"Paper" Revisited  

Introduces new technologies intended to lessen office reliance on paper and discusses their potential effects on technical documentation.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2001). Articles>Collaboration>Online

Patients, Medicines, and Information  

Van der Waarde summarizes the reasons why medicinal information provided to patients is often confusing and describes a method for evaluating its effectiveness.

van der Waarde, Karel. Intercom (2004). Articles>TC>Biomedical>Scientific Communication

Perceptions of Technical Communication: A New Study  

O'Briant analyzes the responses to a new survey conducted by STC on perceptions of technical communication. She includes comments by several leaders in the field.

O'Briant, Sally M. Intercom (2000). Articles>TC

Perfect vs. Good Enough: Writing Quality in the Online Age  

Perlin discusses how new technologies are changing the definition of quality in technical writing and suggests a response.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2002). Articles>Technology

Personas: Matching a Design to the Users' Goals  

Perfetti discusses the use of personas--profiles of archetypal users synthesized from interviews with real people--in product design.

Perfetti, Christine. Intercom (2002). Articles>Usability

Phone Interviews: New Skills Required  

Suggests how technical communicators can excel at the increasingly common practice of interviewing by phone.

Ford, Donna A. Intercom (2002). Articles>Interviewing

Picture Perfect: Selecting Graphics for Instruction  

Discusses some principles for choosing appropriate graphics for instructional materials.

Lyons, Chopeta C. Intercom (1995). Articles>Education>Presentations>Visual Rhetoric

Piecing Together Your Audience  

Technical writers live by the commandment 'Know thy audience.' While the best approaches to fulfilling this commandment include conducting site visits and user surveys, we must often turn to other sources for information when deadlines loom or budgets are slashed. Individually, these resources provide anecdotal snapshots of users, but taken together they offer an understanding of our audience necessary for quality documentation.

Hower, Sean. Intercom (2003). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric

Planning a Web Site Redesign in Six Steps  

True Web site redesigns focus on much more than visuals. Brink and Regenold's redesign process will help technical communicators rethink a site from the ground up.

Brink, Marcia and Michele Regenold. Intercom (2004). Articles>Web Design>Redesign>Project Management

Plasma Screens: The Dynamic New Wave in Internal Communications  

Informing an organization's employees about key messages is essential to creating and maintaining an efficient and effective work force. To help your employees stay informed, consider broadcasting your organization’s news on plasma screens that are accessible to all employees.

Sacharen, Chani H. and Ettie Gilead. Intercom (2006). Articles>TC>Workplace>Workflow

Portfolios for Technical Communicators: Worth the Work  

Scott describes a professional portfolio and examines common items every portfolio should contain. She clarifies the difference between portfolios for experienced professionals and those for students. The article includes some employers' recommendations for successful portfolios.

Scott, Julie S. Intercom (2000). Careers>Portfolios

Portfolios: Tools for Acing the Interview  

Molisani explains how technical communicators can use their portfolios to take charge of an interview.

Molisani, Jack. Intercom (2003). Careers>Portfolios>Interviewing

The Power of Quiddity  

Morris demonstrates a method of editing that reveals the essence of a communication without distorting it.

Morris, M.D. Intercom (2001). Articles>Editing>Methods

PowerPoint Presentations: A Speaker's Guide  

Vinton Cerf, one of the founders of the Internet, reportedly parodied the well-known quote about the cost of attaining power, observing that if power corrupts, 'PowerPointcorrupts absolutely.' Pointed though Cerf’s statement is, it places far too much blame on the software. After all, speakers must take some responsibility for their presentations. As in any other form of communication, you must decide what you’re going to say and how you plan to say it. But once that’s done, you need to use all the skills at your disposal to make the chosen medium work for you.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Articles>Presentations>Rhetoric>Microsoft PowerPoint

Practical and Effective Metrics  

Discusses several issues involved in developing metrics that measure performance and identify specific problems affecting performance.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Careers>Management>Assessment

Practical Tips for Improving Web Site and Intranet Usability  

There's a large body of theory available to guide Web and intranet design, but concentrating too much on theory sometimes leads designers to overlook basic things they can do to improve the usability of sites. This article presents, in no particular order, seven simple ways to make your Web site or intranet more usable.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2003). Design>Web Design>Intranets>Usability

Practical Tips for Working with Global Teams  

Save team members time and conduct meetings and other steps in the project process effectively by integrating these tips for working with team members scattered in various locations.

Nesbitt, Pamela and Elizabeth Bagley-Woodward. Intercom (2006). Articles>Project Management>Collaboration>International

Preparing Your Staff for Content Management  

Few changes are as potentially uncomfortable for technical communicators than implementing a content management system. Freeman explains why, and offers advice to managers on how to address writers' concerns.

Freeman, Bret. Intercom (2005). Articles>Content Management>Collaboration

Process Documentation: The New Blueprint for Web Development  

Fifield and Davis describe a way to apply process documentation--a set of documents that defines the development process by providing a management structure for a project--to Web development.

Fifield, Mary M. Intercom (2001). Articles>Documentation

The Professional Editors Network  

Bush reports on a meeting of the San Diego Professional Editors Network, at which several experienced editors discussed their relationships with authors, offered tips for finding jobs, and emphasized the importance of content editing.

Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing

A Programming Primer  

The easiest way to gain the respect of programmers is to learn to speak their language. If you can do that, they’ll inevitably recognize the effort you've invested in learning to appreciate their work and will treat you as an equal thereafter. With that goal in mind, I present this glossary of key programming terms you should master.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Articles>Language>Programming>Glossary

Proper Introductions  

Describes how teachers can begin their courses on a positive note by properly introducing students to the course material and to each other.

Doumont, Jean-Luc. Intercom (2002). Articles>Education

Protect Your Web Site from Legal Land Mines  

This article explains how regular legal audits can keep your company Web site on the right side of the law.

Juillet, Christopher. Intercom (2004). Articles>Web Design>Legal

Protecting Yourself Against Viruses and Hackers  

Discusses how business owners can protect themselves from computer viruses and hackers. The article includes a sidebar listing anti-virus resources.

Fugate, Alice E. Intercom (2002). Articles>Technology>Security>Viruses

Prove Your Worth!  

Describes ten arguments technical writers can use to demonstrate their importance to their employers.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2001). Careers>Workplace>Assessment