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 »
LavaCon Session Summary: Christi Thompson and Kelly Shortt on Topic-Based Authoring
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 »
Using Software Requirements Models Together for Completeness
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 »
The Project Kickoff Form: Aid for Launching and Managing New Projects
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 »