Engineers Make Obvious Design Mistakes

The engineers who build the products people use every day are not experts in user behaviour, and they frequently make mistakes that cause lost time and immeasurable frustration. Interaction designers could improve thousands upon thousands of products, leaving engineers to deal with the areas of their interest and experience.

Baker, Adam. Merges.net (2001). Design>User Interface>Engineering>User Centered Design

Review: English for the Energy Industries: Oil, Gas, and Petrochemicals

Not only people preparing to work in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries, but also students of industrial chemistry and chemical engineering can immensely benefit from the material provided in this coursebook and supplementary CDs.

Kumar Panda, Prasanta. International Journal for Technical Communication (2008). Articles>Reviews>Business Communication>Engineering

Expressive/Exploratory Technical Writing (XTW) in Engineering: Shifting the Technical Writing Curriculum    

While the importance of "expressive writing," or informal, self-directed writing, has been well established, teachers underutilize it, particularly in technical writing courses. We introduce the term expressive/exploratory technical writing (XTW), which is the use of informal, self-directed writing to problem-solve in technical fields. We describe how engineering students resist writing, despite decades of research showing its importance to their careers, and we suggest that such resistance may be because most students only see writing as an audience-driven performance and thus incompletely understand the link between writing and thinking. The treatment of invention in rhetorical history supports their view. We describe two examples of using XTW in software engineering to plan programming tasks. We conclude by discussing how a systematic use of XTW could shift the technical writing curriculum, imbuing the curriculum with writing and helping students see how to problem-solve using natural language.

Warnock, Scott and Michael Kahn. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Engineering

From Page to Stage: How Theories of Genre and Situated Learning Help Introduce Engineering Students to Discipline-Specific Communication      

This article describes a discipline-specific communication course for engineering students offered by a Canadian university. The pedagogy of this course is based on North American theories of genre and theories of situated learning. In keeping with these theories, the course provides a context in which students acquire rhetorical skills and strategies necessary to integrate into a discipline-specific discourse community. The authors argue that such a pedagogical approach can be used to design communication courses tailored to the needs of any discipline if the following three key conditions are met: assignments are connected to subject matter courses, a dialogic environment is provided, and the nature of assignments allows students to build on their learning experiences in the course.

Artemeva, Natasha, Susan Logie and Jennie St-Martin. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Engineering>Writing

Graphics and Invention in Engineering Writing    

This study reports on the use of graphics by engineers as a method of stimulating the writing process (rhetorical invention). Information presented here comes from working engineers, based on a questionnaire developed after informal conversations and then administered to 15 participants in private industry, with questions about specific writing genres and types of graphics. Results show that graphics have a powerful function in stimulating writing ideas. Although individual writers' preferences in graphics are strong, patterns could be seen in (1) overall number of graphics types used by each writer, (2) specific types of graphics used by each writer based on the writing genre, and (3) the most common types of graphics used overall.

Hutto, David. Technical Communication Online (2007). Articles>Scientific Communication>Engineering>Technical Illustration

How Does the Institutional Home of a Program Affect its Development?  

Having the department of technical communication located within the School of Engineering has a significant impact on the program’s development.

Davis, Marjorie T. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Engineering

How to Become a Value-Add Technical Communicator to Scientists, Engineers, and Technical Staff  

At one time or another most technical communicators have had to work with scientific/technical professionals who were the authors of their own research projects or product documentation. As a group, engineers more so than scientists do not view writing documentation as a critical (though perhaps important) part of the product or their job description. The technical publications team in Motorola’s RISC Systems Engineering Division has adopted seven strategies developed by the author that will help get engineers, programmers, and other technical professionals clamoring for the services of technical communicators. This paper addresses these seven strategies.

LeVie, Donald S., Jr. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Collaboration>Engineering

How to Read an Engineering Research Paper

Reading research papers effectively is challenging. These papers are written in a very condensed style because of page limitations and the intended audience, which is assumed to already know the area well. Moreover, the reasons for writing the paper may be different than the reasons the paper has been assigned, meaning you have to work harder to find the content that you are interested in. Finally, your time is very limited, so you may not have time to read every word of the paper or read it several times to extract all the nuances. For all these reasons, reading a research paper can require a special approach.

Griswold, Bill. University of California San Diego. Articles>Research>Engineering

Writing4Practice in Engineering Courses: Implementation and Assessment Approaches      

In this article, we analyze a two-semester effort to integrate writing instruction into a multi-disciplinary sophomore engineering design course in Northern Arizona University’s College of Engineering and Technology. Specifically, we describe the programmatic implementation and assessment approach to evaluate whether student writing improved over the course of the semester. After discussing the reasons for taking a writing-intensive approach to engineering, we analyze the results of a pre- and post-test administered over the span of an academic semester. Although the outcome of our assessment did not show significant improvement, we argue that writing instruction is important for increasing students’ overall learning skills. We conclude by pointing out several benefits and disadvantages of trying to assess writing improvement over two one-semester periods.

Gruber, Sibylle, Debra Larson, David Scott and Melvin Neville. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Engineering

Identifying and Representing Electronic Engineering Resources: A Case Study in Knowledge Management

Current methods of access to the electronic resources offered by the Internet make little use of basic principles of information organization and retrieval, relying instead on relatively informal and, at times, ad hoc approaches. This creates problems in terms of the volume of information retrieved by a user of the Internet and the precision with which that information matches the user's information need. There is a plethora of engineering resources available on the Internet, yet no systematic method of retrieval is available to engineers who are in need of the most current information in their discipline. The Internet is often the only immediate source of the most current engineering resources. The purpose of this project is to identify electronic resources that could be of value to engineers and to represent these resources in a manner that enables engineers to make timely, informed decisions about the usefulness of the resources. This paper addresses the specific objectives the project which include: 1) the development of selection criteria for electronic engineering resources; 2) the identification of electronic resources of interest to engineers, as defined by the selection policy; and 3) the creation of abstracts for these electronic resources that will include at least two hyperlinks to other related electronic resources.

Connaway, Lynn Silipigni, Rochelle Logan, Christopher Brown. ISRDP in Digital Libraries (1997). Articles>Knowledge Management>Information Design>Engineering

IEEE Standards Style Manual

Preferred editorial style for the preparation of proposed IEEE standards is established. Many of the frequently asked questions about writing drafts are answered. The optional and required contents of drafts are described, and instructions on submitting drafts for IEEE-SA Standards Board approval and publication are provided. This manual is not intended to be a guide to the procedural development of standards.

IEEE PCS (1999). Reference>Style Guides>Engineering

The Impact of Web-Based Learning Supplements on Engineering Students in India: A Study with Audio-visual Aids    

The incorporation of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in the teaching-learning process of technical education programs in Indian universities is a relatively recent and gradual phenomenon. Most technical education colleges in the country still follow the traditional classroom and blackboard oriented teaching approach. This study, conducted on a group of engineering students at Agra, India, evaluated the impact of using web-based audio-visual study aids alongside (and as a supplement to) the traditional classroom teaching methodology and observed a substantial improvement in the students' academic performance.

Sinha, Madhulika. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Education>Engineering>Online

Inspecting Requirements

Errors in requirements specifications translate into poor designs, code that does the wrong thing, and unhappy customers. Requirements documentation should be inspected early and often. Anything you can do to prevent requirements errors from propagating downstream will save you time and money. Karl Wiegers shows you how.

Wiegers, Karl E. StickyMinds (2004). Articles>Documentation>Engineering>Specifications

Integrating Technical Editing Students into a Multidisciplinary Engineering Project      

A three-year experiment in integrating technical editing students into a multidisciplinary engineering design project developed several ways of helping students apply classroom learning to practical problems. Each year, the engineering students formed Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) and the technical editing students provided editorial support, first as full members of IPTs, then as separate editorial support teams. Research from cooperative learning and teamwork indicates strategies and techniques for best integrating the technical editing students.

Norman, Rose L. and Robert A. Frederick. Technical Communication Quarterly (2000). Articles>Education>Engineering

Interacting with Engineering and Industry, Using Instructional Technologies in Technical Communication Education  

The evolving roles of technical communicators threaten the comfortable assumptions of many educators who see themselves as primarily writing teachers. These threats can become opportunities if we perceive ourselves as participants in the evolving paradigms. This new perception requires significant interaction with colleagues. As we start to see ourselves as collaborators at work, in education, across disciplines and boundaries, we can make larger contributions and can enjoy greater professional recognition. Technical communicators can be partners with engineering faculty in developing innovative curricula; can achieve educational objectives by becoming partners with industry and practitioners; and can lead the shift in education through instructional technology.

Davis, Matjorie T., Helen M. Grady and David C. Leonard. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Engineering

An Interdisciplinary Course in Technical Communication    

Adresses engineering students' complaints that technical communication courses are not relevant to their major area of study. Describes a joint course in metallurgical engineering and English taught in the same classroom, with credit given in both subjects.

Andrews, Deborah C. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Education>TC>Engineering

Introducing Engineering Students to Intellectual Teamwork: The Teaching and Practice of Peer Feedback in the Professional Communication Classroom    

A rich discussion of collaboration as integral to writing in academia and the workplace has been on-going for some time among writing instructors and researchers. The outcomes of this discussion have convinced some writing instructors to promote peer feedback as one of the forms of collaborative writing in the classroom. In this paper we report on the preliminary stages of a longitudinal study of the role and place of peer feedback in the development of students' writing.

Artemeva, Natasha and Susan Logie. LLAD (2002). Articles>Education>Engineering>Collaboration

Introduction: Four Carrots and a Stick  

We must understand that if we graduate engineering students who have a full complement of communication skills, we will better prepare them to be more effective professionals as well as highly valued citizens. Clear communcation and clear thinking are mutually reinforcing. Together they are a powerful combination that will serve well the individual, our nation and world in the exciting years ahead.

Dowell, Earl H. LLAD (1999). Careers>Collaboration>Professionalism>Engineering

"Just the Boys Playing on Computers": An Activity Theory Analysis of Differences in the Cultures of Two Engineering Firms      

Using activity theory as a supplement to genre studies, this article explores a case of the disintegration of a traditional engineering firm. It focuses on the causes of such disintegration and the role of different types of communication in serving as sites where contradictions can be brought to visibility and resolution. The authors' goal is both to show the power of activity theory in illuminating issues of tension, contradiction, and dissonance that lead to the breakup of the original organization into two separate firms and point to fundamental differences in the cultures of traditional engineering firms and software design enterprises.

Artemeva, Natasha and Aviva Freedman. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2001). Articles>Collaboration>Engineering

Learning to Write: Learning about Sustainability  

I had been involved with a program at Clemson to integrate laptop computers into the engineering curriculum. In this pilot project, I had taught first-year writing since 1998 to engineering and science majors using their own laptops in classrooms equipped with ethernet connections and a video projector. This proved to be a rich environment for sharing work and collaborating among ourselves. I wanted to see whether we could extend our collaborations to other Clemson classrooms. Mary Haque (a professor in Clemson University’s Horticulture Department) and I decided that my first-year composition classes could collaborate with her horticulture classes.

Longo, Bernadette. Kairos (2001). Articles>Education>Engineering>Writing

Linking Industry Best Practices and EC3(g) Assessment in Engineering Communication

Enthusiastic comments about 3(g)--one of the most widely appreciated ABET 2000 criteria--have masked disagreements about what 'effectiveness' is and how it should be defined in relation to schools' missions. Most of the methods that have been recommended for assessing engineering communication imitate procedures used for large-scale testing in English composition. The main purpose of this paper is to show that these methods have nothing to do with effectiveness or audience, and that they provide meager feedback to guide curriculum improvement. This uncertainty provides an opportunity for cooperation between engineering and communication faculty in individual institutions as well as between ASEE and professional organizations in engineering communication. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of industry best practices seem well suited to provide engineering schools with assessment strategies that can be updated as communication practices in industry change. Research projects should focus on exemplars' adaptations to new technologies and audiences. Collaboration between organizations for technical communication and the ASEE and between faculty from engineering and faculty from technical communication on individual campuses can ensure that engineering programs are realistically preparing students to meet future challenges.

Driskill, Linda. Rice University (2000). Articles>Education>Engineering>Assessment

The List of Reasons Ease of Use Doesn't Happen on Engineering Projects

For many projects ease of use is never a stated project goal. It may be an assumption among managers or developers that the project will result in something easy to use, but if it’s not a first order goal of the project, tradeoffs can never been made in favor of ease of use (and can implicitly be made against ease of use). Often the lack of a clear statement of ease of use occurs because the team managers or leaders are unfamiliar with how to make ease of use operational in the development process, and one way to avoid this issue is not to make it an explicit goal.

Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2003). Articles>Usability>Engineering

Making Connections: Teaching Writing to Engineers and Technical Writers in a Multicultural Environment    

Teaching writing to engineering students representing Indian, Middle Eastern, Asian, and American cultures can be daunting as their cultural perceptions of time, gender, source of authority, individualism and risk taking, affect learning styles. However, despite cultural differences, many International students have no difficulty with much of American instruction and, in some cases, perform better than American students. Their ability to adapt to American instruction appears to depend primarily on the educational goals of their cultures.

Boiarsky, Carolyn. IEEE PCS (2008). Articles>Education>Technical Writing>Engineering

Materials Data on the Internet    

The availability of the Internet has provided unprecedented opportunities for both data compilers and users. With respect to materials data, this paper explores: how do we know what is available? how can data be accessed, interpreted, exchanged? what novel modes of presentation are now available? what organizations are active in this field and what are their programs? what improvements are needed? where do we go from here and how? Examples will be illustrated of specific materials databases available on the Internet from a variety of materials data fields, e.g. fundamental data, engineering design properties, environmental data, and materials safety data. While there is no question that large and widely varied bodies of data are accessible on the Internet, significant improvements are needed promptly. The paper concludes by summarizing these problems and possible means for their alleviation.

Westbrook, J.H. Data Science Journal (2003). Articles>Scientific Communication>Online>Engineering

Mentoring the Next Generation: Ethics and Professionalism for Engineers  

Freshman engineering students are bombarded with classes in chemistry, physics, math and other highly technical and demanding courses. This intense schedule leaves little time for learning other important subjects critical to future engineers such as ethics and professionalism. The College of Engineering and the Writing Program at the University of California Santa Barbara offer a unique sequence of courses that meet general education requirements while also addressing the development of ethics and professionalism in future engineers by using a combination of case studies, practical applications and readings.

Kryder, LeeAnne G. and Janet L. Mizrahi. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>Ethics>Engineering