Extreme documentation is an agile methodology for developing documentation in small to medium-sized teams in the face of vague or rapidly changing requirements.
#21545
Electronic Document Production 
This encyclopedia article provides engineering managers with a detailed overview of the process for developing online documents.
Hayhoe, George F. George Hayhoe Associates. Articles>Documentation>Online
#21457
Electronic Documentation Basics
Below you can find a compilation of the most frequently asked questions about electronic catalogs. You will find answers to general as well as to technical questions.
ITEDO Software (2003). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#24608
Electronic Information Kiosks: A New Online Genre for Technical Communicators
Kiosk design is an inevitable extension of the development of online documentation. Technical communicators are now frequently being asked by their employers to create such forms of communication. They must learn about kiosks from the new perspectives of their evolving technologies, applications, audience reactions, social contexts, and information design. Finally, technical communicators must begin to view kiosks as an emerging new genre that requires both analysis and creativity.
Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Online
#14699
Blank discusses the benefits of using consistent styles in documentation.
Blank, William. Intercom (2001). Articles>Documentation>Style Guides
#30811
Eleven Tips for Writing Incredibly Useful Procedures
Procedures are the meat and potatoes of technical writing. They help users get the job done. Follow these tips for writing clear and useful procedures that your users will appreciate.
HelpScribe (2008). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures>Technical Writing
#24697
The Elves and the Shoemaker—We Don't Wear No Pointy Hats
When technical communicators are part of a development team, we can do much more than write manuals. Our analysis and communications skills, user perspective can help launch a project team into productivity. We have a unique skill set which enhances the productivity and quality of the development process. By involving us early, we can assume technical communications tasks that developers otherwise perform. This exposure gives us a broader and deeper understanding of that which we communicate. Our involvement means better communication; with users and team members, and in deliverables and development processes.
Mazur, Sue and Jamie A. McCanless. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing
#23800
Embedded Help – Meeting the Needs of Your Users
Designing and developing an embedded help solution involves several stages. A successful solution starts with identifying user wants and needs. As you sort through these needs, identify common threads and design a solution that addresses these common threads. Consistency, flexibility, and experimentation are keys to developing a successful solution. Your design should be intuitive to use, and should provide users with the options they need. As you design your solution, consider your develop and maintenance requirements. You want the time you invest in the first version of your solution to pay off for future releases.
Mueller, Paul. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#24160
Empirical Proof for Presenting Screen Captures in Software Documentation 
None of the previous studies on screen captures addressed the functions in the framework. There was no empirical research on any of the four functions of screen captures. This article presents our research on these functions. Each section starts with a brief explanation of the function. Next, we illustrate the screen capture designs used to test the function. The remainder of each section explains the setup and results of the empirical study. The article ends with some general conclusions about the functions of screen captures.
Gellevij, Mark and Hans Van Der Meij. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Documentation>Graphic Design>Screen Captures
#24884
The Empowered User: A New Approach To Software Documentation
User empowerment offers a strategy for addressing the software end user's needs. The definition of user empowerment emphasizes a user-driven, informationmanagement oriented approach in response to changes that have taken place in the modern workplace after computers and computer software arrived. Working with software requires a significant shift in thinking and learning, responding to increased abstraction, isolation, and information volumes. Computermediated work demands that users develop new skills and job roles, and that documentation writers develop new techniques for manuals.
Barker, Thomas. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#13289
An End-to-End Process for Creating and Validating Scenario-Driven Documentation
This paper describes the end-to-end approach we used to create and validate scenario-driven information for a new product. This approach focuses as much on designing and testing information as it does on writing the information.
Newman-Collins, Ann and Linda Streitfeld. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Documentation>Assessment
#13770
The Engineer as Rational Man: The Problem of Imminent Danger in a Non-Rational Environment
Mine safety instruction manuals and training guides reflect an engineering perspective based on the concept of a Rational Man, a perspective which obsstructs effective risk management.
Sauer, Beverly A. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (1992). Articles>Documentation>Risk Communication>Rhetoric
#30491
Enhancing Customer Satisfaction by Assuring Documentation Quality
From the customer's perspective, an important and visible part of a product or service is its documentation. Bellcore's Technical Publications (Tech Pubs) organization uses a Quality Assurance (QA) program that focuses on enhancing customer satisfaction through delivering high-quality documentation. This program emphasizes a 'network' approach to documentation development, whereby technical writers can most efficiently use the support network of QA reviewers and management available to them. The Tech Pubs QA program draws on the needs of clients and the expertise of technical writers to strive to achieve the highest level of quality possible in producing documentation.
Dolese, Cathy and Tara Durkin. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Quality>User Centered Design
#21650
Enhancing Documentation with Video
Presents guidelines for developing videos from technical material and discusses the process of video production.
Steiner, Leonard T. Intercom (2004). Articles>Documentation>Multimedia>Video
#14521
Enhancing The Review Process: Giving And Receiving Constructive Feedback
Clear, positive feedback can contribute significantly toward improving the quality of printed and on-line documentation. Wizen feedback is negative, unclear, or incomplete, however, the accuracy and quality of a document can suffer, and misunderstandings between colleagues can result. Those who are responsible for reviewing documental ion can enhance that process by knowing what type of feedback to provide and how to offer it in a clear and constructive way. Those who request feedback on their documentation projects also can enhance the review process by clearly identifying the project scope and specifying their evaluation needs to their reviewers.
Pritchard, Laurie N. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Documentation>Workflow
#26733
Enterprise Agility: SOX and Enterprise Information Integration
The intent of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) can be characterized as risk reduction: reduce errors, inhibit fraud, and provide shareholders with transparent equal-access to material knowledge. But implementation is principally procedural controls and documentation, under threat of penalty. The vague parts of SOX are where the real leverage lies: principles of intent, and corporate transparency.
Dove, Rick. Paradigm Shift International (2005). Articles>Knowledge Management>Information Design>Documentation
#24904
Environmental Impact Statements in The Netherlands
Composing an Environmental Impact Statement is a complex task, not only in the USA but also in The Netherlands. Responsible for this difficulty are the comprehensive technical nature of the EIS, the diversity of the audience, and the political character of the outcome: the final text is a compromise between all those involved in the environmental debate. These factors may easily lead to voluminous statements. Communication specialists can help in this process: by writing the obliged summary, by editing the final copy, and (for those with management skills) by coordinating the environmental debate.
Bulter, Willem J. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Environmental>Netherlands
#31992
Error Accessing and Displaying CHM Files: Reasons and Solutions
So, you've got in trouble. Some or even all of your CHM files seem to have gotten corrupted. They show a "The page cannot be displayed" error in the left-hand pane of the CHM viewer. There are several possible reasons why your CHM e-books and documentation files are unreadable.
Crane, Dennis. Dr. Explain (2006). Articles>Documentation>Help>Microsoft Windows
#15130
Estimating Documentation Projects
Outlines a system for estimating the costs, in time and money, of a documentation project.
#21351
Estimating Scope and Schedule for a Help Project
During this session, we will learn how to create a topic list to determine project scope, and then we will begin to calculate how long it will take produce all of these topics. When we’re done, you will have a methodology for doing this for your own project.
Deaton, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Project Management>Documentation>Help
#19785
Estimating Scope and Schedule for Help Projects
Three steps to a more accurate Help schedule.
Deaton, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Project Management>Documentation
#19128
Estimating the Cost of High-Quality Documentation
The cost of developing a typical end user document at Cadence Design Systems is about $40,000. The cost of not providing complete and completely accurate documentation can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Cover, Martha, David Cooke and Matt Hunt. Technical Communication Online (1995). Articles>Documentation>Pricing
#23652
Estimating Time and Cost for Policies and Procedures Projects
Estimating time and cost for a policies and procedures project can be an adventure in guessing and a ticket to grief. However, planning with a detailed checklist and list of assumptions can you help create a more realistic estimate, please your client, and protect your sanity and pocketbook.
Escoe, Adrienne. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management
#23209
European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations
EBLIDA is the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations. We are an independent umbrella association of national library, information, documentation and archive associations and institutions in Europe.
#23653
Evaluating and Choosing a Service Provider
Small- to middle-sized companies are often dependent on third-party service providers to complete tasks related to documentation production. Formally evaluating service providers is one way for documentation managers to ensure that their company and documentation team are getting maximum service, top quality, and competitive prices. Evaluations must be carefully planned and implemented in order to produce reliable results. The planning phase lets the documentation managers “set the stage” for an evaluation by defining and communicating the main objectives. The subsequent implementation phase lets participants gather the key information required to select the best service provider.
Weirich, Margaret. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Outsourcing>Assessment
#31833
Online help excels in providing quick access to concise information - but only when the users choose to access it. Delivering high-quality online help that satisfies all users is a hard task. Several good help authoring tools make help generation and maintenance easier, but to create good content that is highly effective is still a huge challenge. Experience shows that even after following quality guidelines or best practices, the final output may still not be good enough to satisfy the needs of your users. Heuristic evaluation of an online help system provides an initial assessment of both quality and usability. This article presents a summary of key points for evaluating online help, though you will likely want to expand the heuristics with company or product-centric metrics suitable to your application.
Dalvi, Meghashri. Usability Interface (2008). Articles>Documentation>Help>Assessment
