The Synergy between Human Factors and Technical Communication

The human factors specialist and the technical communicator find themselves making similar decisions or weighing similar issues. For example, often it is difficult to decide when to use symbols versus words. Sometimes you cannot shortcut and use pictures because pictures do not convey enough information.

Blackwelder, Meredith. Carolina Communique (2003). Articles>TC>Human Computer Interaction

Taking Risks with a New Online Help Tool

Some might not think that converting FrameMaker content into online help and user documentation would involve taking risks. In this article, we tell our story of what risks were involved with one of my recent projects, how we overcame them, and what benefits we reaped by using state-of-the-art technology.

Grissino, Ann-Marie and Rebecca McMurry. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>Documentation>Online>RoboHelp

Taking Risks with a New Online Help Tool

Some might not think that converting FrameMaker content into online help and user documentation would involve taking risks. In this article, we tell our story of what risks were involved with one of my recent projects, how we overcame them, and what benefits we reaped by using state-of-the-art technology.

Grissino, Ann-Marie and Rebecca McMurry. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>Software>Help>Madcap Flare

The New Word Order: Or, the Awful English Language

Will the global interconnectedness of our conversations freeze the features of our languages in place? If so, farther into the future than anyone can foresee, much of the human race will be stuck with English as we now know it.

Garrison, Ronald W. Carolina Communique (2006). Articles>Language>History>Writing

Toil and Trouble: HTML Help and NetHelp

Toil and trouble. That’s what this year’s online help crystal ball predicts. It shows two flavors of HTML-based help and to make matters worse, their names are confusing: HTML help (which is not the same as HTML-based help) and NetHelp. Oh, me nerves. Well, let’s try to calm ourselves and explore these new concepts.

Grissino, Ann-Marie. Carolina Communique (1997). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help

Too Many Pieces

Do you ever think about how much time you spend tackling process issues and tools issues? The tools, as advanced and automated as they are, will not fix all our problems. But we have to work with what we have, and automate as much of the production and maintenance of our content as possible.

Albing, Bill. Carolina Communique (2006). Resources>Software>Tools>XML

Twenty-Five Years of Technical Communication

What hasn't changed in twenty-five years? There are a couple of things--things that aren't likely to change in the next twenty-five years either. Technical communicators will always have to prove the value of what they do. We'll discover new ways in which to contribute, but the need to prove our value will persist.

Kunz, Lawrence D. Carolina Communique (2004). Articles>TC>History

Usability Testing and Research

The more intuitive a product's interfaces and procedures become, the more usable it becomes. Thus, the less formal documentation it requires. To do our part, we can strive to reduce the number of words a customer needs to read. Focusing on clarity and concision, we can take pride that of the words that remain, every word will count. Working with usability experts, our fellow customer advocates, we can transmute unwieldy products into easily used ones. To me, that's a compelling reason to remain a technical communicator, regardless of why we became one.

Harvey, Michael. Carolina Communique (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing

Web Design for Small Companies: Pretend that You Have a Programmer

Now that the World Wide Web is an established means of business communication and the technology has evolved with it, site designs are looking slicker than ever. You may find that your own website--homegrown or corporate--could use a 'facelift.' But facelifts don't always have to involve the newest technology; sometimes the extra stuff that the techies love actually interferes with good design. Remember the animated Flash intros that so many sites pushed on you upon first visit? It's impressive the first time you see it... and really annoying after a couple of viewings, especially when all you wanted to do was get some information and get out.

Flint, Kim. Carolina Communique (2003). Design>Web Design>Planning

Why Vote in STC Elections?

Every year, each STC member is given the opportunity to vote twice as a member, once for the next year's Society (international-level) leaders and once for the next year's chapter (local-level) leaders. The Society and its chapters expend much effort and expense each year to recruit candidates and develop and distribute ballots; however, only about 10% of STC's members ever return those ballots. If such a small portion of members participate in elections, why bother holding them? The most fundamental reason is that STC's bylaws and the bylaws of each chapter require a duly elected leadership.

Wing, Liz. Carolina Communique (2000). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC

The Wicked Which and Other Fairytales

Popular culture is filled with myths about grammar. Taught by generations of English teachers, these stories admonish little children to cling to the straight and narrow path, rather than venturing into the woods of creative communication. Some of these stories are usage guidelines rather than rules, but others are pure fantasy, the flight of some pedagogue's imagination.

Wenger, Andrea. Carolina Communique (2005). Articles>Writing>Grammar

Wield the Power of the Written Word

Technical writers can change their professional destiny and the destiny of the organization for which they work by choosing to write or not write a particular document. Too often, technical writers avoid or reject opportunities to influence their working environments positively because they look at their professional role too narrowly.

Uhl, Michael. Carolina Communique (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing

The Wonder of Words

There is much left to be done with words. I think the trend toward more graphical interfaces will continue, but so will the complexity of the technology we develop. So there will always be a need for communication experts to figure out the best wording for the details involved in that technology. Finding the best way to articulate ideas and communicate information for making decisions will continue to be our bread and butter. We will see who has the last word.

Albing, Bill. Carolina Communique (2005). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing

Write Right

When you scan job postings for technical communicators, you'll find prospective employers seeking candidates who have an understanding of current technology, working knowledge of publishing tools, and time management skills. A bullet may ask for 'excellent writing and editing skills,' but that bullet rarely appears at the top of the list. Not for me.

Harvey, Michael. Carolina Communique (2005). Articles>Writing>Grammar

Writers in the Classroom

What does it take to get a newsletter out each month? Well, I spend about 16-20 hours a month on the newsletter at home, which doesn't include copying.

Boykin, Terri. Carolina Communique (2003). Articles>Writing>Project Management

Writing an Effective Letter to the Editor

There are many reasons to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper. Whatever your motivation, this article helps you to write a letter that gets published.

Clark, Steve. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>Writing>Correspondence

XML in Brief

XML is the acronym for the extensible markup language. According to the W3C, it is 'the universal format for structured documents and data on the Web'. The following list explains what XML is and what it is not.

Helo, Julia and Betsy Kent. Carolina Communique (1999). Design>Web Design>Standards>XML

Review: Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools

Review of 'Book Review: Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools' by Kit Brown, Brenda Huettner, and Char James-Tanny.

Olson, Amy. Carolina Communique (2008). Articles>Reviews>Management>Online

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

Looking At GUI Libraries: Spotlight On Infragistics

As a Graphical User Interface (GUI) programmer, I have many interface development tools to choose from. Over the years, my development environment changes to accommodate my needs. This often includes learning new languages and the tools that go with them.

Flowers, Natalie. Carolina Communique (2008). Articles>User Interface>Programming>Software