So You Want to Be a UX Manager—Seriously?

Almost weekly, I talk with a UX designer or researcher who wants to become a manager of a UX team. For some people, this is a good choice. Both they and their teams thrive. But for many, it’s honestly not the right goal, and the end result is that neither they nor their teams are happy. The book Now, Discover Your Strengths [1] suggests that we tend to be good at the things we love doing, and we love activities at which we excel. I find that we do our best work when we’re in a playground. (I’ll explore this idea more in my next column.) Isn’t life too short to pursue a path we don’t enjoy?

Nieters, Jim. UXmatters (2008). Careers>Management>User Experience

Some Strategies for Managing the Contract Workforce  

Williams suggests ways that managers can use independent contractors as part of a comprehensive staffing plan.

Williams, Sean D. Intercom (2003). Careers>Management>Collaboration

A Stake in the Ground: A Successful Approach to Project Estimating and Tracking  

Project management is an increasingly important skill for technical communicators. Specifically, by accurately estimating and tracking projects we can help justify resources, identify areas to improve cycle times, or even justify the existence of jobs. Estimating projects occurs early in the process during the analyze and plan phases. It improves with practice. Tracking is done throughout the entire process, although a majority of the data are gathered during the development phase. Successful estimating and tracking includes these elements: identifying estimating metrics, projecting project life cycle costs and hours, recording actual hours and costs, comparing estimates to actuals, and documenting improvements based on experience.

Friend, Amy S. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Project Management>Planning>Estimating

Starting a Business: Advice from the Trenches

Did that last 'fire your boss' spam push you over the edge? Do your wish-fulfillment dreams revolve around letterhead, legal entities, and avoiding arrest for tax evasion? If you’re crazy enough to start your own business, Kevin Potts wants you to learn from his mistakes.

Potts, Kevin. List Apart, A (2003). Careers>Management>Consulting

Starting a Technical Writing Business from Scratch

What does it take to start your own technical-writing business? Chutzpa! Insanity! I began mine by getting a loan from my local bank for my first computer to set up a home office. It was a Micron desktop 386, the fastest computer in town! That was nine years ago. I now have a nice office, a sizeable staff, and all the work I can handle, most of the time.

Nickolich, Ruth. Writing Assistance (2006). Careers>Management>Technical Writing

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

Starting Your Business: Costs, Structures, and Pitfalls  

Sheds light on choosing a business structure and paying business taxes--and just may save you money and headaches.

Butow, Eric. Intercom (2004). Careers>Management

Startup (2): Find an Accountant

If you think accountants are boring, you are so very wrong. Accountants can be comical, scary, amusingly threatening and sometimes also really smart.

Information Architects Japan (2006). Careers>Management>Regional>Japan

Startup in Japan(1): The Basics

Setting up a company in Japan as a foreigner isn't as difficult as you might guess. Of course, it helped that I knew some things about Japan, and starting off--before I started off.

Information Architects Japan (2006). Careers>Management>Regional>Japan

Sticky Chocolate Company Goes Total Team  

Explore the total team approach to providing customer solutions in a large-team environment. Enjoy skits that dramatize team-building issues. Join in the discussion on approaches, alternatives, solutions, and results.

Allen, Pam, Morris Dean, Sharon L. Hayes and Gina Poole. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Management>Collaboration>Workplace

Strategic Challenges for Technical Communication Managers  

Suggests ways that technical communication managers can confront the challenges facing their departments in 2002.

Carliner, Saul. Intercom (2002). Careers>Management>TC

Strategic Management to Achieve Goals

Making your objectives specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based not only focuses the attention of the organization on high priority activities, but it also creates metrics that can be measured and monitored in order to see how well the organization is performing.

Bizmanualz (2007). Careers>Management>Planning

Strategic Planning  

What is strategic planning? A process for determining: where you are; where you intend to be; how you’re going to get there.

Hackos, JoAnn T. ComTech Services (2000). Careers>Management>Project Management

Strategic Planning for Information Development Organizations  

Strategic planning, the process of determining where you intend to be and how you're going to get there, is essential to the success of any organization. But our assessment of the information development community indicates that the majority of organizations do little or no strategic planning. One reason is that their leaders often don't know what strategic planning is, why it's important, or how to do it.

Breuninger, Charles L. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Management>Planning

Strategic Planning: Creating a Vision of the Future  

Strategic planning, the process of determining where you intend to be and how you’re going to get there, is absolutely essential to the success of any organization. But our assessment of the information development community indicates that the majority of organizations, whether operating as standalone businesses or as internal functions within larger companies, do little or no strategic planning. One of the main reasons is that they don’t know what strategic planning is, why it’s important, or how to do it.

Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1999). Careers>Management>Planning

Strategic Thinking and Planning for Information Development Organizations  

This panel will introduce the audience to the basic concepts and components of strategic thinking and planning and will provide practical examples of application in a variety of information-development organizations.

Breuninger, Charles L., JoAnn T. Hackos, Heather J. Fox and Angela W. McAlister. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Project Management>Planning

Strategies When Hiring a Technical Writer  

This article offers tips for project and development managers hiring a technical writer to document a software development project.

Kelly, William T. TechRepublic (2003). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing

Successful Hiring Using Role Profiles  

Explains how role profiles—descriptions of the roles new hires are expected to fill within an organization—can help managers make informed hiring decisions.

Mason, Catheryn L. Intercom (2003). Careers>Management>Recruiting

Successful Management Strategies for Nontraditional Work Environments  

As the reengineering of organizations, advances in technology, and the growing popularity of telecommuting continue to provide enormous challenges to managers and project leaders, we must identify effective strategies for dealing with the inevitable results of such rapid, ongoing change.

Henderson, D.L., Bonnie J. Davis and Genie Vidal. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Telecommuting>Management

Survey Into Trends in Technical Communication: How Many Technical Writers Should We Have in Our Organisation?

We were asked recently if we knew of any research on 'standard' ratios between developers and technical authors. We decided to carry out some research and this article covers our preliminary findings.

Cherryleaf (2003). Careers>Project Management>Standards>Surveys

Surviving in a Start-Up: Three Key Elements  

It is possible to survive in a start-up. As new technologies emerge so do start-ups where, more often than not, process and procedures have yet to be implemented. This article takes a look at the three key elements needed for Tech Pubs to survive in a start-up.

Bijoux, Pascale M. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Management>Workplace

Technical Writing: A Candidate for Outsourcing?

Nowadays, outsourcing seems to be a de facto approach in the IT industry. As a part of the software development process, it seems reasonable to consider technical writing as a candidate for outsourcing. Through this article, I propose to explore the pros, cons, risks, and opportunities for outsourcing your technical documentation.

Talbot, Fabrice. LiveTechDocs (2008). Careers>Management>Outsourcing>Technical Writing

Telecommuting: Practical Option or Management Nightmare?

Telecommuting can be a wonderful benefit for your editors and can save your department money -- as long as you set clear terms and carefully monitor the results. It doesn't have to be the management nightmare you may be imagining.

Cormier, Robin A. Editorial Eye, The (1998). Careers>Telecommuting>Management

Telling It Straight

What quality do employees most want from business leaders? A clear vision of the way ahead, perhaps? A charismatic leadership style? Political or business acumen? Of course, we demand all those qualities in leaders. But a recent piece of research points to a different quality as being the top priority for many employees.

Wilson, Liz. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Management

Ten Tips for Effective Performance Appraisals

Well-written performance appraisals are among the most effective tools for managing by objective and for developing people. Use these 10 Tips for Effective Performance Appraisals to significantly increase your team's effectiveness and perceived value within your organization.

ULiveandLearn.com (2005). Careers>Management>Assessment