Hypermedia Systems in the New Millennium  

This article revisits three past articles about the implications of hypermedia in the 21st century. Each August, the ACM Journal of Computer Documentation reprints a classic article, book chapter, or report along with several analytical commen- taries and a response by the author of the classic document. In this context, a 'classic' document means one that was published at least five years ago but is no longer in print. It also means one that raises issues of lasting importance to the profession.

Waite, Bob. ACM SIGDOC (2001). Presentations>Information Design>Hypertext

I'm Almost Out of Time, Money and Energy, But I Have to Do Usability Testing. Help!  

We know that testing for usability is an important part of developing and producing usable information. But very often, when push comes to shove, the time that we have allocated in our schedules for usability testing gets used for other, more pressing, activities, and the money we have set aside for testing seems to disappear.

Grice, Roger A. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Usability

ICC Color Management for Print Production  

An introduction to device-independent solutions for color management.

International Color Consortium. Presentations>Graphic Design>Prepress

Ideas are a Dime a Dozen, So Why Should I Listen to Yours? "Pitching" Your Ideas So That They Will be Heard  

Getting your ideas heard and approved can be difficult any time, but especially when your audience is a supervisor or other decision-maker who is juggling numerous projects, ideas, and deadlines.

Watson, Frank. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Advice

Identifying Obstacles for New Writers in Industry  

Technical writers can increase their value by having a technical base along with their communication skills. The technical base provides a way to recognize and appreciate d@erent perspectives in an industry collaboration. Misunderstanding or ignorance of differing perspectives can result in serious interpersonal and corporation issues that affect the final product. This presentation describes some of the obstacles encountered by a new technical writer on a software documentation teatn. These obstacles are examined in Iight of technical writing research in an effort to identify possible classroom strategies that might prevent or ease tensions that arise between collaborators with different backgrounds.

Seton, Julie A. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Writing>Technology

Identity, Research Funding, and Political Economy

Five presentations about supporting research, particularly for junior faculty, within the present funding and support structures offered by academic departments.

Rude, Carolyn D., Kelli Cargile Cook, Ryan M. Moeller, Cheryl E. Ball and Joanna Castner Post. CPTSC (2005). Presentations>Management>Research

An iDVD Slide Show

Hardware is easy to talk about, test, evaluate, review and sell. Software takes a little more study. Which is why we remain one of the very few imaging publications to review software in any depth. Most people find software is a solid that must be chewed to derive any nutritional benefits. And so they chew and chew and chew. But, no matter how much they chew, the stuff is still pretty hard to swallow.

Electric Escape (2003). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>DVD

The Impact of Current Trends on TCOM Curricula  

Rapidly changing processes in internationalization, in emerging technologies, and in instructional delivery systems require program directors and faculty to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate the extent to which they consider these changes in curricula development. This evaluation should not necessarily result in curricula molded in the image of industry, for many changes in technological processes are ephemeral.

Rainey, Kenneth T. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Presentations>Education>TC

Implementing Excellence  

Have you been exposed to one or more quality initiatives? Did this exposure leave you with strong but mixed emotional reactions? In a complex environment of organizational risk and change, how do we as communicators do the right thing the right way? Changes are so rapid that before one new vision of what’s right is fully implemented, it seems that another, even better vision comes in to take its place. By using a Japanese model for customer satisfaction, the product information quality initiatives at my company were implemented in three broad areas: quality assurance and control, quality performance and improvement, and quality excitement and planning.

Goodier, Katherine S. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Collaboration>Assessment>Emotions

Implementing Quality

Quality can not simply be measured at the end of the project. The end of the project is too late.

Lenk, Donald S. Jr. STC Proceedings (1999). Presentations>Quality

Implementing SGML in the Mainstream: The First Steps  

“SGML is too complex and too costly to implement widely. ” This criticism has often been leveled at the Standard Generalized Markup Language. Mainstream SGML, a new open architecture, challenges that view. Traditionally, implementation has required companies to invest heavily in training. Authors had to learn how to create documents using complex SGML syntax. This method was time-consuming and yielded a slow return on investment. The Mainstream approach to implementing SGML uses resources that already exist in a company. Mainstream SGML provides an alternative to costly, complex native SGML document management systems. This workshop shows you how you can use mainstream SGML to successfully implement SGML in your mainstream business and publishing processes.

Luoma, Ray N. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Information Design>SGML

Improving Information Quality in Your Web Space: A Take Charge Approach  

With the arrival of the World Wide Web, traditional methods of controlling the quality ofpublished information have been overcome by a technology that allows almost anyone to create and publish information. With this new found freedom in publishing, the quality of information available to the public has decreased when measured by traditional publishing standards. Technical communicators must meet new challenges in monitoring and ensuring that information produced in their organizations and companies is of the highest quality. This paper discusses how the problem evolved and how taking ownership of information on the Web may solve it.

Colvin, Richard D. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Web Design>Workplace

Improving The Documentation Process Through Structured Walkthroughs  

Documentation walkthroughs simplify the technical review process for both writer and reviewer. Walkthroughs are focused, interdisciplinary meetings at which technical reviewers evaluate the technical accuracy of documentation specifications. Documentation producers can use documentation specifications and walkthroughs to keep technical reviewers focused on technical accuracy rather than editorial issues. This, in turn, leads to fewer technical errors in the first draft and earlier reviewer involvement.

Chatfield, Carl S. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Editing>Collaboration

In-House Usability Training: Culture Change You Can Afford  

In an effort to establish affordable usability design and testing as part of the product development culture at Unisys Corporation, four Product Information employees in Mission Viejo, California and Salt Lake City, Utah developed a usability class. Working part time over a period of several months, the team developed a class outline; a PowerPoint presentation of the class content; exercises on surveys, paper prototyping, heuristic evaluations, and usability testing; Instructor and Student Guides, and a final examination. The class was added to the curriculum of the official corporate training entity, Unisys University, where it is available for all Unisys employees. This report of the group’s experience may be useful to organizations wanting to get started with usability training despite budget restraints.

Randolph, Elaine F. and Lynn Ballard. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Education>Usability>Case Studies

Incorporating Navigation Research into a Design Method  

A presentation about whether an underlying spatial metaphor aids information design usability.

Lombardi, Victor. Information Architecture Summit (2004). Presentations>Information Design>Usability

Indexing Without Page Numbers  

The page number provides an intuitive context. Embedded indexing tools suffer because this context is transparent to authors. Further challenges arise from the low design priority awarded to embedding indexing tools of several applications. Hypertext-based indexing, such as on the World Wide Web, is an extreme case with difficulties ranging from a huge scope with negligible natural content, to a programming language that provides no straightforward technique for indentation.

Maislin, Seth A. STC Proceedings (1999). Presentations>Indexing

Indexing: Exploring the Issues, Dispelling the Myths  

What is an index? Meeting user expectations.

Collins, William L., Sandra M. Gallagher and Karen J. Hamilton. STC Orange County (1998). Presentations>Indexing

Indezine

Indezine has evolved as a platform for PowerPoint presentations, presentation software, image editing and clip media.

Bajaj, Geetesh. Indezine. Resources>Presentations>Software>Blogs

Individualized Style Guides: Contextualized Writing Strategies for Seminar Participants  

Many communication trainers adopt a “rules” approach, giving participants the “right” answers for writing problems. Our alternative approach focuses on individual participants’ writing contexts. In our writing workshops for university personnel, we train participants to develop and keep style guides. Individualized style guides help participants identify the conventions common in their particular organizations and help them maintain consistency between and within documents. Participants also benefit by developing a rhetorical approach to writing which builds their confidence and ability to respond to future writing situations on the job.

Jervis, Amanda M. and Jane Perkins. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Writing>Style Guides

The Information Architecture of Everyday Things  

Information architecture is as old as human communication. Where there's information, there's architecture.

Garrett, Jesse James. JJG.net (2002). Presentations>Information Design

Information as Commodity: The State of Technical Communication in the New Millenium  

With the information revolution, technical communicators need to problematize the definition of information, re-evaluate our role in the information food chain as both information producers and consumers, and re-examine how and why we produce information.

Chu, Steve W. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>TC>Information Design

Information Design Considerations for Improving Situation Awareness in Complex Problem-Solving    

The conventional techniques for task analysis derive the basic tasks that make up user actions. However, in the complex-problem solving environment, attempts to describe step-by-step actions break down because no single route to a solution exists. Although individual tasks can be defined, task-analysis normally results in the tasks being divorced from context. However, to support complex problem-solving, the design must place the information within the situation context and allow users to develop and maintain situation awareness.

Albers, Michael J. ACM SIGDOC (1999). Presentations>User Centered Design>Usability

Information Design Exercises  

Study the target audience – who are your users? Identify various information elements. Study the user’s work flow. Layout the various information elements based on their characteristics. Highlight critical information. Think visually.

Deshpande, Shashank. STC India (2003). Presentations>Information Design>Education

Information Design for Beginners  

Learning about information design begins with understanding its definitions and exploring its key disciplines: technical writing, design, and usability. Information designers seek to combine skills in these broad fields to make complex information easier to understand. Specialists in the different fields often work together as a team to produce complex products. Stephan Boyd Davis, who teaches at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, elaborates: “I take design to include fulfilling the practical needs of the intended users and incorporating an element of affect in the user’s experience, often pleasurable and including surprise, delight, satisfaction, and other responses.”

Taylor, Cheri W. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Information Design

Information Design for Web Sites Which Support Complex Decision Making  

Most web site designs tend to focus on optimizing for simple information retrieval, “Find the value of X.” Yet, in decision making, the user’s information needs are much greater. As a minimum, they must understand and compare the value of X with respect to Y. Of course, in a realistic situation, several values must be considered. The information design problems involved in effectively addressing complex decision making has not been adequately researched. This research examines web sites to determine which design factors support complex decision making. It also develops guidelines for designing web sites which support complex decision making.

Albers, Michael J. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Information Design>Web Design