Situated Learning in Cross-Functional Virtual Teams    

This paper reports an interpretive study of three cross-functional teams in a single company. The teams were virtual because each was composed of workers located in a small southern U. S. town and a northern U. S. city. The conceptual framework of situated learning within communities of practice guided the interpretation of transcripts of interviews with 22 managers and team members. The results suggest that virtual teamwork creates special demands that require workers to devise local practices for coordinating their work with remote team members. Through different combinations of remote and face-to-face communication, using a variety of communication media, the learning of work practices became situated in the virtual community rather than imposed by managers or specially designed coordinating technologies.

Robey, Daniel, Huoy Min Khoo and Carolyn Powers. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Online

Sixteen Suggestions for Successful Videoconferences  

Offers protocols, procedures, and rules of etiquette for conducting videoconferences.

Smith, Gary M. Intercom (2000). Articles>Collaboration>Teleconferencing>Videoconferencing

Smart Job Searching: Second Year of STC WorkQuest  

Looking for work can be lonely, frustrating, depressing, and demoralizing. Job seekers can battle these effects by joining a support group that not only motivates and empowers, but also provides concrete information about how to conduct a job search. STC WorkQuest is such a support group sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication.

Ramey, Janis G. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Unemployment>Collaboration>STC

SMEs in a Nutshell  

I admit that I don't know everything about subject-matter experts or SMEs (rhymes with please). But I do know that there are some things that you should avoid asking SMEs, the main ones being 'Does the user know this already?' and 'Do I need to explain this to the user?' The problem with these questions is that the SME is likely to reply 'No!' to both of them when in fact the answer is most definitely 'Yes.' SMEs tend to believe that everyone knows as much about technology as they do. Never, never, never let the SMEs tell you how to write the documentation. A SME is the subject matter expert, not the documentation expert (that's you).

Docsymmetry (2003). Articles>Documentation>Collaboration>SMEs

Social Media 101: Now Everyone's a Technical Writer

Free and cheap tools (blogging software, cheap digital cameras) have made "many-to-many" communication possible. This is sometimes called the "rise of the creative class." People are shifting from being consumers to creators.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. Palimpsest (2008). Articles>Writing>Collaboration>Social Networking

Social Network Analysis

How do knowledge workers learn? How do they decide what to learn next? What motivates them to share? These questions are central to the challenges of knowledge management, and yet most corporate portals and online communities are designed in ignorance of their answers.

Morville, Peter. Semantic Studios (2002). Design>Web Design>Collaboration>Rhetoric

Social Networking and Social Software

Social Networks and Social Software have been gaining a great deal of attention in corporate think tanks and discussion groups around the world. Review of progress in this area and interview with Huy Zing, a self-described, 'seriously addicted online community personality.'

Quenin, Eileen. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Collaboration>Online

Social Topography in a Wireless Era: The Negotiation of Public and Private Space    

Talking on the phone is usually a private activity, but it becomes a public activity when using a cellphone in certain spaces. Unlike a traditional payphone in public, cellphones do not have privacy booths. Therefore, the ways in which people respond to cellphone calls in public spaces provide markers for social topographical space. In this study I explore how cellphone users negotiate privacy when using cellphones in public space and how those within the proximity of the caller negotiate space in response to these callers. Based on a year-long study involving observation fieldwork and in-depth interviews, I discuss the flexibility with which people constantly negotiate their private and public sense of self when using and responding to cellphones in public spaces.

Humphreys, Lee. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2005). Articles>Collaboration>Wireless Web>Geography

Software Documentation Process - McGraw-Hill School Systems  

This panel presents the software documentation processes of three companies. At McGraw-Hill School Systems, the technical writers are involved in every stage of the software development life cycle. This approach ensures that writers are always in control of the information they need and that sufficient time is available for the documentation process. Our involvement allows us to produce high-quality documentation that is up-to-date with the software’s functionality.

Rogers, Anne E. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Workflow>Collaboration

Software Testing  

If you area technical writer who writes software documentation, chances are you have been informally involved in testing the software that you are documenting. In larger organizations, entire divisions are devoted to thoroughly testing software before it is released. In smaller organizations, this position could be informal or nonexistent. In this workshop, you will learn a basic methodology for testing software that you can use as a starting point for a new or expanded career.

Chiricosta, Tracey C., Charles D. Fisher Jr. and Tom Witherspoon. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>TC>Programming>Collaboration

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

Special Interest Group on Supporting Group Work

The ACM Special Interest Group on Supporting Group Work (SIGGROUP, formerly called SIGOIS) is interested in topics related to computer-based systems that have a team or group impact in workplace settings. A strong emphasis of SIGGROUP is the integration of multiple computer-based tools and technologies and the impact on the human activities supported by those tools and technologies. Relevant issues include design, implementation, deployment, evaluation, methodologies and impact that arise when researching computer-based systems in a development environment. SIGGROUP publishes the SIGGROUP Bulletin and offers the members a Member Plus Package.

ACM SIGGROUP. Organizations>Collaboration

Speedy Delivery  

We've come a long way since the Pony Express, but delivering electronic documents isn't always easy. Here are a few tips to make sure they arrive intact and on time.

Fleishman, Glenn. Adobe Magazine (1998). Articles>Collaboration>Online

Stand Out from the Crowd

Enhance your competitive edge by highlighting the talents and skills that make you unique. Understand what sets you apart, learn to articulate this, and find ways to market yourself.

Hamer, Emma C. Hamer Associates. Careers>Collaboration>Community Building

STC and Academe: Pooling Our Expertise, Enhancing Our Profession  

Academe and business can learn much from each other about technical communication. The Chicago Chapter STC Institute for Professional Development, now in its fourth year, fosters the integration of knowledge and experience by bringing together teachers, researchers, and practitioners to plan and team teach courses that link theory and practice. All parties have realized extensive benefits. Academics confer with practitioners on research opportunities. Course participants interact with practitioners, who provide real-world examples and employment opportunities. Corporations offer a novel self-development opportunity to employees who became technical communicators through expediency, not necessarily training, and who lack a theoretical basis for practice. STC gains prestige as a professional organization with vision and capability.

Abbott, Christine, Mary Ryba Knepper, Joy Mason and Barb Ostapina. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Collaboration>Academic

STC and Academe: Pooling Our Expertise, Enhancing Our Profession  

Academe and business can learn much from each other about technical communication. The Chicago Chapter STC Institute for Professional Development, now in its fourth year, fosters the integration of knowledge and experience by bringing together teachers, researchers, and practitioners to plan and team teach courses that link theory and practice. All parties have realized extensive benefits. Academics confer with practitioners on research opportunities. Course participants interact with practitioners, who provide real-world examples and employment opportunities. Corporations offer a novel self-development opportunity to employees who became technical communicators through expediency, not necessarily training, and who lack a theoretical basis for practice. STC gains prestige as a professional organization with vision and capability.

Abbott, Christine, Mary Ryba Knepper, Joy Mason and Barb Ostapina. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Collaboration>Academic

STC Research RFP Epost Discussion Board  

The STC Research RFP Discussion Board was created using Epost, part of a University of Washington online toolkit. The discussion board is open to the public.

University of Washington-Seattle. Resources>Collaboration>Research

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

Storyboarding and Collaboration  

For technical communicators, storyboarding is a path to collaboration with team members and users. Collaboration and storyboarding help technical communicators get new ideas, find new structures, and discover new modes of expression. In this workshop, you will learn about storyboards and how to develop them. You will also participate in exercises on conducting and collaborating on a storyboard review and on writing a storyboard specification. You will discover how collaboration helps create the context, organization, and design of a document through the use of storyboards.

Trapasso, Linda S. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Multimedia>Collaboration>Writing

Storytelling: Using Narrative to Communicate Design Ideas  

What makes a story appropriate? Convincing?

Quesenbery, Whitney. WQusability (2001). Design>Collaboration>Rhetoric

Strategic Usability: Partnering Business, Engineering and Ease of Use

The shift to internalizing usability for an organization can be accelerated by thinking about usability from a strategic, instead of tactical, perspective. Tactical use of usability engineering is responsive and isolated, focusing on adjustments to existing designs, often late in the schedule. Strategic use of usability or user research is proactive and integrated, improving decision making at many levels of project and business planning. To make the transition from tactical to strategic work, a usability engineer needs to develop partners and champions within the heart of an organization. It can often take several projects releases, and the cultivation of multiple partnerships with key players in an organization for this change to come to fruition.

Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2002). Articles>Usability>Collaboration

Strategies for Peer-Reviewing and Team-Writing

When you peer-review other people's writing, remember above all that you should consider all aspects of that writing, not just--in fact, least of all--the grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2001). Articles>Collaboration>Editing>Writing

Strategies for Student Chapter Success  

Students from the Cedarville College chapter of STC present seven factors that make their chapter successful. The Cedarville College chapter of STC received a Chapter Achievement Award at the 46th Annual Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Overturf, Jason and Sarah Flenar. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Collaboration>Management>STC

Strategies for Winning Recognition: Building a Visible, Viable, and Valuable Documentation Team  

Technical writing teams can improve their standing within their organizations. The purpose of this presentation is to share our experiences at Mirant where we've achieved recognition and respect as a vital internal service to the IT department and, increasingly, to the rest of the company.

Harkness, Holly E. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Collaboration>Technical Writing

Strategies for Working with Authors: How to Foster Productive Author-Editor Relationships  

Learning to be a good editor requires much more than learning the rules of grammar, diction, spelling, and punctuation. Editing requires a complex skill set, including an eye for document design, an awareness of how different document features affect readability, an understanding of how to manage the document development process, including the role of an editor in that process, and the ability to work with a variety of not just documents, but the creators of those documents--the authors. This paper discusses strategies to enable editors to develop productive, collaborative relationships with authors. Within the context of a capstone course in technical editing, students describe various strategies they used to develop editing plans, negotiate levels of edit and conduct editor/author conferences, and how they managed editing projects involving real authors and their documents.

Grady, Helen M., Ericka T. Mayweather, Brian W. Davis and Andrea M. LaPlume. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Editing>Collaboration