The Structure of Technical Communications Revolutions

Professions change their ways of doing business when their paradigms -- their ways of seeing -- change. Technical communication went through one such paradigm change when the engineer-as-writer-and-reader became the technical-writer-as-writer and the user-as-reader in the early 1950's. In the 1990's, the technical communication paradigm is again changing, and this change will mean: the form of computer documantation will become more plastic; the concept of readability will become more of a design issue with the rise of document prototyping; audience analysis will become much less haphazard and dependent upon stereotypes; and the role of the technical writer will increase in visibility, responsibilities, and opportunities. John Carroll's new book on minimalist documentation, The Nurnberg Funnel and Edward Tufte's Envisioning Information are harbingers of this new paradigm change.

Brockmann, R. John. ASTC (1995). Articles>History>TC

Teaching the History of Technical Communication: A Lesson With Franklin and Hoover    

The first part of this article shows that research in the history of technical communication has increased in quantity and sophistication over the last 20 years. Scholarship that describes how to teach with that information, however, has not followed, even though teaching the history of the field is a need recognized by several scholars. The article provides and defends four guidelines as a foundation to study ways to incorporate history into classroom lessons: 1) maintain a continued research interest in teaching history; 2) limit to technical rather than scientific discourse; 3) focus on English-language texts; and 4) focus on American texts, authors, and practices. The second part of the essay works within the guidelines to show a lesson that contrasts technical texts by Benjamin Franklin and Herbert Hoover. The lesson can help students see the difference in technical writing before and after the Industrial Revolution, a difference that mirrors their own transition from the university to the workforce.

Todd, Jeff. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2003). Articles>TC>History>Education

Tech Resource: STC (The Society for Technical Communication)

Professional organizations often help define the professions they serve: Such is the case with the Society for Technical Communication (STC). Founded in 1953 as an organization for technical writers and editors, the STC is now an umbrella group for 25,000 professionals whose job roles include documentation specialists, visual designers, information architects, interactive designers and others who work with technical information. Their output includes technical manuals and now extends into charts, brochures, online tutorials, annual reports, Web-based training and other materials. With technical communication an increasingly diverse field, STC aims to broaden its membership with professionals from a variety of occupations.

Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2004). Careers>TC>History>STC

Technical and Scientific Illustrations: From Pen to Computer  

A brief look at the 19th Century David M. Greene collection of engineering textbooks at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reveals how illustrations (1) conveyed messages to a specific audience, (2) addressed a subject, and (3) were designed for specific viewing contexts. The technology of computer-aided drawing has reestablished the importance of visual language in scientific documents.

Powley, William. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Graphic Design>History>Technical Illustration

Technical Communication - Evolution

The history of communications dates back to the pre-historic times when our ancestors used to communicate with the help of signs, flags, drums, fire, making odd noises. Those were the times when any language was not developed to communicate effectively.

Malik, Suman Lata. Technical Communications Group (2002). Articles>History>TC

Technical Communication from 1850-1950: Where Have We Been?      

As the discipline of technical communication undergoes increasing scrutiny by scholars and teachers and as the discipline continues to evolve with advancements in technology, we should pause to consider some foundational, historical issues that led to the formation of a technical communication pedagogy in the first place. This piece evaluates shifts in an engineering curriculum from roughly 1850 to 1960 that made possible the development of a technical communication curriculum.

Kynell, Teresa. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>History

Technical Communication from 1950-1998: Where Are We Now?      

The changes in technical communication education between 1950 and 1998 have led to disciplinary maturity: the development of academic programs and of a body of innovative research.  This disciplinary maturity parallels the professional identity and growth of numbers of technical communication practitioners.  As a thriving multidiscipline with many direct research and pedagogical connections to the workplace, technical communication can uniquely influence workforce values, providing a new, evolving disciplinary model for higher education.  However, technical communication’s disciplinary maturity also means a movement away from practice and from the service course, the foundations of technical communication as a discipline and the sources of its workplace influence.

Staples, Katherine E. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>TC>History

Technical Communication Has a Bright, Exciting Future!  

What did Henry Ford do? He learned from other people’s experiences as well as his own. He took risks. He saw failure as a lesson, and he applied everything he learned to perfect the product, the process, and the policies that shaped the American automobile industry. In short, he was a great innovator. And, because he was so willing to share the lessons he learned, he became an inspiration to many others. The field of technical communication has a bright and exciting future because we’re innovators, just like Henry Ford. We work constantly to perfect the product, the process, and the policies that shape our profession. Technical communication work is being performed in more diversified environments than ever before, with experience, skills, and talents that vary widely. We know that there will always be a need for trained people to explain new technology, processes, and products so audiences can better understand or use them, so our future is bright and exciting. Technical communication enjoyed sustained growth for the last eight years of the 20th Century, but times are different now. We entered this new millennium with high expectations for continued success only to have our hopes crushed by tragedy as America was thrust into uncertain times. We’ve learned that 2002 is going to be a lean year and that many companies have fewer people to do more work. To prepare for the future, there are a couple of things I think technical communicators should do.

Laurent, J. Suzanna. STC Puget Sound (2002). Articles>TC>History

Technical Communication Has Come Into Focus Because of the IT Industry

How has technical communication evolved over the years into what it is today? How big an industry is it and is there a count of the number of people working as technical communicators?

Menezes, Frederick. STC India (2003). Articles>TC>History>India

Technical Communication in the 21st Century: Where Are We Going?      

Instead of offering a predictive “history” of the future, this essay explores how we arrive at our attitudes toward the future and the effects of such attitudes toward current practice. We greet the future with attitudes prepared by myths, master narratives that guide our vision of who we are and what we are becoming. One key myth in our discipline, the myth of immediate communication, proves an unreliable guide to the future. Readings in science fiction serve to demonstrate how a critique of the immediacy myth might proceed. The essay argues for a critically informed, open-minded approach to the future, an approach that encourages an honest self-criticism within the discipline.

Killingsworth, M. Jimmie. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>TC>History

Technical Communicators Go to the Moon  

This article highlights the contributions of technical communicators to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mercury and Apollo programs, which culminated in 1969 with the landing of men on the moon.

Rutkowski, Ed. Intercom (2001). Articles>TC>History

Technical Communicators vs. Developers Through the Ages

For technical communicators, usually busy looking ahead, the new milennium is an occasion to review our history and achievements so far, and the development of our slightly strained relationship with those who tend to emphasize the T and disregard the C in TC: the developers.

Wigestrand, Henrik. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>TC>History

Technical Writing in English Renaissance Shipwrightery: Breaching the Shoals of Orality    

Describing the emergence of the first shipbuilding texts, particularly those in English provides another chapter in the story of the emergence of English technical writing. Shipwrightery texts did not appear in English until the middle decades of the seventeenth century because shipwrightery was a closed discourse community which shared knowledge via oral transmission. The shift from orality to textuality in shipwrightery did not occur until advancing navigation principles enabled ships to sail in open waters. Shipping rapidly became a commercial business, and shipwrightery was forced to move from closely-guarded simple design principles to mathematically-based designs too complex to be retained only in memory of shipwrights and shared via oral transmission. Textual transmission began to supplant oral instruction. The evolution of English shipwrightery provides rich research opportunities for historians tracking the development of technical writing.

Tebeaux, Elizabeth. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>History>Writing>Technical Writing

Technical Writing in Seventeenth-Century England: The Flowering of a Tradition    

English technical writing clearly emerged during the Renaissance and the first decades of printing, but during the 1641-1700 period technical writing gained credibility and prestige. It was a valued tool for achieving the utilitarian ends of an age in which practical goals were valued more than aesthetic ones. Technical writing can be found in a range of disciplines, such as agriculture, medicine, science, as well as the major English trades and crafts. As a valued form of discourse, it illuminates the world of work in seventeenth-century England and the problems faced by the early experimenters of the Royal Society who sought to use science to solve major human, military, and economic problems while seeking to expand understanding of nature. Studying technical writing of this period allows us to track the continued development of technical writing as a distinct form of discourse.

Tebeaux, Elizabeth. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1999). Articles>History>Technical Writing>United Kingdom

The New Word Order: Or, the Awful English Language

Will the global interconnectedness of our conversations freeze the features of our languages in place? If so, farther into the future than anyone can foresee, much of the human race will be stuck with English as we now know it.

Garrison, Ronald W. Carolina Communique (2006). Articles>Language>History>Writing

Three Mind Maps for the 1990's Technical Communicator  

New ways of using organizational theory, communications techniques, and project life cycle concepts can empower the knowledge worker of the 1990's. Today's Technical Writer needs new strategies for increased productivity and profitability in order to remain in the mainstream. Mind mapping is discussed, and three illustrative examples receive a new spin. A workbook is provided for notetaking.

Doremus, Jean S. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>TC>History

Thumbnail: Susan Dray

Susan Dray was one of the first women in the field of usability. Since then, she's started her own company, published and spoken extensively, done important work with a number of professional organizations, and carved a niche for herself in field work and international usability. Through it all, though, her philosophy has remained the same: 'If the user can't use it, it doesn't work.'

Anderson, Clifford. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Interviews>Usability>History

Tracking Changes on Web Pages

Often a small change to a web page is a clue that something big has happened or will happen, and automated tracking tools alert you the moment something has changed.

Price, Gary. Search Engine Watch (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search>History

Trends for 2000: Moving Beyond the Cottage  

This article is one of two cover stories detailing trends in technical communication 2000. JoAnn Hackos predicts that technical communication will move from a 'cottage' industry--one that is dominated by independent craftspeople with a personal vision of their product--to a corporate industry. To survive in this team-oriented, cost-effective environment, Hackos suggests that technical communicators take note of some of the trends guiding the profession from a cottage to a corporate industry:

Hackos, JoAnn T. Intercom (2000). Articles>TC>History

Trends for 2000: Thriving in the Boom Years  

This article is one of two cover stories detailing trends in technical communication for 2000. Saul Carliner outlines trends in business, technology, writing and design, and the profession of technical communication, and examines their impact on technical communication jobs and organizations in general.

Carliner, Saul. Intercom (2000). Articles>TC>History

Trends Forum: 1997  

How do we prepare for the future? How will trends affect our careers as technical communicators? Do we have the right set of skills to survive?

Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>TC>History

Trends in Entry-Level Technology, Interpersonal, and Basic Communication Job Skills: 1992-1998    

This longitudinal study was conducted to identify trends in entry-level technology, interpersonal, and basic communication competencies and skills using entry-level classified newspaper advertisements from ten standard U.S. metropolitan statistical areas. Two competencies and one skill were selected from the Workplace Know-How's identified by the 1991 U.S. Department of Labor Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). Specifically, ads including interpersonal competencies increased for the fourth consecutive year; ads including basic communication skills increased for the second consecutive year. Ads including technology competencies decreased slightly; however, the overall trend for technology remains strong. Therefore, the workplace continues seeking the competencies and skills advocated by the SCANS authors.

Bryans North, Alexa and William E. Worth. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2000). Careers>Business Communication>Technology>History

Trends in Technical Communication  

Some of the latest issues and trends that are expanding the roles of technical communicators include: working with User Interface and Usability; documenting web-based intranet applications; creating CBTs that complement online help; writing a standard that people actually use; evaluating our expanding tool base; redesign and Re-testing - Always consult with end users to ensure that the interface performance is maximized. If not, go back to the drawing board.

Brandon, John, Bobbi Magnuson, Sara Hoeppner and Nathan Melsted. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>TC>History

Twenty-Five Years in Usability

Since I started in 1983, the usability field has grown by 5,000%. It's a wonderful job — and still a promising career choice for new people.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Careers>Usability>History

Twenty-Five Years of Technical Communication

What hasn't changed in twenty-five years? There are a couple of things--things that aren't likely to change in the next twenty-five years either. Technical communicators will always have to prove the value of what they do. We'll discover new ways in which to contribute, but the need to prove our value will persist.

Kunz, Lawrence D. Carolina Communique (2004). Articles>TC>History