#30083
Beyond Help: Making Help a Core Component of an Electronic Performance Support System 
With the advent of HTML Help and the ability to embed Help directly inside an application, there’s been an increased interest in creating Help systems that are seamlessly integrated with their host applications. By blurring the line between the application and the Help that supports it, and by developing Help that automatically responds to user actions, application developers and Help authors now have the ability to develop true electronic performance support systems (EPSS). With this new ability will come a paradigm shift in the ways applications are developed and documented.
Wexler, Steven S. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Document Design>Help>EPSS
#23554
Beyond Plagiarism: Ethical Issues in the Technical Communication Classroom
Recent discussions of ethical issues that relate to technical communicators reflect the rise of interest in this topic. Although some journal articles do look at teaching ethics in the technical communication classroom, most concentrate on ethics in the workplace. Yet, for students to understand current and future ethical issues, we must heighten their awareness of potential problems before they encounter such problems in industry and business situations.
Horowitz, Renee B. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Writing>Ethics>Plagiarism
#28760
Beyond the Basics: Project Management Essentials for Technical Communicators 
Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project.
Currie, Cynthia C. STC Proceedings (2007). Presentations>Project Management
#23603
Beyond the Universal User: How to Design for the Universe of Users
Current 'user-centered' design methods place great value on design for the user. In this, I examine how investigation methods for user-centered design like usability testing and field methods are often only used to design for the universal user and not the universe of users. I critically explore the universalizing of the user that occurs during these investigation methods. I then address the problems with designing for a universal user and finally present ways to design for the universe of users.
Bowie, Jennifer L. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing
#28761
What does 'bias' mean in usability testing? Is it bad? good? in between? What are sources of bias in usability testing? Which one(s) should we worry about most? How do we know our methods are any good? Especially when we all do things differently?
Snyder, Carolyn. STC Proceedings (2007). Articles>Usability>Testing
#19482
The Big Cocktail: Cognitive and Humanistic Traits of an Information Designer
This paper describes how our experience in striving to hire Information Designers led us to identify the very basic cognitive and humanistic traits that make up a successful technical communicator. It also shows how, once identified, such traits can be used to unveil hidden potentialities which can help turn a non expert candidate into a successful and gratified Information Designer and communicator. This paper focuses mainly on psychological traits, not on technical skills, that have been extensively discussed in a series of other papers.
Zace, Sokol. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Information Design>User Experience>Cognitive Psychology
#21575
A company decides to release its software and documentation simultaneously in markets with different languages. For the documentation team, the traditional model of 'write and translate' does not work any longer. A bilingual writing team collaborates to produce a handbook in two languages at the same time.
Duffy, Gerald J. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Localization>Collaboration
#21577
Bilingual Team Writing: Planning a Project
A two-person bilingual writing team enabled a software application development group to produce on-line documentation and a user guide simultaneously in two languages. Team writing in an international environment requires detailed planning, constant monitoring, and continuous communication in order to succeed.
MacKay, Brenda. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Project Management>Localization>Collaboration
#23602
Bits and PCs: Designing Icons for Software Interfaces
When creating icons for internationally-marketed software products there are many factors that the icon designer should consider. Whilst the users' needs are paramount, other considerations will influence the final designs. These include the technical requirements and established visual design style of the operating system, legal issues and the avoidance of culturally sensitive images. The process for gathering information, designing, and building icons is also important. To assist the icon designer there are many valuable resources available, these range from reference books, to web resources maintained by the major platform providers, and published International Standards addressing software icons and symbols.
Hodgkinson, Richard N.P. STC Proceedings (2003). Design>Graphic Design>International
#14384
Black and White and Red All Over
Color is a powerful motivation and selling tool. We can also use color to improve people’s performance. Color is comprised of hue, value and saturation. When selecting a color scheme for a web site or slide presentation select a pastel background, then a complimentary or contrasting secondary color for accents. Select black or neutral text. Avoid the jelly-bean syndrome of contrasting, saturated, adjacent colors that fatigue the eye. Instead, use bright colors only for accents, not for major areas.
Lisberg, Beth Conney. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Graphic Design>Design
#29742
Blog 101: An Overview of Weblog Technologies
A weblog or 'blog' is a Web site with content consisting of a series of discrete postings added sequentially and presented in reverse chronological order. Historically used for personal Web sites, blogs in fact represent a form of lightweight content management that can be adapted to virtually any topic, including technical communication. The recent explosion of blogs is in part a result of the availability of publishing tools that simplify their creation. These tools vary significantly in capability, setup, and ease of use, and each offers advantages and disadvantages.
Berry, Robert R. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Content Management>Information Design>Blogging
#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
#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
