UserAid

Delivering content where it's needed

Time for Leaders to Emerge

The market is definitely getting tight for technical communicators. Layoffs are occuring in many industries, such as enterprise software development. During these cycles, true leaders emerge and major changes can occur to shape how we approach and solve issues.

Instead of doing more with less, we need to focus on doing less (only what truly adds value). What does the audience really need? When and where do they need it? What deliverables are no longer needed? Are there other ways to effectively meet user needs, such as supporting a user community forum or a wiki?

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Is It Time for a New Tool?

Every so often in the past, teams have moved from one publishing tool to another. Tools like WordPerfect, PageMaker, Ventura Publisher, and Interleaf lost popularity and were replaced by tools like FrameMaker and Word. Is it time for a new tool to replace both Word and FrameMaker?

With the move to XML, DITA, and other new standards, the entry cost for new tools is lower relative to established tools like Word and FrameMaker, since all tools need to invest to implement these new standards. New workflows are emerging in some cases, such as topic-based authoring and shared content, which give new tools a distinct advantage. The new tools can start with the new paradigm, rather than trying to migrate existing content and provide “backward” compatibility.

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Tools and Web Services for Consultants and Writing Teams

We often consider only the top marquee names when we select tools. Open-source tools and Web services provide valuable alternatives to many of the tools we use today. At the WritersUA conference in March 2009, I will be presenting with Mike McCallister about various tools you may not have considered.

Mike will review several open source tools, such as OpenOffice, LyX document processor, Scribus desktop publisher, lnkscape vector graphics, and The GIMP raster graphics. Then, I will discuss various tools and Web services that provide consultants and small writing teams with the capabilities of many larger corporations.

In this article, I thought I would summarize some of my favorite tools and how I use them. I’ve avoided the standard tools that most of us use, such as FrameMaker, Word, our favorite graphics tool, and our help authoring tool (HAT) of choice. Instead, I’ve focused on several cost-effective solutions that provide other services, such as version control, data backup, remote access, Webinar services, online collaboration, email aliases, email forwarding, and conference calling.

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Consolidating Content Delivers More with Less

Software products have found ways to share content and reuse content to deliver more value with limited resources. For example, fantasy football web sites share player news, injury reports, and game statistics. Security products often reuse security announcements and warnings from trusted sources, and present them as rebranded content. We are also seeing software vendors using Twitter and RSS feeds to distribute information and announcements. The next step is when these information feeds are integrated into the product user interface itself, making it the one stop resource for all the information needs of its users. No more need to use google when your product itself delivers the answers to all your questions from the sources you trust.

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Getting Stuck on the Words

Technical Communication focuses on developing and delivering clear, concise messages. These skills become second nature for many of us, but sometimes these skills lead to actions that cause us to be pigeon-holed and hinder our ability to expand our role and future.

A common complaint I hear from technical communicators is the lack of respect they receive from other teams and professions. As technical communicators, we need to work to improve our image and reputation. We have many valuable skills to contribute that can improve the bottom line for our products and services. Unfortunately, some of us get stuck on the words during a discussion rather than focusing on the overall message and goal.

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The Yellow Brick Road to Technical Communication

For those of us who communicate technical content for a living, we share many job titles, such as technical writer, information developer, technical communicator, multimedia engineer, content developer, and many others.  Without one focused set of titles, how did we know this is what we wanted to do?

The truth is…like many other technical communicators…I didn’t.  I graduated with a Computer Science degree and a Mathematics degree.  I took a few Tech Comm courses at Penn State, but I had never heard of Technical Communication as a profession.  I was going to be a programmer, like all good Computer Science graduates.  But then, something happened…  After developing my first database-driven security system, I had to document the system and train others how to use it.  This process introduced me to my future career.  I had always enjoyed teaching and coaching…and this was teaching through a different medium.

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