The Four C's Leadership Model  

Hesitation stems from fear that no one will follow.

Milkovich, Anne. STC Region 7 Proceedings (2002). Presentations>Management

Helping New Writers Through Their First Year  

Are you afraid to hire an entry-level writer? Are you asking yourself questions like: Will an entry-level writer take up too much of my time? Will she be able to work independently? Will she succeed in this organization? Is a new writer worth the risk?

Von Haas, Elaina E. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Management>Writing

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

Introduction to Agile Methods and Practices  

Rally's Hubert Smits provides a broad introduction to concepts of Agile software development and Agile methods. The talk is based on his experience as an Agile coach and Certified Scrum Master. Concepts that are known from waterfall or plan-driven development are transformed to an Agile perspective. Examples are release and iteration planning, progress reporting, meeting formats and scaling projects from 10 people teams to 300 people teams.

Smits, Hubert. Rally Software Development (2006). Presentations>Project Management>Agile

Introduction to Agile Methods and Practices  

Provides a broad introduction to concepts of agile software development and agile methods. The talk is based on his experience as an agile coach and Certified Scrum Master.

Smits, Hubert. Rally Software Development (2005). Presentations>Management>Agile>Methods

An Introduction to Content Management  

CMS analysis and design; an implementation example.

Garrett, David and Mary Pitz. STC Region 7 Proceedings (2002). Presentations>Content Management

Introduction to Scrum Practices  

This tutorial brings Scrum to life by introducing Scrum principles, process, practices and roles in the form of an actual Sprint timebox. The prioritized, timeboxed topics are presented and delivered as arranged by the tutorial attendees.

Tabaka, Jean. Rally Software Development (2005). Presentations>Management>Agile>Scrum

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 about the Community Plumbing: The Social Aspects of Content Management Systems  

In the summer of 2003, we worked on creating a general description of Drupal--an open source content management system (CMS)--for the "About Drupal" page on drupal.org. While Drupal is clearly within the class of applications known as content management systems, we felt that to describe it with that term alone would not present a clear picture of the breadth and range of Drupal's capabilities. Thus, the final description ended up describing Drupal with a total of four characteristics, although notably not distinct content management; weblog; discussion-based community software; and collaboration. Why is it then that the term CMS alone would not suffice? The word "content" places much emphasis on the product over process; it fails to emphasize the social use of CMSes, a mislabeling which places too much emphasis on the content itself at the expense of the communication and collaboration the better of these systems implement. In order to better understand how CMSes are being influenced by the precepts of social software and their role in creating social networks online, this presentation will: explore Drupal's social software features, narrate its genesis as software serving a community; and explain the influence of the community itself on Drupal development and the software's influence on the community that creates and uses it. In composing this text, we draw on the coauthors' unique perspectives. One of us is the founder and lead developer of Drupal, and the other a researcher in Computers and Writing and a participant in the Drupal community.

Lowe, Charles and Dries Buytaert. Kairosnews (2005). Presentations>Content Management>Community Building>Collaboration

Making Your Team Work  

This presentation looks at some of the common pitfalls that first-time technical communication managers encounter, and discusses how this affects the effectiveness of both managers and their teams, and hopes to spark a debate about alternative management styles.

Bailie, Rahel Anne. Hamer Associates (2001). Presentations>Management>Collaboration

Management Stem Overview  

Welcome to the Management Stem! What is Management? We define it as the “art” of getting things done -through and with other people. Through a variety of discussions, workshops and presentations, we’ll share case studies, tools, techniques, theory AND practical advice about managing projects and managing people.

Watt, Carolyn L. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Management

Managing a Distributed Documentation Group  

A distributed documentation group is one in which people work together from distant locations, The new problem in managing such a group is that casual, face-to-face communication is missing. Technological solutions include source control, email, groupware, telephone, and the World Wide Web. Human solutions may be even more important. Autonomy, explicit standards, various ways to meet, and deliberately working across locations build the necessary communications and trust.

Jackson, Ken. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Management>Collaboration>Online

Managing Project Expectations  

For a writer at the beginning of a project, the process of identifying the assumptions and expectations of the team that he or she is working with is as critical as the writing effort itself. Through discussion and review, the writer can help the team focus, from a writing point of view, on the risks and dependencies that are inherent in any project. While this process may not aid in avoiding seen and unforeseen problems later in the project, it does establish a context from which the writer can communicate to the team in way they will understand. It also provides an opportunity to make clear to the team the needs of the writer. This paper provides an approach for the writer to take to establish a context by which to identify and manage the expectations of others.

Murphy, Stephen W. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Management

Managing Quality: Systems and Metrics for Ensuring Quality in Products

There is, at present, no common definition of quality in technical communication--no common set of quality measurements for our profession.

Fisher, Lori H. STC Orange County (1998). Presentations>Management>Quality>Assessment

The Marathon of Chapter Presidency  

This panel/discussion takes shape as the audience molds it. Each panelist is a past STC chapter president and has managed to successfully run the “Marathon of Chapter Presidency.” The past-presidents panel comprises a fellow, an associate fellow, a director sponsor, senior members, committee managers, and other leaders of the society. Issues are audience-dependent but may include topics such as handling volunteers, managing money recruiting members, and so forth. Join this informal discussion to share ideas, quandaries, and solutions for successfully leading a chapter.

Oestreich, Linda L., Mark Hanigan, Richard Julius, Patricia J. McClelland and Carolyn L. Watt. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Management>Professionalism>STC

Modelling Information, or Documentation Planning for Dummies  

Identify the user. Identify the user's goals. Drill down to task level. Establish what the user knows. Identify what the user needs to know. Identify what the user should NOT know.

Skau, Edwin. STC India (2003). Presentations>Documentation>Project Management

Moving Up the Value Chain: Transitioning From a Cost Center to a Profit Center  

A presentation about management issues for offshore outsourcing firms.

Ramkumar, Ramamoorthy. STC India (2003). Presentations>Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

The New Reality: The Need for Self-Directed Teams  

Learn how one company, facing workflow bottlenecks, shrinking development cycles, and expanding customer expectations for dynamic knowledge, restructured its process, redefined the roles of its technical communicators, and fashioned a more functional and responsive organization.

McCarthy, Dennis M. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Management

Overview of Agile  

This presentation provides a broad introduction to concepts of Agile software development and Agile methods. The talk is based on the speaker's experience as an Agile coach and Certified Scrum Master. Traditional concepts from waterfall or plan-driven development are transformed to an Agile perspective. Examples are release and iteration planning, progress reporting, meeting formats and scaling projects from 10 people teams to 300 people teams.

Smits, Hubert. Rally Software Development (2006). Presentations>Project Management>Agile

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

The Power of PowerPoint: Providing MBAs a Leadership Edge  

Edward Tufte (2003) argues that PowerPoint is so flawed that it is impossible to communicate anything meaningful using it. The medium is not flawed; the users are. Instead of condemning PowerPoint, we owe it to the MBAs to teach them how to use this powerful communication tool. Knowing how to use PowerPoint effectively can give MBAs a leadership edge. This article discusses what we should be teaching the MBAs to allow them to take advantage of PPT and use it to deliver powerful presentations.

Barrett, Deborah J. Association for Business Communication (2005). Articles>Presentations>Management>Microsoft PowerPoint

Program Models for Supporting Faculty and Student Research

Presentations about how to facilitate student and faculty research in higher education academic programs.

Yeats, Dave, Miles A. Kimball and Robert Waller, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Gygi and Russell Willerton. CPTSC (2005). Presentations>Management>Research

Project Management and the Technical Communicator

Describes how project management can help technical communication professionals better plan and manage their technical documentation projects.

McCormick, Greg. SlideShare (2007). Presentations>Project Management>Documentation>Collaboration

A Project Manager's Survival Guide to Going Agile  

When software development project teams move to Agile methodologies, they often leave project managers behind. Traditionally trained project managers are confused as to what their new roles and responsibilities should be in an environment that no longer needs them to make stand-alone decisions. This presentation focuses on re-defining the job of project manager to better fit the self-managed team environment, one of the core Agile principles. Special emphasis is placed on the shift to servant leadership, with its focus on facilitation and collaboration. Mapping of PMBOK knowledge areas to Agile practices is discussed at length. After reading this paper, project managers should have a better understanding of what changes they need to make professionally, and how to make these changes in order to survive the transition to an Agile software development approach.

Sliger, Michele. Rally Software Development (2006). Presentations>Project Management>Agile

Providing Mentor Opportunities for Students and Professionals  

Mentorships provide an opportunity for students and new professionals to increase their career awareness by interacting with experienced technical communicators. STC chapters can develop mentor programs that facilitate this important professional development activity.

Stertzbach, Lori A. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Management>Mentoring