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Getting Started on Managing (and Measuring) Interdepartmental Technical Communication Requests

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If you’ve been a technical writer for any length of time, you’ve probably encountered somebody from another team or department who wants some help “writing this up.” It’s hard—sometimes not even permissible—to say no to those requests. In fact some technical communication teams support a whole range of internal and external communications activities that go beyond the traditional manuals, design docs or online help. In today’s ROI world everything is measured, so it’s more important than ever to establish a formal system for managing communications requests and tasks. Read more of this technical writing article »

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LavaCon Session Summary: Christi Thompson and Kelly Shortt on Topic-Based Authoring

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This CORPTAX case study shows the practical application of some nice-sounding theories. The subjects are complex and require intensive input from subject matter experts. Planning the transition to topic-based authoring is essential, and one advantage of successful implementation is streamlining the review process. Read more of this technical writing article »

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The Foundation of Successful Collaboration

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Collaboration is a term that might cause panic in the lives of people who are used to working alone. These days, projects come in all sizes, and collaboration during a project is a critical discipline and skill. Perhaps you’ve never had the opportunity to collaborate or it’s been a long time since you last collaborated with someone on a project. Or, maybe you’ve had a bad experience with collaboration and you’ve just been asked to collaborate again. Regardless of your reason, you can benefit from some general guidelines that can help make your next collaboration experience a success. Read more of this technical writing article »

Getting Feedback on Our Work

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November 2009, I attended an STC Montreal presentation by John Druker, from SAP Labs Canada. Like many of us, John struggles with the task of getting feedback from his readers about the documentation that he and his colleagues produce. Unlike most of us, John has made a considerable effort to find ways to get that [...] Read more of this technical writing article »

Using Software Requirements Models Together for Completeness

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We’ve done a bit of writing on the use of requirements models, but there is much less information out there about using requirements models together. Klaas Sikkel presented a paper on this topic, “Teaching consistency of UML specifications” at REET10 that inspired me to do some writing on the topic. Klaas’s paper was more focused [...] Read more of this technical writing article »

Sample Documentation Plan

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Submitted by Jo Baer, this documentation plan includes both a blank plan and a sample completed plan that cover cost estimating, scheduling, reviews, production, variables, and more. An excellent resource to use or adapt–in PDF format, attached. Download: Sample Documentation Plan Read more of this technical writing article »

What’s in a Name? Guidelines for Naming Files

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As a technical writer, you likely work with a myriad of different files for each project you work on; a single document or document set can often be derived from dozens if not hundreds of source files, potentially created by dozens of people over a period of time. Couple that with working on multiple projects, [...] Read more of this technical writing article »

The Project Kickoff Form: Aid for Launching and Managing New Projects

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If you’re a writer like me, news of a fresh assignment brings both excitement and anxiety. New assignments offer opportunities to further our knowledge and expand our portfolios, and they may result in a bonus or a more lucrative contract. But new projects can also inspire angst and dread if you have past experience with [...] Read more of this technical writing article »