The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is an international professional society for the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication. It has hundreds of local chapters (also known as 'communities.'
#13247
Borders Are Not Barriers: Running a Multilingual Tech Pubs Competition 
This presentation is aimed at all those who would like to either participate in a Technical Publications Competition in a language other than English or organize multilingual Technical Publications in their chapter. And we hope you will! We briefly describe why and how we came to organize multilingual competition in the France Chapter. There is some practical information but feel free to ask us questions. We will do our best to answer you.
O'Neill, Jennifer and Patricia McClelland. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Language>Assessment
#20283
This panel explores what corporate leaders in the Technical Communications field consider the hottest topics in the industry today.
Conklin, John James, Judith L. 'Judy' Glick-Smith, George Hayhoe, Thomas B. Hoyt and Deborah Rosenquist. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>TC>Knowledge Management>Localization
#14385
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Decentralizing a Doc Group
Re-engineering — a word that strikes fear into the hearts of middle-management. Our company was hit by reengineering fever in 1995–6, and word came down that we were to break up our comfortable little documentation group and distribute the writers among product development teams. We did it, and we did it right. In this paper, we · Review the thinking and planning that went into the conversion of a 30-person, centralized, corporatewide documentation group into a decentralized, loosely affiliated community of technical writers. · Describe the implementation of our plans and some of the pitfalls we encountered and overcame. · Share an evaluation of the success of the reorganization, and some tips that we learned along the way.
Kove, Jennifer and David Drexler. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Management>Collaboration
#14824
Bridges To Trust: Achieving Corporate Expectations within a Skeptical Environment
Explains some of the tough challenges, novel approaches and successful procedures implemented at Leybold Inficon--actions that worked there, and may also be helpful to you in building a more tightly-coordinated technical communication function within your company.
Inch, Richard. STC Central New York (1999). Presentations>Workplace>Assessment
#14386
Bridging Cultures: Working Overseas
Working in another country can be a rewarding, exciting experience. Preparing for an overseas job, however, involves more than sorting out visas, work permits, inoculations, and currency exchanges. You must also learn as much as possible about the host culture in order to avoid some of the more unpleasant “cultural pitfalls” discussed in this session. Once you are aware of these issues, you can reasonably assess whether an overseas project is right for you.
Guren, Leah. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>TC>International
#29627
Bridging the Gap Between Industry and Academe
Using their own mentor-mentee relationship as a pilot project, the authors planned and implemented a successful mentoring program pairing professionals in the Orlando Chapter with graduating seniors in the technical communication program at the University of Central Florida. This paper (and presentation) provides a detailed description of the planning and execution of the new program, along with feedback from participants at the end of the first year, and an update on the program midway through its second year. It also provides a glimpse into the special trust that can grow between mentor and mentee--and the mutual personal and professional growth that can result from such a relationship. In addition, the session includes a turnkey package (both hard-copy and electronic) of administrative forms and materials that can readily be adapted to implement a mentoring program within another STC chapter or organization. The package is also available from either presenter or from the Orlando Chapter Education Committee.
Spivey, Bonnie and Daniel W. Voss. STC Proceedings (2005). Academic>Education>Industry and Academy
#21223
Bridging the Gap: Developing a Technical Communication Outreach Program for Students and Educators
Establishing an Education Outreach Project on the local chapter level benefits not only teachers and students in area schools but also the chapter and individual members who participate. Such a project can be as large or as small as your chapter would like; it can range from one-time presentations to an on-going program with a school that can include job-shadowing for teachers or students.
Fisher, Ellen M. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Education>TC
#13525
A Brief History of Technical Communication 
Civilization is a cumulative enterprise, and communication has always been a vital component of that cumulation process. From the fourteenth century on, the social system of science has depended on technical communication to describe, disseminate, criticize, use, and improve innovations and advances in science, medicine, and technology. Rapid change in technical communication has been obvious during the past few decades with the advent of computers, laser printers, the Internet, and other developments. Viewed from a historical perspective, those changes can be seen as but a portion of the evolution that technical communication has undergone. It has undergone vast changes in the means and methods that it employs and in the audience to which it is addressed, the purposes to which it is put, the roles it fulfills, and the social forces that drive and support it.
O'Hara, Frederick M., Jr. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>History>TC
#14387
A Brief History of the Role of Technical Communication in Developing Environmental Literacy
This paper introduces a two-part grouping of papers on “Ecological Literacy and Advocacy through Technical Communication.” Both technical communication and environmental rhetoric have historical roots in the professionalization of science and government in the late 1800s. The association of technical communication with “patrons” in industry has limited the roles of technical communicators to purveying ecological literacy within the relatively tight constraints of “risk communication.” But with the blurring of contemporary communication genres and the growth of ecological consciousness, technical communicators may follow science writers into roles more closely associated with environmental advocacy.
Killingsworth, M. Jimmie and Jacqueline S. Palmer. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Scientific Communication>Environmental>Civic
#14563
Bright Words, Dull Words, and Snags: A Theory of Technical Writing
While all words on the page should be necessary, not every word carries the same importance. Yet words compete for attention, and depending on what they mean to readers, one word may make a greater impression than another. As writers, we must express what’s important with bright words. We must tone down what’s not important and express them with dull words. We must avoid snags, words that distract, confuse, or interfere in any way with the smooth transfer of information.
Palkovic, Lawrence A. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Writing>Rhetoric
#20117
Bring the lnternet into Your Documents on Budget and on Time
Technical communicators can mine the Internet for fresh approaches and information to prepare documents with efficiency and minimal expense.
Murphy, Avon J. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Information Design>Research
#23614
Bringing Real-World Projects Into the College Classroom
This presentation discusses the logistics and benefits of building partnerships between universities and business by incorporating real-world projects into the student preparation. Such a collaboration enables students to learn valuable lessons about how to balance the needs of diverse audiences (developers, business managers, etc.), adapt to business constraints, and work as part of a team. Businesses benefit by having projects completed that may have otherwise not been completed because of a lack of resources.
Cooke, Lynne and Sean D. Williams. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Service Learning
#23622
This paper identifies challenges for obtaining managerial buy-in for a user-centered design process using performance tasks. Initially, it presents lessons learned from a case study. Next, it provides strategies (leadership, persuasion, organizational conflict, active listening, and teamwork) for obtaining buy-in from work team and their constituencies. Last, it concludes with recommendations for obtaining buy-in from managers.
Carey, Jennifer and Gloria A. Reece. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Project Management>User Centered Design
#21505
Browse Sequence in Online Help
A browse sequence enables users to navigate through a series of help topics in the sequence established by the help author. Although often omitted from help systems, the browse sequence is useful and will become essential as print documentation diminishes. Effective design options for a browse sequence include multiple segments, rings, branching, and the use of a browse button to take the user to the first topic in the current segment of the browse sequence.
Farkas, David K. and Bruce R. Gibbs. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#30390
Bubba Awards: Recognition on a Shoestring
This paper is an explanation of a low-cost and high-fun method used by the Lone Star Chapter to recognize officers and committee managers for their work during the past year.
Skinner, Judith N. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Collaboration>Community Building>STC
#19949
Technical communicators are accustomed to being thrown into the breech when their employers or clients confront severe business challenges. Rather than rush into the fray, we stand a better chance of tilting the business outcomes in our companies’ or clients’ favor if we remain disciplined under fire. A good way to achieve that discipline is to structure the communications team in a manner best suited to collaborative ventures and then implement those ventures in an orderly process called integrated strategic communication. This workshop begins with a brief explanation of how the Communications Department at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Orlando (LMMFC-O) uses integrated strategic communication to defend the company’s existing business base or seek new business in the fiercely competitive defense industry. Workshop participants will work in teams to complete practical hands-on exercises applying the process of integrated strategic communication to scenarios involving pressing business/technical communication challenges.
Voss, Daniel W. and William C. Wiese. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Collaboration
#20719
Build It Right And They Will Come
Teaching through the Web requires instructors to reconsider their previous assumptions about the nature of teaching, lecture, testing, and student/teacher interaction. In online classrooms, instructors often serve many design and maintenance roles. Managing the time required for these roles is an inescapable part of online instruction. The simpler the overall course design, the less often the instructor has to shift from role to role. Online instructors must use textual, visual and interactive metaphors consistently to help guide students toward productive forms of interaction. Finally an equal mix of textual, visual and interactive rhetorics is vital for effective online course design.
Gillette, David. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online
#19496
Building a Better Launchpad: A Case Study in Helping Users to Complete a Complex Task
A launchpad is a graphical user interface used for tasks that have too many steps or are too complex to fit into a single wizard. The launchpad acts as a central access point for launching a series of related wizards or dialogs, each of which completes one step of the overall task. Our launchpad design further aids novice users by providing a graphical and interactive preview of the steps required to complete the overall task, such as installing or configuring a component. This paper focuses on the process used to create the IBM Launchpad. The paper briefly describes the final design of the launchpad and concludes with process recommendations based on our experiences.
Pupons Wickham, Daina. STC Proceedings (2001). Design>User Centered Design>User Interface
#25028
Building a Constituency Through Outreach
Since government agencies deal with all audiences represented in the population, a variety of communication strategies must be used. One example from work at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory serves to illustrate this point in reaching out to communicate environmental issues. In this example, interpersonal, community, mass media, and print communication all serve a vital role in building a constituency around one environmental issue.
Carter, Kathy E. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>TC>Environmental>Government
#29628
Building a Database of Graphic Files Using Microsoft Access
Many technical communicators manage large collections of graphic files and must keep track of which graphics are used in which deliverables. An effective tool for managing a collection of graphic files is a relational database management system (RDMS) such as Microsoft Access. Before the database can be built in Access, it is necessary to 1) create detailed functional requirements and 2) build a high-level conceptual model from which the database relations (tables) can be derived. A spreadsheet program can be used to build the conceptual model and generate the relations. Normalization checks should be performed on the relations before the database is implemented in Access.
Lowe, Richard B. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Information Design>Databases>Microsoft Access
#14357
Building a Dynamic Web Site: Separating Data From Display
The principles discussed here are part of a general technique we refer to as "'DIDDS" (Dynamic Information Data Delivery System). This approach is useful for organizations or groups who want Web pages that can be changed quickly, easily and consistently by individuals unfamiliar with HTML. The key to this strategy-keeping data separate from display-involves a suite of customized CGI programs whereby data requested by a client is passed through a "display jilter" that attaches the HTh4L tags and generates the page "on the fly."
Murphy, Daniel J. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Web Design
#14388
Building a SGML-based Documentation Environment
SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) became an ISO-approved standard and was adopted as a Japanese Industrial Standards. Recently, SGML has begun to be used more widely in Japan. We, the Corporate Design Center of Ricoh Company, Ltd., have completed development of the a single SGML module DTD (Document Type Definition), customization of a SGML editor, and the implementation of review system using the world wide web. In addition, we have developed an automatic DTP system based on SGML.
Mimura, Kaori. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Documentation>SGML
#13394
Building a Successful Acquisitions Program: One Publisher’s Story
The Books by Users program, SAS Institute’s acquisitions program, serves a twofold purpose: helping SAS software users with book ideas turn their ideas into high-quality books about the SAS System; Providing Users with books about SAS Software to supplement primary documentation produced by in-house writers. This paper gives an overview of the Books by Users program and examines its operations and growth over the past three years. It offers tips both for companies building acquisitions programs and for authors hoping to interest publishers in their book ideas.
Ginn, Jennifer M. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Writing>Publishing
#19817
Building a Successful Translation Process
As a company expands into global markets, the need for localized documentation arises. Much like building or enlarging a house, a successful translation project requires a carefully planned process. When a company decides to produce localized documentation, it needs to establish a translation process. Although the process details may vary from company to company, there are basic steps that apply almost universally.
Lavallee, Nancy C. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Documentation>Localization
#20284
Building a Virtual Community: A Case Study of Professional and Technical Communication
The Diploma of Professional and Technical Communication is an Internet-based course, developed and taught by Christchurch Polytechnic in conjunction with University of Western Sydney, Nepean. Developing a student community is essential in an effective learning environment. The diploma is designed to encourage online student participation with the aim of promoting a virtual community. Elements of effective online course design include clear learning outcomes, tutors who motivate, activities to encourage participation, and prompt feedback. The analysis of student online interpersonal communication showed a successful virtual community was in fact created.
Draper, Richard, Kathy Knight and Alison Sanders. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Education>Community Building>Social Networking
