the overall success of documentation teams Critical leadership skills include appropriately implementing situational leadership, working effectively with people who have diverse working and social styles, and participating in ongoing role negotiations.

Muench, Barbara S. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Documentation>Management

Documenting ISO 9000  

The ISO 9000 series of Quality Standards redefines how business will be conducted into the next century. The series is designed to measure the effectiveness of the Quality System in place, thereby ensuring both customer and company needs are always satisfied. The foundation of a robust Quality System is its documentation: problems in this area represent the largest single cause of registration failures. Quality System documentation also forms the basis upon which the 3rd party registrar builds the audit plan for your company.

Robinson, Ralph E. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Documentation>Policies and Procedures>ISO 9000

Estimating Documentation Projects  

Outlines a system for estimating the costs, in time and money, of a documentation project.

Pandit, Makarand M. Intercom (2001). Careers>Documentation

Five Questions to Ask Yourself While Creating a New Documentation Department

Being asked to take the reins of a brand new documentation department is a challenge that many professional technical writers relish, even though the training and development activities they participated in may never have prepared them for such a rewarding challenge. This article looks at forming a new documentation department and determining what's needed, when it's needed and what resources are available to help the new department carry out its mission.

Butow, Eric. Writing Assistance (2006). Careers>Management>Documentation>Technical Writing

The Future of Technical Documentation 2000-2010

The need for TCs with traditional writing skills will remain fairly stable, but the need for TCs in total will grow. The new technical communicators will come from the world of game design, where they know all about 3D-vector animation, and they will come from the world of TV and video production.

TC-FORUM (2000). Careers>TC>Documentation>Video

How to Get a Good Job  

Suggests ways to get a good job by cutting production time and cost on user manuals while increasing access and usability.

Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2000). Careers>Documentation>TC

Life Beyond Computer Documentation  

In this paper we explore the title statement by examining some of the places in an industrial, business or educational organization where a technical communicator might reside as well as some of the numerous roles the communicator might play and the kinds of products the communicator might produce. The paper is intended to help young communicators see more clearly that their job need not be limited to the routine, the mundane, and the terminally boring, and to encourage them to see that the field of technical communication is far broader that just the production of computer documentation.

Wise, Daniel E. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>TC>Documentation

Management Activities for Achieving Organizational Change and Improvement  

Viewing your documentation or training group as a business entity is an important first step toward enabling organizational change and improvement. The actual business status of your organization - a company unto itself a profit center in a larger company, or a cost center in a larger company - matters not. It’s your view of things that will put you on the road to operating your group as a business.

Currie, Cynthia C. and Thomas J. Vallone. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Documentation>Management

Managing Quality Graphic Design in a Documentation Project  

Supervising the design of documentation is challenging for documentation managers who have little or no educated knowledge of design. However, quality design that maintains ease of reading, accessibility, comprehension, retention, and aesthetics is vital to the usability and success of the documentation and should be carefully monitored by the documentation manager. Decisions must be made up front on four design areas -- packaging, layout, typography, and highlighting -- before the project is underway. In addition, audience analysis and a design style guide are two techniques that managers should embrace in supervising design.

Listeman, Amy J. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Graphic Design>Document Design>Documentation

Managing the Communication "Process": The Emerging Role of Technical Writers and Documentation Managers  

Current trends in Corporate America are changing the traditional role of technical communicators and creating new challenges and opportunities. Re-engineering the corporation, Total Quality Management, ISO 9000 compliance, and the continuing onslaught of the Information Age are all bringing formally 'invisible' technical communications functions into the limelight. It's not just writing and editing any more! As communication professionals and managers we need to upgrade skills and re-focus our efforts to become 'information managers.'

Anton, Kathy and Teresa J. Tarwater. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management>Documentation>Technical Writing

Marketable Skills for the Policies and Procedures Professional  

Changes in the economy and within organizations continue to require that demonstrated value be produced from the labor force. In order for policies and procedures (P&P) professionals to demonstrate how their work adds value to an organization, they need to develop and diversify their skill set to be more accessible and valuable in the services they provide.

Urgo, Raymond E. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Outsourcing Documentation Development: Assessing the Offshore Option

This paper discusses some of the aspects that should be considered when evaluating the required resources and total cost of offshoring documentation development. As consultants to the documentation industry, The Integrity Group is committed to recommending the overall best solution for each business need. We have, therefore, drawn some conclusions from our research and made recommendations for those who are considering offshoring.

Clifton, Deborah. WritersUA (2005). Careers>Documentation>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Pricing a Documentation Project Is Part Science, Part Art

This article describes the ways in which determining a price to charge for documentation services is among the most important — and most challenging — tasks facing a contract writer or editor.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (1999). Careers>Documentation>Pricing

Published Tech Authors Only Need Apply

It seems Microsoft is foregoing technical writers for technology writers. Apparently they want technology journalists writing the online help for the next version of Windows.

Creative Tech Writer, The (2003). Careers>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing

Raising Your Documentation Team's Visibility

Whether the documentation department has a staff of one or a team of 12, visibility within the company is a frequent concern. The reasons for this concern range from personal to professional. You want to be remembered when promotions and bonuses are handed out.

Potsus, Whitney Beth. Writing Assistance (2006). Careers>Management>Documentation>Workplace

Simultaneously Developing Large Quantities of Documentation: Lessons Learned from Groupmax  

The development cycle of software is becoming shorter. Despite this, there are increasing demands to more efficiently develop software documentation and to decrease costs while maintaining quality. Writers must also provide the documentation on a variety of media to satisfy users’ demands and to add value to the documentation. When developing a product consisting of many software components, sometimes dozens of manuals must be developed simultaneously in a brief period. This presentation examines measures taken by the Hitachi Technical Information (TI) Department for developing the software Groupmax. This software requires that large quantities of documentation be developed simultaneously.

Kobayashi, Akiharu and Shouji Katayama. STC Proceedings (2000). Careers>Documentation>Single Sourcing

Software Documentation and Software Processes

One of the more difficult tasks for all Technical Writers is the design and development of software documentation; however, technical writing for the software industry is no longer just writing documentation. To be successful, the Technical Writer must be able to adjust quickly to a fast-paced environment.

Toupin, Edward B. Suite101 (2001). Careers>Documentation

Starting and Maintaining A Documentation Department – Concepts, Principles, and Techniques  

This paper includes information about how to assess business needs, establish credibility, build the department, understand the product life cycle and development practices, and successfully maintain a documentation department in a global work environment. It includes innovative, creative, and original management concepts, tasks, principles, and techniques for working with diversity for newly promoted managers, managers new to a company, and for seasoned managers to ensure success or continued success managing documentation.

Storey, Sandy and Peter J. Hartman. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Documentation

What Are Software Documentation Specialists, Anyway?

They call us 'documentation specialists' in the biz. Our mail is addressed to 'doc spec' because 'documentation specialist' doesn't fit on mailing labels. At social gatherings, people's faces go blank when we say we write software documentation or computer manuals. But what are we, really?

Olander, Karen Wise. Boston Broadside (1991). Careers>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing

WritersUA Salary Survey

A central element of any job we hold is the compensation we receive. While compensation is only one factor in our descision to accept a position, it's how many of us keep score and the way all of us pay the bills. The WritersUA Salary Survey provides you with detailed and comprehensive information about compensation for user assistance professionals.

WritersUA (2006). Careers>Documentation>Salaries

The Black Art of Estimation

Estimating the amount of time it takes to write documentation is tricky as it relies on many differing, subtle, factors and, for many people working outside of a highly regimented and heavily project managed team, it tends to boil down to a mixture of guesswork and experience. However, it’s not impossible to come up with a more reasoned estimate as long as you don’t mind doing a little planning.

McLean, Gordon. One Man Writes (2009). Careers>Documentation>Technical Writing>Estimating

Managing Documentation Teams with Varied Schedules and Locations

To make alternative work arrangements operate at maximum efficiency, you might need to fine-tune your team’s schedule. As a result, this could be one of the most useful activities for retaining key people and keeping morale high. In my experience, nearly everyone who has an alternative work arrangement realizes the value it brings to their work and personal lives, and will go to almost any length to maintain it. For one thing, when it comes to driving fewer days to an office in this age of soaring gas prices, it’s like giving employees a raise.

Peruzzi, Brett. TechCom Manager (2008). Careers>Collaboration>Documentation>Teleconferencing

What Doc Managers Look for in a Résumé?

Most hiring managers, and I am no exception, take a couple of passes when reviewing résumés. The first pass eliminates people who are clearly not what I am looking for. I try to answer two questions: first, are this person’s qualifications even in the ballpark for the job, and second, can he or she write at least well enough to create a competent résumé? Answering the first of these questions is not hard, but it does require that you understand the job requirements thoroughly and read the résumé closely.

Technical Communication Center (2008). Careers>Resumes>Documentation>Technical Writing