Extreme documentation is an agile methodology for developing documentation in small to medium-sized teams in the face of vague or rapidly changing requirements.
#19889
Documentation for Global Markets: Some Practical Considerations 
This panel will discuss the development of documentation for global markets. Many practical tips will be offered for discussion.
Bolton, David, Ralph F. Calistro and Laurel R. Simmons. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>International
#19827
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 (1999). Articles>Documentation>Standards>ISO 9000
#26941
Documentation for Sarbanes-Oxley
In the financial end of business, more work is being done with documentation, thanks to Sarbanes-Oxley and financial accountability.
KeyContent.org (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Documentation
#29435
Documentation is a Profit Center!
Everyone knows that documentation is a cost center, and that downsizing writers and moving documentation online save money. Unfortunately for 'everyone', it's trivial to demonstrate that documentation is actually a profit center--and we don't even have to wrassle with messy stuff like customer satisfaction to prove it.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2000). Articles>Documentation>Workplace
#31815
Documentation Methods for AACSB Learning Assurances
In 2003, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) redefined their accreditation and reaffirmation standards to move from a traditional outcome-based system to a systematic process-based review. Documentation is required to assure student learning in several core areas, including communication. This paper outlines the data collection procedures and documentation methods used to document one university’s business communication learning assurances.
Gueldenzoph, Lisa E. Association for Business Communication (2008). Articles>Documentation>Education>Business Communication
#15117
Documentation Metrics: What Do You Really Want to Measure?
Examines several metrics--systems for measuring production and production standards--to determine their value to technical communicators. He argues that qualitative metrics are more meaningful than quantitative ones.
Le Vie, Donald S., Jr. Intercom (2000). Articles>Documentation>Assessment>Heuristic Evaluation
#23580
Documentation on CD-ROM: Strategies for a Successful Implementation
Producing documentation on CD-ROM can be extremely beneficial to users and can also save your company a lot of money over hard copy costs. To assure a successful roll-out of your CD product, it is critical to consider the involvement of key departments in your company as you plan the implementation in your user community. The two processes are closely related, and a well-integrated internal plan will help assure a successful introduction to your customers.
Florsheim, Stewart J. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Online
#28281
Documentation Quality Checklist
Basic checklist for assessing and improving the quality of technical documentation, especially software documentation such as user manuals, online help files, interactive demos and tutorials.
Achtelig, Marc. indoition engineering (2006). Articles>Documentation>Quality>Documentation
#28172
To implement any continuous improvement process, you have to measure your progress. This is where metrics come in. Have you been struggling to create a process for measuring your technical documentation? If so, this article provides the information you need to get started.
Cohen, Jules. Carolina Communique (2004). Articles>Documentation>Assessment
#23587
Documentation Quality Metrics Within Total Quality Management Systems
Total Quality Management (TQM), is now very much a feature of many organizations. One of the kernels of TQM is the process, with its related topics such as process design, process management and process improvement. One of the key requirements for process design and management is process measurements, often called 'metrics'. Within the document design and development process, process metrics, including quality metrics, must be based very strongly on customer values for documentation. Quality metrics can form one element within a composite customer satisfaction index for documentation projects.
Hosier, William J. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Quality
#23221
Funny thing, documentation. Ought to be easy enough, surely? So why the disappointing results? What IS the elusive spark which distinguishes the professional author from others who put their hand to the pen (keyboard)?
Mobbs, John. ISTC (2002). Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing
#29771
Documentation Solutions for Complex Tools: Task-Based Design at the Cross Roads
For most of the technical writing community, task-based documentation has become the panacea for presentation of end-product document (in any of its myriad forms including traditional linear manuals and online help). We believe, however, that applying this method to a complex tool, (for example, a software tool without a Graphical User Interface), challenges the task-based approach.
Swallow, Lisa and Matt Laney. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing
#19892
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
#23645
Documentation Through the Discovery Process
The technical writers at a software company learn about the software by gathering information and running the software themselves.
Kloss, Marilyn B. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Interviewing
#14753
Documentation through the Discovery Process
Kloss describes a process of composing documentation that requires the writer's involvement at every phase of product development.
Kloss, Marilyn B. Intercom (2002). Articles>Documentation>Style Guides
#31006
Documentation: Give It Up; It Won't Happen
Is providing Linux documentation an insurmountable task? I'm starting to think so. The major technical book publishers have dropped their efforts to recruit authors and publish sysadmin books. Instead, they have started focusing most of their attention on programming. Who can blame them.
Adelstein, Tom. Linux Journal (2007). Articles>Documentation>Operating Systems>Linux
#21025
Documenting Entertainment Software: The Mixed Challenge of Simplicity and Sophistication
The challenges of documenting entertainment software are in many ways the challenges of all technical communicators. We strive to make the interface intuitive and the documentation interesting and easy-to-read. Although the nature of the world of entertainment may suggest that our task is simple, the breadth of our audience and the depth of our goals makes it more sophisticated than it looks. We must be as imaginative as our users, recognize the emerging dimensions of multimedia, and create with the constraints of low retail costs, small teams, and fast-paced deadlines.
Guthrie, Lynn Frances. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Software
#28173
It is commonplace to find information through the Web, but the use of the Web for technical communication is still uncommon. What the competition entries made me realize is that in this networked world, the places where we find information are no longer one or two dimensional. Communication is no longer simply about words on a page (or on a screen). Technical information is now accessed through a multidimensional cyberspace.
Albing, Bill. Carolina Communique (2004). Articles>Documentation>Online
#25379
Documenting in N-Dimensional Space
As technical communicators, we are being challenged with how to structure information in a multiple dimensional space made possible with Web technology.
Albing, Bill. KeyContent.org (2005). Articles>Documentation>Information Design
#20310
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
#15118
Documenting ISO 9001 Compliance
Describes how technical writers can make their documentation comply with ISO 9001, the latest quality management system from the International Organization for Standardization. The article includes a list of suggested readings.
Parr, Kelly A. Intercom (2002). Articles>Documentation>Standards>ISO 9001
#28734
Documenting networks is playing less with words, and more with diagrams. It also requires an engineering mind, an ability to think out-of-box, and creative mind. Technical writers can rise to a new scale and expand their skill sets if they are able to document networks.
EDITsphere (2007). Articles>Documentation>Intranets>Graphic Design
#24215
Documenting Procedures After the Sole Subject Expert Has Left the Organization
A corporation's or nonprofit's life without written procedures is fraught with dangers and pitfalls that can strike without warning and potentially wreak havoc on the organization's ability to function efficiently—or even to function at all—especially when the lone source of how-to information leaves the organization. The task of creating those procedures from scratch from what often amounts to skeleton information and secondhand sources can be tedious and frustrating but well worth the effort if it helps prevent the organization from being caught off guard in the future. When it comes to workplace procedures, it pays to be prepared.
Kessler, Audrey Cielinski. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures
#21657
The issue of documenting schemas—or any machine readable language—goes beyond simple additions of comments. Thereal challengeistocreateschemasthat arereadablebothdirectlybylookingat their sourcecodeandbydocumentation extraction tools.
van der Vlist, Eric. O'Reilly and Associates (2001). Articles>Information Design>XML>Documentation
#21504
Documenting the Flow of Rule-Based Programming in Expert Systems
With the spread of new technology, technical communicators face interesting new challenges for solving documentation problems. One area of software development that technical communicators are increasingly becoming involved in is that of rule-based expert systems. Because of their complexity, both the systems and their documentation can be difficult to maintain. Technical communicators can solve some of these maintenance problems by flow-charting only the chaining structure of the rule-base design.
Glover, Kyle S. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Programming>Workflow
