Applying "Mass Customisation" Manufacturing Principles to Solve Technical Communication Problems

This article discusses how organisations can resolve the conflict between the need to produce bespoke, customer-specific, technical communication and the need to re-use as much information as possible. It begins with a description of the conflict and resulting trade-off and then compares it to the field of manufacturing, which has found ways to deal with a similar issue. Universal information modules are introduced as the solution - these allow the manufacturing principle of mass customization to be applied to technical communication. The article ends by outlining the requirements needed for supporting tools in order to adopt this solution.

Rombauts, Yves. Cherryleaf (2005). Articles>Content Management

Architectural Considerations in Digital Asset Management

What is the proper foundation for an enterprise-scale Digital Asset Management (DAM) system? How much of that system should be part of an organizations shared infrastructure and how much should be tailor-made to a specific application? There is no single answer to these questions, but changes in the technology industry are forcing everyonevendors and customers aliketo change their assumptions about how DAM systems will be built. This paper explains how the content-management infrastructure is changing, why that matters to DAM, and what benefits can be derived from leveraging a content infrastructure for DAM. Examples from an enterprise implementation at the University of Michigan illustrate the types of architectural issues and requirements that affect platform choices when selecting a digital asset management system.

Walter, Mark. Gilbane Report (2004). Articles>Content Management>Multimedia

Are We There Yet?

It's true: even simple projects get messy. Christina Wodtke comes clean on Swiss Army knives, the writing on the wall, and the untidy glory of the Boxes and Arrows redesign contest.

Wodtke, Christina. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>Web Design>Project Management>Case Studies

Are You Spending the "Right" Amount?  

To back up a request for more budgetor defend the existing one, you need to know exactly what you’re spending--and what you’re getting in return. But how can you tell if you’re spending too much on communication? This article suggests five approaches to weighing up the cost versus value of your communication activities.

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2006). Articles>Management>Financial>Assessment

Review: The Art of Project Management

Can project management be an art? Has Berkun truly created a jargon-free guide for the whole project team? Kalbach leads us through the high-level tasks and the major milestones of this new book, while keeping us on task.

Kalbach, James. Boxes and Arrows (2005). Articles>Reviews>Project Management

Assessing the Maturity Grade of Policies and Procedures Programs  

Policies and Procedures (P and P) refers to the types of communication about an organization’s internal operating practices. A P and P program refers to the context in which an organization develops and manages its P and P communications. Because a P and P program is an on-going investment, its role and value to an organization should be assessed. A P and P program must provide performance-based communication, using performancebased means, for an organization that is performance oriented. Urgo and Associates devised a model to assess the maturity of P and P programs. The model consists of a questionnaire and matrix that work together in measuring and describing four grades (levels) of maturity according to five functions commonly found in P and P programs.

Urgo, Raymond E. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Management>Policies and Procedures

ATAG (Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines) Assessment of WordPress

This document assesses WordPress 2.01 against the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.

Clark, Joe. JoeClark.org (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Content Management

Attributes of Performance-Centered Systems: What Can We Learn from Five Years of EPSS/PCD Competition Award Winners?    

Reviews briefly the systems that Gery presented in Electronic Performance Support Systems and then focuses on the 19 attributes she subsequently developed to elucidate them. Then examines the 1997–2001 competition award winners in light of these attributes. Doing so, it turns out, both clarifies the attributes and suggests a few new ones.

Marion, Craig. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Content Management>Online

Author-Friendly Electronic Submission to SGML-based Academic Journal

I and my co-workers developed an author-friendly method for electronic submission to an academic journal, which is published using a SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language)-based system. The method uses a style function and RTF (rich text format), and can be used in popular word processing software: Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, PageMaker, etc. The method has been adopted in Bulletin of Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ) since April 1994, which is the monthly English journal of CSJ, and has been published since 1937. The journal has been published in a SGML-based system since January 1993. Our electronic submission method will be included in SIST (Standards for Information of Science and Technology) No. 14 (draft): 'Guideline for electronic submission', which is considered in SIST Committee in Japan, and will be published in near future.

Ishizuka, Hidehiro. ISRDP in Digital Libraries (1997). Articles>Content Management>SGML

Automating Diagrams with Visio

By doing the demanding intellectual work first and then forcing the tools to succumb to need to produce seemingly speedy deliverables, you can get around the difficulty of choosing between 'Good, Fast and Cheap.' Here's one approach using Excel and Visio.

Angeles, Michael. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Project Management>Information Design>Microsoft Excel

Avoid Edge Cases by Designing Up Front

Better planning and a beefed-up style guide may be exactly what you need to avoid markup derangement or, worse, a dysfunctional product.

Henick, Ben. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>Project Management>CSS

Avoid Long-Term Strategies

When it comes to information management or content management strategies, particularly at the enterprise level, there is a strong tendency (and desire) to create long-term plans. This briefing will explore some of the issues encountered when creating and executing long-term plans, and will argue for an approach that delivers benefits on a much more frequent basis.

Robertson, James. Step Two (2007). Articles>Content Management>Content Strategy

Avoiding Client/Contractor Nightmares: Best Practices for Contractor Management  

You've secured the budget to produce some badly needed, high visibility deliverables. Part of that budget includes funding for contractors. To help manage and guide the communications between your contractors, your staff, and your management, you want to use your company's best practices. The best practices of the contractor or provider firm you employ should closely match your own company's best practices. Beginning on the "same page" will eliminate headaches and expenses during the lifecycle of the project. A quick comparison of practices and procedures enables you to proceed with the project confident that you are using competent outside resources.

Michaels, Sherry, Maggie Haenel, Ann Backhaus. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Project Management>Consulting

Avoiding the Content Silo Trap™, Enterprise Content Management  

Organizations frequently fall into the content silo trap, multiple authors creating similar information, in many areas of the organization. Authors rarely share their information (they work in silos) or are even aware that this information already exists elsewhere in the organization. Technical communicators have been single sourcing for years, this session looks at how to move beyond technical publications to assist your organization with enterprise content management. This session includes a case study from Eli Lilly.

Rockley, Ann and Jodee Clore. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Content Strategy

Avoiding the Drone Syndrome: How to Keep Your Technical Writing Job Interesting in an Age of Automated Publishing  

Information development organizations are under increasing pressure to implement single-sourcing or other automated and highly structured document development processes. Forces driving this trend include translation requirements, niche marketing, the convergence of software and documentation, and shrinking cycle times and budgets. Initially, these changes threaten to remove everything that is challenging and interesting about the technical writer’s work. However, technical writers who successfully adapt to this new environment will find more opportunity than ever to use their analysis and writing skills and to develop additional negotiation and process management capabilities.

Guthrie, Melissa L. STC Proceedings (2000). Careers>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Technical Writing

Back to Fund-amentals: The Business Realities of Funding for Performance Support Projects    

Although electronic performance support systems (EPSSs) sound like exciting projects to technical communicators and instructional designers, many proposed EPSSs stay on the drawing boards because the organizations for whom they were designed choose not to fund them. In general, EPSSs require more up-front investment than traditional documentation and training. That additional expense, sometimes increasing up-front expenses by several times, could be enough to stop a project unless the designers can explain how the organization can benefit from this additional investment. In fact, most often, these organizations decline to fund the proposed EPSSs because the financial benefits of the EPSSs are not explained, and so the proposed EPSS is perceived to exceed the cost of designing and developing it. In other words, the businesses do not perceive that the EPSS is a good investment of their money.

Driscoll, Margaret and Colin Hynes. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Content Management>Proposals

The Basics of the Entity Alphabet©

Has anyone told you something that sounded like 'I folded my S-Corp into a C-Corp, then transferred the shares to an LLC that was the GP of an LLP'? It used to be easy. You were either a corporation, partnership, or if only one owner, sole proprietorship. Nowadays, the proliferation of choice of entities for even small, single-owner businesses can be daunting. While it can all be very confusing, all of this alphabet jargon boils down to two basic issues: taxation and liability. In the old days, you could only have limited liability if you were taxed as a corporation and could only be taxed as a partnership if you had full liability. Now the two issues have been separated, giving modern business owners the full range of possibilities. Let's take a look at how these two issues have been dealt with and what concessions business owners have wrestled out of the IRS in the last 20 years with the introduction of the Limited Liability Company (LLC).

Jurney, Thomas F. STC Williamette Valley (2002). Careers>Management>Legal

Be Productive When a Project Stalls    

With more and more companies adopting the Darwin Information Typing Architecture, Baril discusses how to choose a compatible content management system that also supports your company's processes.

Gutowski, Amanda and Lori L. Pennington. Intercom (2008). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Collaboration

A Beginner's Guide to Managing a Localization Project  

Managing a localization process utilizes and tests all the skills of good project management: planning, team-building, and scheduling. A successful localization project requires a commitment by management to allow time for the team to develop the necessary plans and processes to produce a quality product. For the publications manager, choosing the right translation service can be a project in itself. Comparing the core competencies of translation companies with the requirements of the documentation project is an important first step before selecting a translation service.

Packer, Phebe and Lelanie Hellmer. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Management>Localization

A Beginner's Guide to Project Management  

Presents the basics of developing a project plan, managing the project, troubleshooting the project, and evaluating the completed project.

Houston, Bill. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Project Management

Benchmarking the Document Management Process  

The Bank of Canada manages the public debt as fiscal agent, for the Federal Government. As a public service organization, it is committed to deliver quality services to its clients in a cost effective and efficient manner. Recognizing that a fundamental role of documentation is to provide continuity within a changing environment, the Public Debt Department (POD) piloted best practices benchmarking of its internal documentation unit with partners identified as having best-in-class processes.

Edwards, Roy, James D. McGuire and Shirley A. Hancock. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Content Management>Assessment>Case Studies

Benchmarking: A Practical Guide  

Using benchmarking, a company compares its processes with another best-practice company to improve the way it does business. The panelists, who have participated in several benchmarking projects, explain the benchmarking process and offer practical, real-world advice on how to do successful benchmarking.

Caldanaro, Regina M., Barbara Isa, and Lawrence D. Kunz. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management>Project Management