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Book Review: Building Modular Documentation by (Unknown) - Written by Kurt Ament, Published by William Andrew Publishing, New York, 2003. ISBN: 0-8155-1491-3About a decade ago, while working for Tadpole Technology in Cambridge as a one-man documentation department, I was writing what I considered to be pretty professional looking user guides for single-board computer products and for their new SPARCbook UNIX laptop computer. Then, Tadpole landed a contract with a major US corporation to design and deliver a UNIX laptop computer under their own brand. The deal included delivery of complete end user documentation that I had the task of writing. Naturally, as a major corporation, they required guides that were a credit to their product and protected their reputation in the world. The sudden increased workload and risks that this opportunity brought meant that I had to recruit some technical authors. I was forced to think about team working and how to ensure consistency between the new authors and myself. I found myself making this transition under considerable time pressures having to absorb the huge corporate publishing guides, style guides, and technical author training guides supplied to me by the client company.
Book Review: The Techniques of Instruction by Mike Unwalla - Written by Roger James, Gower Publishing Ltd, 1995. 153 pages. (46.50 GBP) ISBN 0-566-07550-4This book would be better titled, “The techniques of Instructor-Led Instruction”, because that is what it is about. The first line of the preface states, “This book is aimed at instructors everywhere” and later on the author also states that his intention is to help people who want to become instructors. The aim of the book is to present instructors with techniques on how to improve their instructional methods.
Online Documentation and Training Materials by (Unknown) - Publishing documentation using web-based formats is becoming increasingly popular whether it is on disk, the internet or intranet. Many companies want to move existing materials and produce new materials only on new media. This presents a number of challenges for authors and the companies involved. Michael Plant from TTPS went through this process for a large international client putting their product documentation and training into a web-based format. His case study shows how putting documentation into electronic format can reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction and strengthen your brand image.
Communication Breakdowns and How To Avoid Them by (Unknown) - Anyone who owns a word processor can put documentation together can’t they? Well yes, they can assemble a lot of words and perhaps even make it look pretty – but does it communicate effectively and efficiently? And will it help you sell your products? With a background that covers writing and editing books, guides and magazines as well as a variety of training materials, Malcolm Beaumont knows more than a thing or two about communications. Here he outlines some common pitfalls and their solutions and describes the benefits of clear, well thought out documentation.
Managing Propsals by (Unknown) - Managing Proposals – does it have to be a period of stress, headache and indecision or is it time for calm, logical and disciplined thinking? I was Proposals Manager for the Project Management Group but am now Managing Partner of AMR Enterprises, a specialist documentation consultancy based in Ireland working throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. I believe that the calm, disciplined and logical thinking route is always necessary when working on proposals. Because when a company produces a proposal, the stress levels of those involved rises - and those that aren’t stressed out are having panic attacks. Proposals are a time not to panic but to think clearly and to be disciplined: the calmer people are the more effective and greater their contribution and output.
Choosing the Right Tool for the Job: A Case Study by Stephen Helms - Lost in the maze of documentation tools? Read on to see how one solution to updating End User documentation became a winner for both the client and their customers.
Off-Site Working by Dave Leonard - Of course, for some types of work, off-site working has been acceptable and the norm for a number of years. Illustration, translation, graphic design and printing have all been achieved by visiting the client's premises, discussing the project’s details, agreeing specifications and then taking the job away to complete it elsewhere. However, this acceptance hasn't always been extended to the technical author's role. Traditional management views normally require the author to work on-site alongside the development team.
Why You Need a Quality Author by Mike Unwalla - "Users don't want documentation, they want answers". That's true, but how do you give them the answers? Through documentation (Of course, there are other options such as helpdesks and training courses).Documentation costs money, but not providing it will cost you a lot more money in the long run. This article looks at some of the issues involved, namely costs, the relative merits of online and paper documentation, the properties of an ideal author/writer, and pre-requisites to producing effective documentation.
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