Understanding Principles of Usability, Part 2

This is part two of Karen Bachmann's presentation on Usability. In this part of her presentation, Karen gets more in depth with principles and methods for usability.

Bachmann, Karen L. Tech Writer Voices (2006). Presentations>Usability>Methods>Podcasts

Virtual Ways of Communicating

This podcast features Char James-Tanney's June 2007 presentation to the Suncoast Florida STC chapter on virtual ways of communicating.

James-Tanny, Char and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Information Design>Podcasts

Vista and Office 2007

David McNamee presented on Vista and Office 2007 to the Suncoast chapter in May 2007. This is a recording of his presentation. He talks about how the purpose of Vista and Office is to help you create, find, and share information more efficiently.

McNamee, David. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Presentations>Software>Word Processing>Podcasts

Whitney Quesenbery on the Five E's of Usability

Quesenbery is one of the authors of Content and Complexity: Information Design in Technical Communication. Quesenbery explains the five E's -- a simple way to talk about product usability. The five E's are efficient, effective, engaging, error-tolerant, and easy to learn. She elaborates on what it means for a product to be engaging/satisfying. Quesenbery also explains the importance of personas, which she has written about in the Personas Lifecycle by Tamara Adline and John Pruit. She says stories are essential to personas.

Quesenbery, Whitney and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Usability>Podcasts

Why Content Management Projects Fail: Interview with Rahel Bailie

Many content management projects fail because organizations are either too focused on tools before properly researching their needs and processes, or because they underestimate the difficulty of migrating and restructuring their content to fit the new content management system. In this podcast, Rahel Bailie explains these pitfalls and what companies can do to avoid them, as well as how companies can climb out of problems they’re currently in. Rahel also talks about how technical communicators can influence business executives and other key stakeholders to make better decisions about content management.

Bailie, Rahel Anne. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Interviews>Content Management>Project Management

Wikis Are Coming: An In-Depth Exploration of Using Wikis in Documentation

In this podcast, Katriel Reichman, a technical writer at Method M in Jerusalem, Israel, talks in-depth about how to use wikis for documentation.

Reichman, Katriel and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Presentations>Documentation>Content Management>Podcasts

Workspaces, Collaboration, and Information Sharing — Interview with Emma Hamer

IT project teams often need to increase collaboration and communication, but they’re hampered by the cubicle walls and other physical silos they set up in the workplace. These physical obstacles force teams to have frequent meetings — which can be long and inefficient — just to keep each other updated. In this podcast, Emma Hamer talks about both physical and virtual workspaces that project teams need to increase their performance. She also outlines the rationale for teams to gather better feedback from users, project members, and others who aren’t domain experts.

Hamer, Emma C. and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Interviews>Collaboration>Online

XSL, Flash, and Live Blogging

In this podcast, Sarah O’Keefe talks about XSL, Flash, and live blogging. XSL (extensible stylesheet language) is a programming language that transforms XML content into a specific format, such as HTML. She explains what you can do with XSL, why it’s unique, and how the output is created.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Interviews>XSL>Podcasts

Repurposing Content for Multichannel Publishing (Single Sourcing)

It all comes down to managing and reusing source. Recycling content (chapters, graphics, etc.) is not new. What is new here is the common set of back-end structure in XML form and the fact that more than one set of tools — including small, mission critical custom tools — are explicitly focused on the specific needs of a given project. Reusing and repurposing content is all about improving efficiency: automating, accelerating, and merging applications, systems, and processes. In a multichannel publishing environment, it is critical that content development — source development — and its management are as efficient as possible.

Fraley, Liz. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Debunking the Boredom Myth of Technical Writing

Several weeks ago I wrote about my trip to Brigham Young University-Idaho and the presentation I gave there titled “Debunking the Boredom Myth of Technical Writing.” This podcast is a recording of my presentation.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Presentations>Writing>Technical Writing>Podcasts

The State of Structured Authoring in Technical Communication

In this podcast, Sarah O’Keefe of Scriptorium Publishing explains the results of their recent survey about the state of structured authoring in technical communication. In the survey, they found that 84% of respondents are either thinking of moving to structured authoring, are in the process of moving to structured authoring, have already adopted structured authoring, or are undecided. Only 16% of respondents said they were not moving to structured authoring. She also discusses other survey results, such as the adoption of DITA and mistakes people make in moving to structured authoring.

Johnson, Tom H. and Sarah S. O'Keefe. Tech Writer Voices (2009). Articles>Interviews>Document Design>Podcasts

Madcap’s Flare-DITA Solution

In this podcast, Mike Hamilton of Madcap Software talks about their phased approach to handling DITA with Flare. In Phase I, you’ll have the ability to import DITA topics and export to webhelp and other targets. In this sense, Flare functions as a transform engine. In Phase 2, you can use Flare for native DITA authoring. Phase 1 is on the cusp of release, but Phase II won’t be available until quarter one of next year.

Johnson, Tom H. and Mike Hamilton. Tech Writer Voices (2009). Articles>Interviews>DITA>Madcap Flare

Blogging, Podcasting, and Screencasting: Eight Characteristics to Attract Devoted Followers (Part I)

Devoted followers stay updated with each new post, podcast, or screencast, eagerly awaiting the next new one. They’re intimately familiar with your content and either comment regularly or regularly return to your site.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2009). Articles>Blogging>Podcasting>Screencasting

Blogging, Podcasting, and Screencasting: Eight Characteristics to Attract Devoted Followers (Part II)

Devoted followers stay updated with each new post, podcast, or screencast, eagerly awaiting the next new one. They’re intimately familiar with your content and either comment regularly or regularly return to your site.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2009). Articles>Publishing>Blogging>Podcasting

Podcast on Getting a Job in Technical Writing, 7 Steps

Although getting a job is the focus of the podcast, I also talk about what technical writers do, how they approach a project, how they decide what to create, and how they generate ideas for tasks. Specifically, I talk about about a project people can work on at tech.lds.org. People can start writing help for the project here.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2009). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>Podcasts