Publications Process Maturity Model: Key Practices for an Effective Organization  

The publications process maturity model provides a way for organizations to look at themselves and evaluate the effectiveness of their current processes. The model provides them with a set of standards. Dr. JoAnn Hackos will present a picture of a mature organization and provide an opportunity for participants to discuss how their organizations compare.

Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Management>Organizations

Pubs Departments in the Virtual Corporation  

The latest buzz term in business journals is 'the virtual corporation.' This term refers to the way in which companies are trying to reshape themselves to cope with the economic downturn and succeed in the global marketplace. 'Virtual', in this case, indicates that the corporation appears to be a huge entity with vast capabilities but is really small, lean, and very flexible. This paper looks at some of the ways in which our departments, our publications, and we as technical communicators will also have to go through a process of becoming 'virtual'.

Casey, Charlotte. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management

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

Recognizing Creative Ways Employers Use Technical Communicators: The Insight Award  

The Hoosier Chapter of STC created a brand new program for recognizing employers who use the skills of technical communicators in expansive ways. Entitled the 'Insight Award,' it is a new type of STC competition that recognizes companies rather than individual technical communicators or technical publications. The panelists of this presentation discuss how the award program was developed, the procedure and criteria used in the judging, problems and planned improvements in the process, publicity and results of the competition, and benefits of the award for STC members and organizations.

Armbruster, David L., Debbie Groulik, Nancy J. Hoffman, William D. Leavitt and Amy Perry. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>TC>Management

Recruiting and Mentoring Usability Specialists  

The author’s company is continually looking for people to add to our professional staff of usability and documentation specialists. To overcome the challenges posed by geographically distributed offices, and to ensure new hires can become productive quickly, Tec-Ed takes a structured approach to screening, qualifying, and selecting new hires and then uses a hands-on, building-block approach to train them in our usability methodologies.

Shroyer, Roberta. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Mentoring>Usability

Recruiting Strategies That Get Results  

Offers five suggestions for recruiting strong job candidates in a tight labor market.

Tucker, Robert B. Intercom (2001). Careers>Management>Recruiting

Redesigning a Pubs Group Around Fundamental Business Concepts  

When large, high-tech organizations downsize, one of the groups that gets a hard look is the pubs group. Often considered a support function that 'just provides those necessary evils, the manuals,' a redesigned pubs organization built around fundamental business concepts like profitability and customer success can become a leader in helping the larger organization achieve success.

Elser, Arthur G. and M. Kristine Manlove. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management

Relating PMBOK Practices to Agile Practices

Michele Sliger understands the turmoil traditional project management practitioners go through as they make the transition from plan-driven approaches to the newer agile methodologies. This week, she offers more insight as she continues her four-part series on relating Project Management Institute (PMI) best practices--as identified in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)--to agile practices. In this column, Michele discusses scope management and time management.

Sliger, Michele. StickyMinds (2006). Careers>Project Management>Agile

Requirements for Total Quality Leadership  

Describes Total Quality Leadership, an approach to organization management that focuses on providing top value to customers by building excellence into every facet of the business. To give customers the products and services they value, TQL studies and improves the processes companies use for purchasing, production, testing, accounting, and so on.

Jaehn, A.H. Intercom (2000). Careers>Management

Retaining Key Staff: What High-Tech Employees Say Versus What They Do

Getting and keeping good people is one of the greatest problems facing Internet companies. Even with the latest slump in the industry, we still face negative unemployment among people who understand the Internet. We have all seen the clueless ads looking for Java programmers with ten years' experience. Indeed, those ads started appearing back when not even James Gosling would have qualified. The real issue is not so much number of years as it is amount of insight and skills which translate into real experience. In the human interface field experience is largely driven by the number and diversity of user tests somebody has observed. Some usability professionals run a test per week; others may only get exposure to real people a few times per year.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Careers>Management

The Road to Your Presidency  

Regardless of political affiliation, many people find themselves asking, 'Why in the world would someone want to be President?' As you move from independent contractor to business owner, there will be many times when you ask yourself the same question.

Evans, Conni E. STC Proceedings (1999). Careers>Management

The ROI of Usability

ROI - Return on Investment - is one way of looking at the value of usability to a business. This article was originally published in the Winter 2002 User Experience Magazine as part of 'Return on Investment for Usable UI Design' by Aaron Marcus.

Usability Professionals Association. Careers>Management>Usability

Scientific and Technical Communicators' Perceptions of the Performance Appraisal Interview  

This study surveys scientific and technical communicators to determine their perceptions of their role as interviewees in the performance appraisal interview. The results reveal that interviewees think the appraisal process is unreliable and invalid, that managers do not stimulate growth and development in the appraisal interview, and that subordinates have little influence concerning what goes on in the department. Other results are discussed in the paper.

McDowell, Earl E. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management>Assessment

Serving Two Masters: Working with Matrix Management  

Matrix management is an organizational structure that gives one person two or more bosses. Technical communicators may be in a formal or informal matrix structure, either of which can cause predictable problems and opportunities for their managers. Problems include defining which manager has authority for document quality and quantity, nature of work, hiring, and performance reviews; agreeing on who pays for training, equipment, and time spent outside a project; and handling writers’ stress and conflicting loyalties. Opportunities in a matrix structure include developing additional management skills. Managers can minimize matrix problems by emphasizing communication, flexibility, and trust.

Femia, Jean W. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Management

Setting Up in Web Design

A 10-step guide to setting up a web design or development business. I won't go into all the general stuff about running a business (although some of this info is relevant whatever you do). I'll keep it focused on how you can quickly start doing good work and earning real money.

Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2006). Careers>Web Design>Management

Seven Things New Managers Must Do in the First 90 Days  

Discusses the creation of managed and sustainable workflow.

Hackos, JoAnn T. and Marty Williamson. ComTech Services (2000). Careers>Management>Collaboration>Workflow

Shameless Self Promotion: A Guide to Building a Small Business  

Do you wonder if anybody notices you? Do you lie awake nights wondering where your next contract will come from? Would you like to move from doing one project at a time to running a company that does many projects? Success or failure as an independent technical communicator is determined by many things, but one of the key ones is GETTING NOTICED!!!!!

Deaton, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Management>Marketing

Shift Focus from Project Details to Work Processes  

Avoid looking too closely at the details when taking on a project.

Watson, Steven A. TechRepublic (2003). Careers>Project Management>Methods

Should You Incorporate?  

When you establish yourself as an independent contractor or consultant, you must choose the type of legal entity that your business will be. The decision to incorporate should not be made without first understanding the implications. In making this decision, some issues to consider are taxation, liability, control, and simplicity.

Flanders, Melanie G. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Consulting>Management

Single Sourcing and the Technical Communication Career Path    

Considers how most technical writing uses a craftsman model and evaluates the applicability of that model to single sourcing. Proposes a technical communication career path with distinct job responsibilities for junior and senior writers.

Albers, Michael J. Technical Communication Online (2003). Careers>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Skills for New Leaders  

Hemmi discusses the demands facing technical communicators who have recently moved into leadership positions.

Hemmi, Jane A. Intercom (2001). Careers>Management

So Near and Yet So Far: Tips for Working With, Managing, or Working as a Remote Resource  

The use of remote resources who work from a home office has potential advantages, such as enhanced productivity and motivation, cost savings, and personal and organizational flexibility. It also has potential disadvantages such as isolation, lack of direct supervision and communication, and increased travel expenditures. Constructing a win-win solution for remote resources, their managers, and their co-workers involves consistently using imaginative solutions to maximize the advantages of the situation and to minimize its disadvantages. Examples include using differences in work schedules and time zones to create a 'second shift.' Successful outcomes also require an increased emphasis on structured two-way communication.

Cassidy, George and Pete Larson. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Telecommuting>Management

So You Think You Want to be a Manager

Every designer faces a choice at some point in their career -- to manage or not to manage. Erin Malone helps you walk through the questions you need to make that choice.

Malone, Erin. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Careers>Management>Design