Improving Medical Treatment Procedures  

Technical writers should be alert for opportunities to improve documentation in one technical field by using appropriate techniques from other fields. In this paper, the author presents ways of improving medical treatment procedures by using elements from engineering procedures, including introductions, safety sections, warnings, conditional (branching) statements, and notes.

Gibbs, Judith M. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Biomedical>Policies and Procedures

Information Gathering for Policies and Procedures  

Information gathering can be one of the most timeconsuming and potentially frustrating experiences when writing policies and procedures. Policy and procedure writers sometimes start from scratch and must investigate and research policies and procedures before the first word is ever written. Although there are many obstacles to obtaining accurate and timely information, there are also many avenues the policy and procedure writer can take to gather, utilize, and maintain information.

Dodwell, Christine. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Interviewing>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

De Information Process Maturity Model (IPMM)  

There are several reasons for the Information Process Maturity Model: moving beyond chaos; moving beyond the heroism of talented and dedicated individuals; moving toward a repeatable, reliable process. It is the reality of the 21th Century: People from the Western countries don't understand the real imagination of the post-soviet people in The Eastern European countries. The matter is: we have not been living in a private property society & and in a national liberal country till 1991. So, my personal and my colleagues' experince had been summarised there in the publicity book "BUSINESS in Ukraine". The main problem to solve is the countrywide system of a liberal market tersonality training. Everybody has to learn to be a master of its own personality and lot. Oleksandr Nahornyy, author, editor, producer

Oleksandr Nahornyy. ComTech Services (2008). (Russian) Books>Freelance>Policies and Procedures>Ukraine

ISO 9000 And Documentation  

The ISO 9000 series of standards require that organizations have documented and followed quality systems and processes. Organizations get certified to an ISO 9000 standard by a registrar. Organizations follow the standards in order to meet customer demand and to improve their own quality performance. The ISO 9001 standard for organizations that design, produce, and service products contains twenty sections pertaining to all aspects of a quality system. Documentation organizations can pursue certification as an organization and they can help write process documentation for their entire company.

Shnay, Mara. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Management>Policies and Procedures>ISO 9001

It's a Matter of Policy

Policies set boundaries for what is acceptable and unacceptable. But what makes a policy effective? Discover the basic components of a good corporate policy.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (1999). Articles>Business Communication>Policies and Procedures

Legal Consequences of Employer Discharge Procedures    

The employment contract is sometimes misunderstood by both employees and employers. Drafters of employee manuals, policies, and procedures should be aware that the nature of the at-will employment relationship can be transformed into a binding employment contract by the words and phrases chosen. Just imagine the following scenario: On his first day as an Otis Accounting firm employee, Eric was provided an employee manual outlining all firm policies and procedures. Eric was not provided a written employment contract. Despite exemplary work performance at Otis Accounting for more than 2 years, Eric was fired because his supervisor, who belonged to one political party, discovered a bumper sticker for a candidate from the opposing party on Eric's car. Devastated by the unexpected dismissal, Eric sued for wrongful termination. To determine its potential liability, Otis Accounting must first ascertain the nature of its employment relationship with Eric.

Joseph, Stephanie. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Policies and Procedures>Contracts

Managing a Company-Wide Policies and Procedures Project  

It takes skills in three different areas to manage a company-wide policy and procedures project. First, people must be organized and motivated to participate. Executive support is critical here. And the persons actually performing the tasks must be the ones to document it. Second, the project must be clearly defined and tracked. The document creation and review process must be structured simply, to take full advantage of the documentation team’s limited time. Finally, the information published must be accurate and controlled. Work processes should be analyzed before the procedures are documented, and published procedures must be distributed to specified manual holders.

Creps, William B. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Project Management>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Marketable Skills for the Policies and Procedures Professional  

Changes in the economy and within organizations continue to require that demonstrated value be produced from the labor force. In order for policies and procedures (P&P) professionals to demonstrate how their work adds value to an organization, they need to develop and diversify their skill set to be more accessible and valuable in the services they provide.

Urgo, Raymond E. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

More Than Just Finding Policy Documents

Corporate policy documents have had a long and difficult history within many organisations. While much effort has been put into creating and maintaining them, they are often more ignored than followed. This briefing looks at the role of corporate policies within an organisation, and the need to better communicate their message to staff.

Robertson, James. Step Two (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Policies and Procedures

New Guidelines for Documentation of Plants  

The DIN committee NA 152-06-01-05 UA, formerly called the NATG-F 1.5, has published a guideline for compiling information from component manuals, in its technical report 146. This report is a supplement to DIN EN 62079 and is meant to ensure that the requirements from the Machine Guidelines 98/37/EG Appendix I Ch. 1.7.4 are practically feasible. Plans are afoot to introduce the technical report at the international level (CEN).

Galbierz, Martin. tekom (2006). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

The New tekom Guideline for Safety Instructions in Operating Manuals

The EU directive 92/58/EWG of 24th June 1992 clearly defines the notification on occupational Safety and Health Safeguards. In Germany, this has been enforced through the regulations for trade associations BGV A 8 (formerly VBG 125) which regulate indication of occupational safety and health safeguards through prohibition signs, warnings, instructions or signs for action, rescue, fire protection and so on. At present there is no European standard that discusses the topic of 'Drafting Safety Instructions in Operating Manuals' adequately and in detail. Nonetheless, there are several sources but often containing only imprecise or too generalized requirements. Moreover, many judicial verdicts in various individual cases point to the manner of formulations in Safety Instructions.

Gabriel, Carl-Heinz. tekom (2004). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Non-Rule Environmental Policy: A Case Study of a Foundry Sand Land Disposal NPD    

This historical case study of a non-rule policy document (NPD) adopted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management describes an emerging genre in environmental discourse. The NPD standardizes environmental public policy for land disposal of foundry sand, a solid waste. The collaborative writing process took six months with industry input, and the NPD was presented to two environmental boards. Two contrasts, in process and format, distinguish NPDs from rules. The NPD is an entirely new kind of writing which includes guidance for implementing statutes. The writing process in the case involves government writers and industry representatives, although it does not include other public input such as public hearings. Instead, the staff of the pollution control agency simply presents the NPD to the appropriate environmental policy boards and arranges for its publication. This article adds to the body of knowledge about technical writing in government, specifically environmental policy and non-academic genres.

Griggs, Karen. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>TC>Government>Policies and Procedures

Online Documentation and Local Area Networks  

The world of policies and procedures has grown with technology. The trend is now to move documentation from paper to electronic media. Most companies are taking advantage of this technology andpublishing their policies and procedures on their own intranet or Local Area Network. There are things to consider before choosing a product and making this drastic change. These are: Product Functionality, ReadabilityNiewability, File Portability, and Cost. Each company’s documentation requirements and busmess strategies will ultimately determine which online documentation product to choose.

Anderson, Michelle E. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Placing Policies and Procedures Online: A Practical Approach  

Placing your company's policies and procedures online is an enormous task! Where to start is as difficult as how to do it. Migrating your policies and procedures from a paper medium to an online medium consists of obtaining (and maintaining) management and user support, working as a team player, completing extensive research for your present environment and the proposed environment), planned system development, thorough usability testing and phased implementation. Once your policies andprocedures are online, you must also track and monitor system use.

Kirtland, Donald Robert. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Management>Policies and Procedures

Plain Language Writing: From a Good Idea Emerges Good Public Policy

Peter Zvalo looks at the plain language movement, its promoters and its critics.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (2003). Articles>Writing>Policies and Procedures>Minimalism

Policies and Procedures Can Help Your Organization

Compliance and meeting operational needs are two very important reasons for implementing a system of policies and procedures.

Bizmanualz (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Policies, Procedures, and Paralysis

We live in an uncertain world, and good intentions are no guarantee of success, so we develop policies and procedures to provide ourselves with a measure of security and provide the illusion of control.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2001). Careers>Workplace>Policies and Procedures

Policy and Procedure Communication and the Lone Writer  

As a lone writer developing policy and procedure documentation, many of us face what appear to be insurmountable hurdles in reaching our intended goal – useable documentation that accurately reflects the business’ operations. It usually begins with trying to get everyone to take the need for P & P documentation seriously. This can be followed by frustrations in getting the information required to write coherent and useful documentation. Then there is the need for standards for which no one sees the importance – ‘just a whim of the writer’. Add to this volatile mix the requirements of many international standards impacting how business is conducted, and you wonder why anyone in right mind would take up the challenges of this field of writing. But it really can be fun and a very rewarding field of endeavor.

Mason, Susan, Rich Maggiani, Julia Margulies and Ralph E. Robinson. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures>Business Communication

Policy and Procedure Manuals Online

Many organizations have published their policy manuals online—the following are just a few online manuals that we've found. We don’t necessarily recommend these as good manuals, but they may provide some helpful ideas about content.

Technical Communicators Resource Site (2004). Resources>Directories>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Procedures: The Sacred Cow Blocking the Road?  

This paper questions the dominance of procedures in paper and online computer documentation and argues that the types of behavior and conditions demanded by stepped instructions are not consistent with typical user behavior. The authors suggest that the following hierarchy of information needs more accurately describes what users want to know when they ask, “How do I:” (a) What can I do? (b) Where can I do it? (c) What are the rules or principles? (d) What are the parts and their functions of the interface that does it? and (e) What are the steps?

Hughes, Michael A. and Loren Burke. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Public Rhetoric and Public Safety at the Chicago Transit Authority: Three Approaches to Accident Analysis    

This article compares three rhetorical approaches to accident analysis: materialist, classical,and constructivist. The focal points for comparison are the two accident reportsissued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)—reports that attempted(and failed) to persuade the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to change a problematicpolicy about rail communication alongside its technology for rail communication. Thecentral question the article asks is, How can rhetorical theory help explain the CTA'sinaction, which ultimately led to property damage, injury, and death? Classical andconstructivist approaches, emphasizing rational deliberation between equals, on onehand, and the social construction of technical knowledge between professionals, on theother, offer plausible explanations for what went wrong. But only the materialistapproach appears capable of discerning the ideological nature of the CTA's resistance tothe NTSB's recommendations.

Coogan, David. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Risk Communication>Policies and Procedures>Government

Quality Documentation: ISO 9000 as a Process Model  

While ‘quality’ is no longer the most popular buzz-word, there is still a need for thorough understanding of what it means to document a quality program. In preparing for ISO 9000 certification, I developed useful techniques which can be used to improve quality in other documentation tasks. Even if you're not involved in ISO 9000, it can serve as a good general model for documentation management. This paper briefly describes the ISO 9000 standard and the process of certification, how documentation in a quality program is different than usual technical documentation. and some of the useful tools and techniques.

Magyar, Miki D. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Management>Policies and Procedures>Technical Writing

Security Policy and Procedures Documentation

With the nation intensifying its homeland security and industry focusing on computer security, the experienced technical communicator can assist with documenting procedures.

Albing, Bill. KeyContent.org (2004). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures>Technical Writing

Selection and Interview Procedures at a Multinational Company    

Creating policies and procedures for selecting and interviewing job candidates is usually the responsibility of a company's human resources department, often with the guidance and approval of its legal affairs office. Such requirements are designed in accordance with U.S. federal and state laws related to civil rights, gender and ethnic rights, age discrimination, disabilities, and family leave, among others. These laws govern the conduct for companies during the recruitment process (Andrews and Baird, 2005), and though federal laws affect companies with US$50,000 or more in federal contracts and more than 15 employees, most U.S. companies tend to comply because of the threat of litigation. In speaking with Jim Olson, a retired auto industry executive, it became clear that compliance with employment laws regarding recruitment practices are largely influenced by corporate culture.

Burgess-Wilkerson, Barbara. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Careers>Interviewing>Policies and Procedures