TechCom

Hockey Sticks and User Assistance: Writing in Times of Resource Constraints

"Many technical communication departments are experiencing flat budgets, meaning they’re getting only small or no increases in headcounts, capital expenses, or training dollars. Worse yet, many departments are facing reductions in these resources. These reductions cause production pressures that are often confounded by increases in development headcount, here or offshore. Since more code equates to more features, which in turn drive greater revenues, companies are more willing to increase development budgets. On the other hand, adding writers increases costs, which in turn reduces margins." (Mike Hughes - UXmatters)

Posted on January 23, 2008 | Permalink

WritersUA Conference Supplemental Materials Archive

"Conference speakers, Peer Showcase presenters, and Exhibitors are invited to provide additional materials to supplement the detailed information included in the printed Proceedings. Additional items may be added to this page as they become available. (...) The Conference speakers retain all rights to their presentation materials. WritersUA only assumes the right to distribute the comprehensive, printed Proceedings. If you would like copies of presentation slides and they are not listed here, we encourage you to request them from the individual speakers. Most speakers have provided their email address in the printed Proceedings." (WritersUA)

Posted on January 10, 2008 | Permalink

Procedures: The Sacred Cow Blocking the Road

"If this column's title sounds familiar to you, the bad news is you're getting old, but the good news is your memory hasn't gone yet. It was the title of a presentation I gave at the STC conference in Anaheim ten years ago. However, many of the points I made in that talk are still relevant to user assistance today, so I would like to update some of them and offer some new thoughts as well." (Mike Hughes - UXmatters)

Posted on November 21, 2007 | Permalink

Instructional Text in the User Interface: Some Counterintuitive Implications of User Behaviors

"User assistance occurs within an action context—the user doing something with an application - and should appear in close proximity to the focus of that action - that is, the application it supports. The optimal placement of user assistance, space permitting, is in the user interface itself. We typically call that kind of user assistance instructional text." (Mike Hughes - UXmatters)

Posted on March 09, 2007 | Permalink

Jon Bosak Closing Kenote XML 2006

"It's hard to remember now just how different this community was ten years ago. There were only a few hundred SGML experts in the world, a goodly number of whom came to this conference every year. Very few groups in existence today could boast the level of intelligence, the breadth of interest, and the depth of independence, not to say downright weirdness, evidenced by the SGML community of a decade past." (XML 2006 Proceedings) - courtesy of timoreilly

Posted on January 13, 2007 | Permalink

User Assistance in the Role of Domain Expert

"This article explores the role of user assistance in providing domain-centric online Help - rather than Help that simply explains obvious user interactions with well-designed user interfaces - and provides a pattern for and examples of expert guidance." (Mike Hughes - UXmatters)

Posted on January 10, 2007 | Permalink

New Life for Product Documentation

"We usually assume that documentation is used after a product has been purchased, as part of the process of learning or setting it up. But these are all examples documentation as part of the purchasing-decision process, looking for information beyond the lists of features or simple technical specifications on data sheets." (Whitney Quesenbery - UXmatters)

Posted on August 20, 2006 | Permalink

10 DITA Lessons Learned From Tech Writers in the Trenches

"This exclusive and informative top ten list is based on interviews with technical writers at more than 20 software companies - tech writers that are actually using DITA to create documentation today. It's jam-packed with useful advice, practical tips, honest warnings, and lessons learned." (The Content Wrangler)

Posted on August 10, 2006 | Permalink

Minimalism: The Minimalist Model applied to documentation and training

"The Minimalist theory of J.M. Carroll is a framework for the design of instruction, especially training materials for computer users. The theory suggests that (1) all learning tasks should be meaningful and self-contained activities, (2) learners should be given realistic projects as quickly as possible, (3) instruction should permit self-directed reasoning and improvising by increasing the number of active learning activities, (4) training materials and activities should provide for error recognition and recovery and, (5) there should be a close linkage between the training and actual system." (Martin Ryder)

Posted on June 18, 2006 | Permalink

Apple Style Guide: 2006 version 

"The Apple Publication Style guide provides editorial guidelines for text in instructional publications, technical documentation, reference information, training programs, and the software user interface." (Apple Developers Connection) - courtesy of usablehelp

Posted on March 14, 2006 | Permalink

A gallery of onscreen help: Updated version

"The Gallery of Onscreen Help has received a long overdue update. I've just finished adding over 125 new screens, bringing the gallery to 333 sample onscreen help implementations. Drop by and take a peek at what your colleagues, and competitors, are up to." (Usable Help)

Posted on January 08, 2006 | Permalink

Problems in Navigating Online Help: Clues from User Search Patterns

"The problems, we found, were not in these users, but in the Help system." (Robert Krull - WritersUA)

Posted on July 26, 2005 | Permalink

The Future of RoboHelp?

"This article and my prediction about the future of RoboHelp are not meant to be an attack in any way. RoboHelp is an important tool to thousands of developers throughout the world and they deserve to have as much information about the future of the product as possible." (Joe Welinske - WinWriters)

Posted on April 27, 2005 | Permalink

WritersUA 2005 Salary Survey

"Level of experience is one of the most important aspects in determining salary level. There is a sizeable increase in salary as we move beyond our first years in the technical communication field. Starting salaries average in the mid-40s and move up into the mid-50s as our careers progress. However, there is a stagnation as we reach the middle years of our work experience with average salaries remaining fixed in the mid-70s. There appears to be an earnings ceiling for many of us." (WinWriters)

Posted on February 17, 2005 | Permalink

Comparison of Two Evaluation Techniques for Technical Documentation

"This study compared two evaluation techniques, Usability Testing and Cognitive Walkthrough, in their ability to identify errors in aviation maintenance documentation. The techniques were evaluated to see how much unique information they each produced as well as the type of errors identified. Results showed that the techniques were complementary in their findings and both are recommended in the development of technical documentation." (Bonnie Rogers et al. - SURL 7.1) - courtesy of uidesigner

Posted on February 16, 2005 | Permalink

Stairway to Experts: Show me, coach me, test me, let me, congratulate

"Back in the last century, people learned to operate computer software by reading thick manuals laden with obscure text and scant pictures. Or they attended training classes where they squinted at the instructor breezily demonstrating barely recognizable procedures. Or they clickety-click-clicked their way through the Help file, gleaning snippets of information but never weaving them into a coherent tapestry. Today, computer users can learn from a personal tutor who demonstrates the program, guides them through their initial efforts, monitors their growing skills, and certifies their mastery. Tools like Captivate, Camtasia, and TurboDemo make it possible for teachers and communicators to create effective software simulations–without programming. Even simple presentation tools, such as PowerPoint can create truly interactive simulations." (William Horton - WritersUA)

Posted on January 20, 2005 | Permalink

Design Checklists for Online Help

"Online help systems have evolved over the past 20 years to meet the needs of our users. Designers must consider the content, format, presentation, navigation, and access methods of online help systems." (Michelle Corbin - WritersUA) - courtesy of ui designer

Posted on November 25, 2004 | Permalink

S1000D: International Specification for Technical Publications utilising a Common Source DataBase

"This specification has been produced to establish standards for the documentation of any civil or military vehicle or equipment. It is based on international standards such as SGML/XML and CGM for production and use of electronic documentation. In addition, it defines a Common Source Data Base (CSDB) to provide source information for compilation of the publications and for use in electronic logistics information systems to deliver modules of information direct to the user."

Posted on November 15, 2004 | Permalink

Overview of the Open Source Development and Documentation Project: Overview

"The main purpose of OSDDP is to provide a place where everyone can learn project development from each other through open source development as well as develop skills for producing professional and technical documents." - (OSDDP)

Posted on October 24, 2004 | Permalink

Splitting Books Open: Trends in Traditional and Online Technical Documentation

"While technical publishers strive to adapt to new online media and formats, online efforts at self-education by computer users are becoming a form of true grassroots documentation. This talk discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each side -- traditional books and user self-education -- and suggests how they may converge. It offers suggestions for improving the educational effects of mailing lists, computing project web sites, and other community documentation." (Andy Oram - O'Reilly Open Source)

Posted on September 24, 2004 | Permalink | TrackBack

Document Design for International Audiences: Creating Communications that Cross Borders 

Presentation from 'Communicating crossing borders' of May 12, 2004 (Karen Schriver)

Posted on July 13, 2004 | Permalink | TrackBack

The Changing Face of Technical Communication: The Impact of Trends on How We Think about Our Work 

Presentation by Karen A. Schriver (KSA Document Design & Research, Inc.) on May 13, 2004 at the STIC symposium in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. (STIC)

Posted on June 01, 2004 | Permalink | TrackBack

STC 51st Annual Conference 2004

Uploaded Session Materials - "This page contains links to materials provided by the conference presenters." (Society for Technical Communication) - courtesy of beth mazur

Posted on May 18, 2004 | Permalink | TrackBack

Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness

"On this page, I list wacky, bizarre, surreal and otherwise strange examples of technical documentation, particularly illustration." (Darren Barefoot) - courtesy of xblog

Posted on April 14, 2004 | Permalink | TrackBack

European Information Development Conference Presentations

TCeurope is the European umbrella organisation for technical documentation, currently representing technical writers and illustrators in seven European countries. The first European Information Development Conference took place in Wiesbaden, Germany 2003 (TCEurope) - Blatant self promo

Posted on February 18, 2004 | Permalink | TrackBack

Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization: A Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors

"This publication is directed toward professional writers, editors, and proofreaders. Those whose profession lies in other areas (for example, research or management), but who have occasion to write or review others' writing will also find this information useful. By carefully studying the examples and revisions to these examples, you can discern most of the techniques in my editing 'bag of tricks'; I hope that you editors will find these of particular interest." (Mary K. McCaskill - NASA Langley Research Center) - courtesy of lucdesk

Posted on January 07, 2004 | Permalink

The importance of documentation: Discover what's missing in today's documentation efforts, and why it's gone

"As documentation decreases in quality, users stop turning to it. As users stop turning to it, companies stop trying to maintain it - why bother, if the users won't read it? This line of reasoning is dooming the future of documentation to failure. Documentation is important and needs to be taken seriously." (Peter Seebach - IBM developerWorks) - courtesy of lawrence lee

Posted on November 25, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Live help systems: An approach to intelligent help for web information systems 

"Since the creation of the World-Wide Web we have seen a great growth in the complexity of Web sites. There has also been a large expansion in number of Web sites and in amount of usage. As a consequence, more and more Web site users are having problems accomplishing their tasks, and it is increasingly important to provide them with support." (Johan Aberg - Adaptive Hypertext & Hypermedia)

Posted on November 21, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

EIDC newsletter

"The European Information Development Conference is the first European high quality event for professionals dealing with multilingual product information such as technical writers, web designers, documentation and information managers, translators, vendors. It provides an excellent platform for information and knowledge exchange between experts from the industry, researchers, education experts, service providers and free-lancers." (TCeurope)

Posted on November 18, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

The rhetoric of the Challenger disaster: A case study for technical and professional communication

"This Web site responds to the need for practical application of rhetorical principles in science and organizational communication. The site offers instructors of technical and professional communication a tool that allows them to bring concrete examples that illustrate rhetorical principles into the classroom. Using the Challenger disaster as the case study and theme, the site provides the social, political, and technical context of the disaster to help develop understanding of the background and exigence of the situation." (Association of Teachers of Technical Writing)

Posted on November 12, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Information on the Assembly Line: A review of Information Design and Its Implications for Technical Communicators

"Technological advances have made endless amounts of information on nearly every subject easily accessible, while at the same time fostering an economic climate conducive to international trade and partnerships. The challenge for companies then becomes one of figuring out how best to manage and use this mass of information, a task complicated by the increasingly global nature of business that requires products to be tailored to more specialized user groups in a wider array of formats and in different languages. Hence the emergence of information design, a field that technical communicators would do well to associate themselves with. Information design is centered around solving many of today's communication problems, and technical communicators are well suited to participate in those discussions. This thesis seeks to understand what information design is and the role that technical communicators can play in this important and emerging field. A comprehensive literature review, this thesis seeks to represent and summarize the overall body of work within the field of technical communication concerning information design and its related issues, as well as to suggest ways in which technical communicators can better participate in the design and implementation of information design systems." (Jason Nichols - University of Central Florida) - courtesy of victor lombardi

Posted on October 07, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Gallery of Onscreen Help

"(...) there are about 190 sample Help books from a wide variety of companies and products. It's a way for Help authors to get a glimpse at their peer's work without having to install a lot of additional software." - (Usable Help)

Posted on June 03, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Writing for the Web: Part 2

"Writing for the Web requires careful planning. Your content needs to fit well within the context of your website. When a reader finds your content, they need to be able to scan it quickly. That's what metadata is about. In order for your website to be found, you need to write for how people search." (Gerry McGovern)

Posted on May 05, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Sun Officially Unveils JavaHelp 2.0 Beta

"JavaHelp is an online Help delivery mechanism designed specifically for Java applications. JavaHelp leverages the 'write once, run everywhere' mantra of Java itself, and thus is ideal for Java applications." (Sarah Leritz Higgins - WinWriters) - courtesy of usable help

Posted on May 02, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Timeline

"Every evolving field has its milestones, none of which exists in a vacuum. The timeline on this page shows a few significant events in science and technology that have shaped the field of technical communication. The timeline also indicates concurrent markers in the development of technical communication in general and the Society for Technical Communication in particular." (STC@50)

Posted on April 24, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Scientific and Technical Writing

"Technical writing is the presentation of information that helps the reader solve a particular problem. Technical communicators write, design, and/or edit proposals, manuals, web pages, lab reports, newsletters, and many other kinds of professional documents." (Dennis G. Jerz)

Posted on April 07, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Blurbs: Writing Previews of Web Pages

"On the web, a blurb is a line or short paragraph (20-50 words) that evaluates (or at least summarizes) what the reader will find at the other end of a link. A good blurb should inform, not tease. Usability testing will help you determine the best way to lay out your blurbs, but this document will help you write the content." (Dennis G. Jerz) - courtesy of guuui

Posted on April 02, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

The Future of Help? Nine Trends in Online User Assistance

"Whilst applications are becoming more complex, many people believe that online user assistance hasnít changed much since WinHelp was introduced with Windows 3. This is a misconception." (William Birn and Ellis Pratt - Cherryleaf) - courtesy of ellis pratt

Posted on February 24, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

No Silver Bullet for Web Content

"There is no magical formula, no sleek software, that will take away the pain of badly written, badly organized content." (Gerry McGovern)

Posted on February 03, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Contentology

"(...) blends disciplines such as information architecture, information design, knowledge management, communications and media theory, usability engineering, Web design, 'Webitorial' writing and Internet marketing."

Posted on February 01, 2003 | Permalink | TrackBack

Apple Help Technologies

"When users refer to help, it is usually because they are having difficulty accomplishing a task -- they know what they want to do, but not how to do it." (Apple User Experience)

Posted on November 25, 2002 | Permalink | TrackBack

Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications

Complete styles and guidelines for publishing a variety of technical publications. (Microsoft)

Posted on November 11, 2002 | Permalink | TrackBack

Providing Help in your Application

"Making an application that meets the goals and expectations of its users is a pretty hard task - you really need to know a lot about the potential users." (Sven Ryen - Interface Mafia)

Posted on September 19, 2002 | Permalink | TrackBack

Design Matters

"April 2000 issue now available" (Society for Technical Communication)

Posted on November 16, 2000 | Permalink | TrackBack

Technical Writing and the Macintosh

"Technical writing is one of those activities that historians of technology have almost completely ignored." (Making the Macintosh - Alex Pang/Stanford University Library)

Posted on July 19, 2000 | Permalink | TrackBack

The Offical TECHWR-L

The Internet Forum for Technical Communicators (Eric and Deborah Ray)

Posted on June 22, 2000 | Permalink | TrackBack

Technical Communication

Special Issue on Information Design (Journal of the Society of Technical Communication)

Posted on June 16, 2000 | Permalink | TrackBack