Project Management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.
#21565
Developing a Web Site Prototype
A prototype, both paper and online (and I suggest you build both) is a 'mini' Web site, including content (or content ideas), graphics, multi-media etc., on a smaller scale than the final site. I have found that developing a prototype is a great way to present your ideas to upper management for approval to go 'live.' Also, and more important, an online prototype is an ideal application for user testing to ensure your site's success.
Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. W-edge Design (1999). Design>Web Design>Project Management
#22051
Developing the Specification for a Document
Between 25-30 percent of the overall writing time is typically devoted to developing the document specification, meaning how the document will be formatted and actually present the information. This is true even when the organization has a style guide with a prescribed format, but no “standard” for documentation overall. Although this may seem an inordinate amount of time and effort on the front end, before getting any information onto the paper, it is far more cost-effective than spending unplanned time rewriting and reformatting the document late in the production process.
Tech-Writer. Articles>Writing>Project Management>Technical Writing
#30431
Developing Tools to Manage Projects 
Coordinating the resources and tasks involved in a large documentation development effort requires the ability to gather meaningful project information at critical junctures so that appropriate decisions can be made. Project managers need the right tools to help them make sense out of the sometimes overwhelming and chaotic flow of project activities. When appropriate tools are not available, documentation project managers must adapt and invent to obtain what they need.
Harr, Robert G. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Management>Project Management
#24931
The Diary as a Professional Development Tool
This progression session focuses on diaries as serious tools for professional development. We discuss attitudes toward keeping diaries; issues such as anonymity and confidentiality; and strategies for tapping the full potential of the diary as a source of creativity and guidance.
Janicko, Raymond P. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Project Management
#21681
You need to anticipate the lifecycle of technical publications in advance so that all areas related to the final delivery are covered. These include issues such as costs, production, dissemination and archiving.
#26262
Document your Database Project to Capture Relevant Info 
Documenting a database during its development is a best practice to ensure that the organizational schema, data objects, and other related information are captured for future reference.
Kelly, William T. Builder.com (2003). Articles>Project Management>Databases>Documentation
#24703
A Documentation Database for Managing Time and Costs
Keeping track of a technical writing team’s time can be a tedious task, especially when that time has to be charged to various internal departments. Using Lotus Notes™ (Lotus Development Corporation and Iris Associates, Inc.), we developed a relational database to track this information. This database uses a single form for all documentation status inputs. Then it summarizes the data in a variety of view. Separate forms track SEI statistics and simplify department employee time administration.
Lang, Darice and Debra Ricks. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Project Management
#31035
Documents That No Project Cannot Be Without
Short deadlines force project teams to quickly design, test, and release the product with little or no design documentation. If these documents are written, they generally are not well-written and are not comprehensive. The fact of the matter is that most project teams do not have enough staff to design the product, let alone write and manage documentation. This situation creates an ideal opportunity for technical writers to assist the project team in more ways than writing a user guide.
Dick, David J. Carolina Communique (2008). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Collaboration
#28607
This presentation reviews the benefits, principles and history of DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method).
Tabaka, Jean. Rally Software Development (2006). Presentations>Project Management>Agile
#27602
Agile modeling started out fairly complex and it grew a bit into its current form.
Ambler, Scott W. Agile Modeling (2006). Articles>Project Management>Agile>Collaboration
#24241
Easy Tools for Documentation Management
The use of three simple tools can assist the documentation manager, from start to finish, on any new project. A revamped pubs plan, a new concept with engineering worksheets, and a matrix of modularized information are all utilized with a slightly new twist. The Pubs Plan is redefined to help you launch your project with a team approach, identifying issues, and proposing solutions. The Engineering Worksheets list all the critical pieces of information your writers/illustrators need for each component of the product. These pieces of information are then tracked by completion date on an Information Matrix. These documents work together as complimentary management tools that can be easily developed and scaled to the complexity of any project.
Shumate, Chona E. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Project Management
#30147
Our roles as technical communicators are often dictated to us by other people. Clients come to us after their product has already been developed, saying, 'I need a manual,' or 'I've written the necessary procedures--just make them look nice. ' It's easy to fall into the trap of just doing what we're told when we're told to do it.
Hansen, Lauren Y. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Project Management>Planning
#27887
It is my firm belief that every technical writer is passionate about her work and would put in her best efforts to deliver high quality. If you are a manager or an editor and are shaking your head in disagreement, think again. Why would someone want to submit a work of poor quality?
Lawrence, Prema. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Writing>Project Management>Technical Writing
#29772
Encouraging Innovation in Your Organization
In today's environment we often find ourselves drowning in our work. We don't take the time to stop and assess what we are doing. Are there better ways to do what we do? Are we making the biggest and best contribution we can make? Can you manage innovation? This paper will discuss the importance of innovation and one method we used to drive innovation.
Crawford, Vanadis, Angela Pitts, Rosalind Radcliffe and Leah Ann Seifert. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Workplace>Project Management>Assessment
#27978
Estimating Resources in Technical Writing
Project management principles that can easily be applied to working as a documentation manager.
Prabhakar, Rahul. Blogspot (2006). Careers>Management>Project Management>Technical Writing
#21351
Estimating Scope and Schedule for a Help Project
During this session, we will learn how to create a topic list to determine project scope, and then we will begin to calculate how long it will take produce all of these topics. When we’re done, you will have a methodology for doing this for your own project.
Deaton, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Project Management>Documentation>Help
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Estimating Scope and Schedule for Help Projects
Three steps to a more accurate Help schedule.
Deaton, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Project Management>Documentation
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Estimating Time and Cost for Policies and Procedures Projects
Estimating time and cost for a policies and procedures project can be an adventure in guessing and a ticket to grief. However, planning with a detailed checklist and list of assumptions can you help create a more realistic estimate, please your client, and protect your sanity and pocketbook.
Escoe, Adrienne. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management
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Everything in Moderation: Using Content Units to Manage UX
I’ve found that separating client requests into content units removes uncertainty and offers clearer direction, while helping your client recognize each individual request as a deliverable, requiring assignments and responsibilities. To do this, I follow a four-step process that helps delineate what content units each section of a Web site must cover—as opposed to content that acts as filler, or filler units.
LaFerriere, Keith. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Project Management>Planning>User Experience
#29280
By crossing the characterizing facets with constraints, you are combining the subjective needs of the project stakeholders with the objective constraints of the project in a way that ensures all points of view are fairly considered. It also ensures that a project requirement is not included or excluded simply because one person yelled louder than the others.
Polansky, Adam. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>Project Management>Collaboration
#28551
Facets Are Fundamental: Rethinking Information Architecture Frameworks 
This article presents three problems with existing information architecture frameworks. First, they are too focused on organizing information based on topic. Second, they treat facets as a supplemental form of classification. Third, they conflate the organization and representation of information. Analysis of these three problems suggests that information architects should provide navigation systems and user interfaces'based on an underlying framework of faceted classification'that allow users to flexibly navigate through complex information spaces in the service of particular tasks and goals. To this end, this article introduces a faceted classification framework, and provides an example of a model framework, called 'Facets are Fundamental' (FaF). The purpose of the FaF framework is to explicitly designate faceted classification (rather than a hierarchical classification) as the starting point of the IA development process. Both of these approaches encourage information architects to employ non-topical methods for organizing and representing information.
Crystal, Abe. Technical Communication Online (2007). Articles>Information Design>Project Management
#22970
Fast Track to Web Accessibility in 5 Steps
Sometimes you don't have the time to sit down and plan out the ideal Web site. Maybe you've just recently been appointed as your organization's webmaster, or have recently been assigned to oversee accessibility operations at your organization, and you discover that your Web site has gaping holes in its accessibility. Rather than panic, you should start with the biggest problems and work your way through the site until you have fixed all of the accessibility errors. After you've 'plugged the holes,' then you can start thinking about a new design, but not until then. This workshop presents a 'fast track to accessibility' that prioritizes your tasks of sorting through and fixing your site's accessibility problems.
Bohman, Paul. WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Project Management
#30442
Featuritis (or Creeping Featurism)
Featuritis or creeping featurism is the tendency for the number of features in a product (usually software product) to rise with each release of the product. What may have been a cohesive and consistent design in the early versions may end up as a patchwork of added features. And with extra features comes extra complexity.
Soegaard, Mads. Interaction-Design.org. Articles>Usability>Interaction Design>Project Management
#28506
A Few Good RSVP Tools: Online Registration Options for Free Events
When you're planning a free event, it's hard to justify paying a lot of money for online registration software--but email or Evite can be frustrating. Happily, other choices exist. We talked to seven nonprofit technology experts about useful and affordable (or free!) options for collecting RSVPs for free events.
IdealWare (2006). Articles>Project Management>Software
#23987
Five Insights for Improving Product Development Cycle Success
When creating software and digital products, innovation typically spans many months, and it can become disrupted by unobservable or frequently changing business conditions that make it extremely difficult to form and evaluate viable options. When people can't see where they're going, they typically just stop. This is tragic with respect to innovation, since it is innovation that propels business and society forward.
Fleck, Pat. Cooper Interaction Design (2002). Design>Project Management
