#18652
I walked into my first meeting in Northeast Ohio and didn't know anyone. I no sooner stuck my name badge to my shirt and someone was there to introduce themselves to me. From there, the person took me around the room and introduced me to others. I left that night feeling as though I had met 20 new professionals in my field. I couldn't wait to go to the next meeting. This fall, many of you and your chapter leaders will be running formal membership drives. You will be looking for new members and trying to identify ways to retain your current membership. You don't have to be the Membership Drive Chairperson or on the committee to help. Here are a few suggestions.
Bates, Michael P. STC Northeast Ohio (2002). Articles>TC>Collaboration
#15184
Resources and Strategies for Successful International Communication 
Offers tips to technical communicators on how to communicate effectively with people from other cultures.
St. Amant, Kirk R. Intercom (2000). Articles>Collaboration>International
#30740
Community collaboration has become an influential interorganizational phenomenon that provides innovative solutions for social problems. This critical case study uses dialogic theory to investigate how collaboration stakeholders negotiate creative and democratic outcomes. Findings demonstrate how a dialogic moment, although embedded in a homogenous partnership that facilitated discursive closure, constituted meaningful organizational change. The study empirically extends the theoretical claim that diversity resides in the communication situation and reveals that collaboration practices and stakeholder models are better understood when grounded in dialogic theory.
Guarrello, Renee. Management Communication Quarterly (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Community Building>Organizational Communication
#30564
If we've been asked by a peer to review his or her work before it is sent out to be scrutinized by the world, our job is to neither edit nor rewrite the information. Our job is to give helpful, specific feedback about where the information communicates well and where it needs work. The more we understand about how to review a peer's work effectively, and how doing this is different from editing, the better feedback we can provide.
Gillihan, Dana L. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Collaboration>Editing>Writing
#27366
Riff is a metaphor from jazz to describe a form of improvisation in which one musician borrows and builds on the musical phrase of another.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Collaboration
#27385
The ROI of Usability and Making Usability Routine
Makes the business case for usability, and examines the impact of making usability routine throughout an organization.
Weinschenk, Susan and Jay More. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability>Collaboration>Workplace
#30597
The Role of Double Agents in Writing Projects
Double agents on writing teams provide benefits to both product developers and technical writers with their unique skills and perspectives. You'll be more likely to get the information you need when you need it because your double agent has already set the stage for success. Learn the benefits of having a double agent working with technical writers as a part of the product development team. Discover valuable secrets never before divulged to the public that you can use to work with your product developers. Take out your magnifying glass and look for the clues.
Mobley, Karen L., Kathryn L. Turk and Judith R. Fisher. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Writing>Collaboration>SMEs
#22113
The Role of the Editor in the Technical Writing Team
Editing today covers far more than printed materials. In this discussion, I am assuming a technical editor may be required to deal with: printed materials (for example, books, pamphlets, quick reference cards); electronic (for example, online documentation, online help, web pages); video scripts; computer-based training materials. I am also assuming that the audience for the material being edited is not comprised of other technical people; or if it is, the editor is not the person responsible for ensuring the technical accuracy of the material.
Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (2002). Articles>Editing>Collaboration>Technical Writing
#19147
Roles Needed in an Intranet Team
A multi-disciplinary approach is needed when establishing an intranet team. Due to the diverse range of responsibilities, a large number of skills are required. This briefing outlines the major roles in an intranet team.
Robertson, James. Step Two (2003). Design>Web Design>Collaboration
#30887
The Rules of Digital Engagement
For contract web workers, consultants, and freelancers who work with far-flung collaborators, multiple clients, and constantly shifting teams, the rules of digital engagement--the way we interact with each other and resolve conflict in virtual space--are constantly changing. As we adapt to new ways of collaborating, we must also learn how to communicate effectively, set expectations, and build team confidence in an evolving work environment.
Follett, Jonathan. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>Web Design>Collaboration>Workplace
#24917
Rules of the Game: Contract Consulting and Negotiating Skills
A panel of experts will discuss how negotiating with vendors, business partners, peers, or employees can turn differences to mutual gain. Whether the technical communicators finds professional fulfillment and financial success from permanent or contract employment, as an employee or as a manager, the panel will offer suggestions, rules of thumb, and examples of how to optimize success in the work environment. The perspectives offered will be from the viewpoints of the consultant, the contractor, and the organization. Two papers, “Successful Contract Consulting” and “Negotiating Rules for Technical Communicators” provide background for this panel.
Currie, Cynthia C., James T. Currie, Laurie Modrey, and Emily A. Sopensky. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Consulting>Collaboration
#15186
Running a Successful International Teleconference
Kratts suggests guidelines for minimizing confusion during international teleconferences.
Kratts, Aimee. Intercom (2001). Articles>Collaboration>International>Teleconferencing
#19664
Feedback is central to learning. Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes, but practice without feedback does not allow students or training participants to improve.
Doumont, Jean-luc. Intercom (2003). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Collaboration
#25161
Same Tools, New Ideas: A Real-Life Example of Information Sharing and Reuse
Sharing information between writers in a team is a great way to maximize resources and minimize cost.
Kucbel-Saumier, Melissa. STC Region 7 Proceedings (2003). Articles>Collaboration>Writing
#22411
Scientific Collaboratories: Evaluating their Potential
The evaluation of scientific collaboratories has lagged behind their development. So few evaluations of scientific collaboratories exist that fundamental questions regarding their potential have yet to be answered: Can distributed scientific research produce high quality results? Do the capabilities afforded by collaboratories outweigh their disadvantages from scientists' perspectives? How does the scientific process change in the context of a collaboratory?
Sonnenwald, Diane H., Mary C. Whitton and Kelly L. Maglaughlin. ASIST (2002). Articles>Collaboration>Scientific Communication
#15190
Describes how a team of employees with broad control over the direction and outcome of a project can work more efficiently than a single individual assigned the same tasks.
McNeill, Angie D. Intercom (2000). Articles>Management>Collaboration
#29753
Based on the action research model of inquiry, this article is an interpretive ethnographic case study, exploring the power of narratives as a sensemaking device for members of a women's resource network in a large corporation during a time of significant organizational change, and the influence of storytelling on the networking practices of its members. Data are based on participant observation, formal and informal interviews, focus groups, and document analysis, including presentations, meeting notes, and e-mail correspondence. Drawing on the concepts of sensemaking, identity construction, and habitus, analysis of the members' stories suggests three key conclusions: reliance on collectively constructing stories; use of stories to deal with ambiguity and anxiety; and use of stories to construct and regulate identity. When viewed through a narrative lens, these results illuminate the interconnection of storytelling and networking strategies in a women's resource network that provides a hybrid of both expressive and instrumental benefits.
Bird, Shelley. JBC (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Gender
#27269
Shares experiences and observations collected from working with colleagues in Asian cultures. Discusses the importance of actively working to accommodate the needs of communicators from other cultures by beginning the dialogue in their language.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2006). Articles>Collaboration>International
#29685
Services Academics Offer: Considering Ways Organizations Can Seek Help from Universities
In technical communication, we talk about bridging academy and industry quite often, and we usually brainstorm ways that academics can forge relationships with professional organizations. This paper focuses on the reverse: helping technical communicators seek out academics who can help with workplace writing problems. Academics can offer expertise in training, problem-solving methodologies, and research facilities and can help organizations work through problems of collaboration, technology, design, and communication.
Smith Diaz, Charlsye. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Collaboration>Industry and Academy
#22022
The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings
And seven steps to salvation. Tools, techniques, and technologies to make your meetings less painful, more productive -- even heavenly.
Matson, Eric. Fast Company (1996). Articles>Collaboration
#22149
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
#28902
By working closely together in harmony, product management, UX, and engineering can achieve synergy, making the product user experience greater than the sum of their individual efforts.
Gabriel-Petit, Pabini. UXmatters (2007). Articles>User Experience>Collaboration
#21092
Shopping for Ideas at UPA Idea Markets
Ever feel that the best part of a conference happens between sessions? Ulf Andersson did. So, in the 1970s, he created a format for conference sessions called an 'Idea Market.' Attendees are free to roam from one idea station to the next, until they find a topic that grabs their attention. 'Activators' at each station stir up lively discourse on a variety of subjects in an interactive, fluid session. I had attended Idea Markets at other conferences and thought that they might be perfectly suited to UPA conferences because of the potential for getting practitioners buzzing about a variety of topics. So, I submitted a proposal to conduct an Idea Market at UPA in 2002 as a special type of 'panel' session. The reviewers had a tough time grasping the concept. Fortunately, the panel co-chairs went with it, and the first-ever Idea Market launched successfully.
Chisnell, Dana E. Usability Professionals Association (2003). Articles>Collaboration>Usability
#19078
Whether the answer to this question is a resounding yes or no, we need to address this question when we consider models for strategic development. My own experience is that technical communication is drawing closer to issues present in both academia and industry, issues such as visualization of data, usability and field testing of products, design of instructional material for the web, and other research issues. But as the two domains need each other to begin to solve problems, the collaboration is fraught with perils, perils such as who states the problem, who manages the project, what resources are available for working on the project, and who owns the results? As we begin to try to strengthen the bond, do we currently have models for successful collaborations? Are there strategies in place that lead to success? Are certain approaches doomed to failure?
Feinberg, Susan G. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Industry and Academy>Collaboration
#22905
In the mid 1970's, technical writers documented weapons of mass destruction for the military and its contractors. There were few computer-related jobs outside IBM and the other manufacturers. Corporate systems development managers did not know that people existed who were interested in such work.
Rigo, Joe. Journal of Computer Documentation (2001). Articles>Documentation>Collaboration>History
