January 23rd, 2012 by abbeyvint
Most successful marketing and advertising folks have embraced social media as an effective way to reach their customers. But it’s important to realize that these tools are not just for selling. At their core, they’re for sharing, exchanging information. They may create successful social interactions but don’t let the social aspect distract you. There’s lot of productive business interactions happening across a wide range of social media tools.
So, how can it help us technical writers? Here are a few ways I use these tools:
Social media lets you connect without being there – As a technical writer, having your hands in the product you’re documenting and having access to all of the developer and engineers that know about the product is essential. Social media tools, such as desktop sharing or instant messaging, make it easy to be spread all over and yet get things done exactly as though you were all in the same room. Instaing messaging is also great when clarifying correct text with developers without having to have a full meeting.
You can find answers to your questions – More than ever, you have access to experts. I regularly send out questions using social media tools internally and externally asking everything from how a user might want to access help for a certain type of product to grammatical and style preference questions.
You can query a wide range of users – Sure, there are still beta test groups that you can get specific information about the product and the accompanying documentation. And they’re good users to query since they are typically people who use the products you’re authoring about on a day-to-day basis. But, sometimes querying people who have an outside perspective can help to find new ways of authoring tasks and concepts.
It can change the way you author – Let’s face it. The way users take in information today is significantly different than what they did 10 years ago, 5 years even 2 years ago. It’s important to stay up-to-date with the different types of technology, so you can leverage the creativity found during the usage of these tools when you sit down to document the next product.
Technical writers have always be procurers and dissectors of information. Social media tools help you reach a more diverse set of users, a wide range of experts all in much faster and easy way than ever before.
Next post, I’ll go into a bit more detail about specific tools I use and what I use them for technical writing.
Tags: innovation, productivity, social media, technical writing, writing
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October 19th, 2011 by abbeyvint
 Fast Company website Read it – The inaugural post
I’ve decided to start a bit of a series on what types of things I’m reading and which sites I recommend for anyone interested in becoming more engaged in technology, technical writing and user experience.
My first selection actually got me back into magazine reading. For many years, I have spent the majority of my time reading online materials such as blogs or online articles. But when I got my issue of Fast Company in the mail two years ago, I read that issue cover to cover, finding something of interest in every story I came across.
Here are just a few reasons why I find it so engaging and why, as a technical enthusiast, I find it not only keeps me up to date but entertained.
Highlights true innovation – I have learned about more new technologies from Fast Company than I have even from any other source. The pages are filled with fascinating stories. I always learn something new about the world, what companies are doing to make changes and how people are leveraging their instincts to make the world a better place.
It’s global-ish – Yes, so most of the stories do focus on innovation in the United States but I find they do a good job of including snippets about innovation and technology that is happening all over the world. In one issue, I read about oil and money in Israel, battery innovation in Sweden and study habits of elite Beijing high school students. The editors do a great job of trying to really seek out stories that are happening all over the globe.
Articles for anytime – got 5 minutes? Check out Now, a section displayed in calendar format with short pieces on what’s happening on various days around the world. Got an hour? Dig into some of the longer feature articles on leading edge, technologies, companies and people. Usually with magazines, I do a read through skim before I dive into any articles. But I have to say, with Fast Company, my first flip through usually ends in me reading at least 2 or 3 of the longer articles.
You can find Fast Company on Facebook and Twitter:
Fast Company on Facebook
 @FastCompany
So, that’s what I’m reading – how about you? What gets your enthusiasm for technology buzzing? Comment below! We’d love to hear what you’re reading.
Tags: innovation, journalism, read it, technical writing
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October 6th, 2011 by abbeyvint
 Piecing it all together I recently completed some internal training on a few new XML and DITA tools and have had some thoughts percolating about the whole idea ever since.
If you’re not familiar with authoring in DITA, it’s a form of XML. You can find out more about XML here and DITA here. There are a ton of other valuable sources but I will touch on more of those in the months to come.
Here are just a few reflections I had after the training, things I will keep in mind as I start to shift into authoring in DITA.
Think more about each piece of text versus each deliverable
I’m intrigued in the building-block aspect of authoring in DITA; the idea that each piece of content can be chunked out into either a topic, a concept or a reference piece of information and those chunks of information can be built into a variety of different deliverables. When I’m assessing content, my mind usually will jump to brainstorming about the end product. Should this be a quick start guide? Is this information more relevant to an operations manual? Or is this information more valuable in online help? Authoring in DITA changes this mindset a bit. Suddenly, it’s about finding meaning in the piece of information and defining that information on its own. It’s still about analyzing all of the content, but it’s more focused on the individual pieces.
Multiple uses = multiple users
A user is a user is a user – or is she? We all know people learn and troubleshoot differently – and sometimes the context in which they’re searching for information can differ as well. It’s important when authoring in DITA that you really think about what the user will need this piece of information for AND if it’s authored in a way that it could stand on its own. It’s likely that this may end up being the ONLY piece of information they view to solve the problem. You don’t know what may come before or after and realistically at the point of authoring, you’re not always sure they will need any more than the piece they’ve been given.
Simplify simplify simplify
All technical documentation needs to be simple. But authoring in DITA it becomes even more critical. Because you don’t know what someone will be viewing before or after what you’ve written, you need to make sure the content is succinct. No more, “as we saw in the last chapter…” or “reviewing the next procedures after this one….” are statements that no longer have any purpose or meaning. And, some would argue, never really did, in the context of technical writing.
Change in one spot = changes everywhere
The success of any single source system stems from having a robust content management system, where you can store all of the master documents in one place. But authoring in DITA takes this success one step further.
Each topic can be updated on its own, so when you generate a final product, the DITA tool you’re using will pull from the most up to date information. It’s not just that you’re working with the most up to date document – it’s the actual task or concept is accurate, in real time.
Multiple products with similar procedures can be updated in a variety of ways —using variables or conditional text for example — but with DITA, there is truly ONE piece of content that is altered and referenced for every type of deliverable that needs that piece of information. Each time you create or in more technical terms generate a document, you are pulling from the most accurate piece of content. And it’s readily available. And everyone has access to it — even if it was updated by someone who’s now on vacation.
I’m really excited to get started with this. I know a lot of writers who have been writing this way for awhile so I’m ready to get in on the action. How about you? Are you new to authoring in DITA or are you an old hat at it? Either way, what do you think about it?
Tags: DITA, Innovatia, technical writing, XML
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September 14th, 2011 by admin
Day One of the Best Practices Conference in San Antonio. What a beautiful venue. I’ve never been before and it’s been an absolutely fun place to come for work or play. I spent much of Sunday afternoon enjoying a short cruise on the river – more like a canal that runs through the downtown – and then enjoying the Riverwalk, a lovely, well-lit, above ground, but below the street level, walk that meanders throughout the downtown area. It features lots of stone work, history and lots of shade to lessen the impact of the 100 degree weather in September. Great trek.
So, back to work last night and today, ready to see what magic there might be in measuring.
The keynote this morning, “How to Measure Everything”, thankfully was not actually about measuring everything, but about measuring the right things and it reinforced the fact that everything can be measured. Douglas Hubbard did a great job of reminding us that we do not necessarily need to be exact, we just need to measure it well enough to make good decisions.
Think of this analogy. Ideally if you were walking around in the dark, you’d like to have a flashlight to guide you, but in the absence of a flashlight, if you were offered a candle, would it help? Would you be better served to keep walking in the dark or could the candle serve the purpose. How much light do you need? Measurements are like candles. What measurements are good enough to help us make decisions on the path to take? That’s worth thinking about.
And speaking of measuring, how about the ability to have measurable improvement in product quality and reduce product development costs. Sound interesting? Given that Innovatia’s in the space of creating information around our customers’ products, I was happy to see a great topic today on how one company achieved this through tight collaboration between the product development and information development teams – in fact, making them part of the same team. At first the objective for doing this was to improve the quality of information created and as it turns out, and no surprise to those of us in this space, they were able to reduce the development time and improve the quality of the PRODUCTS themselves, not just the documents and other information they created about the products – very cool.
So, as information developers, our job is to figure out how to engage in this way with product development. It’s a bit of a sell job since it may not be intuitive for them at first. The trick is to figure out how to provide value early for them while creating the longer term overall benefit. One very good suggestion was to collaborate to create a tool to help them to capture information that the information developers need – saving them time in communication later – or figure out how to extract the information from wherever they store it today without much intervention from them – and then provide them with feedback on how to keep it simple so that it’s later consumable by the users. Definitely worth exploring for a number of reasons.
As Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”. Think that’ll be my new mantra.
Carolin Calder
GM, Documentation Solutions
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September 12th, 2011 by admin
It’s Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011 and I’m travelling to San Antonio to my first CIDM Best Practices conference … CIDM being the Centre for Information Development Management. The theme of the conference is measuring – “The Important of Measuring Everything- And How to Do It”. Very interesting. For me, it’s about two things: 1) VALUE and 2) MANAGEMENT. Regardless of the industry or business you’re in, knowing the value you provide your customers and the value you get from your suppliers and employees is critical. And I’m a great believer in the saying “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
We make decisions every day on purchases and compare prices and products or services. Some things I find easy to compare and assign a value to – for me and many, commodity-type items fall in this category. But many times it’s all a matter of taste and personal preference and this too will affect PERCEIVED VALUE.
I like a certain style of pen – being left-handed, my pens need to be smear resistant. I know what flavours of ice-cream I like, chocolate and maple walnut, and sometimes in that order. I know that I’d rather pay a little more for a great cup of coffee – by the way, if you’re ever in Saint John, New Brunswick on the east coast of Canada, you need to check out Java Moose. Their coffee is luscious and locally roasted and brewed. I’ve also had enough bad haircuts to know that for the right cut, myself and others will pay more – we assign a higher value.
Other things are much more difficult to compare – and sometimes really getting your arms around that is a challenge – but no less important.
So, my journey today takes me to a space where people will be talking about measuring and value and management in the space of Information Management. I’ve got some ideas myself I’ll share another day, but I’m hoping that my investment will bring the VALUE I expect from this conference.
Carolin Calder
GM, Documentation Solutions
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July 27th, 2011 by abbeyvint
Between technical writing and instructional design projects, I come into contact with a wide range of subject matter experts, better known as SMEs. As a writer, building a solid relationship with a SME is important to me. She knows the subject. I know how to convey the information. Combined, we’re a double threat.
Every project is different and the requirements of a SME and a writer can vary based on the type of content and audience you’re working with. The success of a project can come down to the relationship built between the writer and the SME. Setting expectations of both the writer and the SME at the beginning of a project will not only help create a great rapport but also contribute to the success of the project.
So, you ask, what makes a good SME? I’ve put together three key ideas to think about when you’re asked to be an expert about content.
Know what you know – You may not be able to write the words or structure the content in the way a user needs but you know your subject. If you’ve chosen the right company, you’ll be working with writers who know how to express your ideas in a way that users will engage in and understand. You don’t need to worry about whether to use “that” or “which” in a sentence. You shouldn’t need to decide whether active or passive tense is appropriate for the content. You shouldn’t even need to worry the styles your company adheres to because the right writer will know all of that. Focus your time on making sure what is being described is accurate and leave the writing, styles and execution of the content to the writer. That is what you’re paying them for after all.
Be prompt with your response – Everyone’s got a lot on their plate. And probably part of the reason you’ve hired someone to put your documentation or training program together is because you don’t have the time to properly dedicate to successful development. But taking time to get back to a writer with a question will save time in the long run. Most writers I know will always combine a list of questions together before they send them off to a SME. Sometimes, SMEs prefer to have a daily scrum type meeting to answer any question. Or perhaps there is a bit of both. Whatever works for you, make sure you’ve agreed on an approach that will keep the writer moving forward and get a to-do checked off your list.
Flexibility and patience go a long way – Sure –it would be great if everyone knew as much as you did about your subject but hey, that’s why you’re the expert! What’s more, the reason you’ve hired someone to put together a manual, an online video, a training course or some web based training is so that others can benefit from the information that you already know. Writers try their best to do up front research and analysis of content but even with the best intentions, follow up questions are inevitable and misunderstandings of the content are par for the course. Just be prepared for this, work with the writer to be as clear as possible and be patient. You may have been asked the question 100 times but the writer has usually only just begun to understand it all. And by the time a writer is done, the reward will be that you probably won’t have to answer that question again because you’ll have a great piece of documentation or training product to provide instead.
Tags: instructional design, subject matter expert, technical writing
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May 9th, 2011 by abbeyvint
We’ve all heard of writer’s block. I’d even go as far to say it’s more of a creative block than something exclusive to writers. Over the years, however, everyone finds their own way to push through.
In addition to making sure I have a few things on my plate, I also try a couple of other activities to keep my writing time as productive as possible.
Stretch it out with yoga — Working from home has many benefits, (thank you Innovatia! ) one of which is that you can actually do some yoga over your lunch hour without having to go much further than your living room. Yoga is an incredibly amazing activity for so many reasons, and it certainly is my first go-to when I’m struggling to get my creativity flowing.
Give it the run-around — I started running long distance about three years ago and I find it -in the same way yoga – a great way to get my mind thinking in a directive way. I can usually flush something out on a run, and most of my ideas come up when I’m pounding the pavement. Special thanks to my audio recorder on my smartphone for the many ideas captured as I’m mid-stride.
Have a cuppa — I often step away to the kitchen, put the kettle on and go through my personal tea ritual: Open the cupboard. Stare at my (far too many) tins of tea – I’m a David’s Tea fan myself. Pick a tea. Prepare my looseleaf tea pot. Stare until water boils. Pour hot water to pot. Steep for 5+ minutes. Fill mug. Inhale. Sip. Sigh-of-relief exhale. Over the course of that little routine, my creative neurons tend to shift, and suddenly, words and ideas flow just a little easier.
Other people’s words — Magazines, newspapers, novels, crosswords – anything other than my own words. Just taking a few minutes away from the laptop to stop looking at my words over and over again usually help me regroup. When I’m back, it’s like starting anew.
These are just a few activities that I find work for me, but what about you? When you just can’t make the words and ideas flow as you wish, how to you try to outwit and beat the block?
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April 12th, 2011 by abbeyvint
I’ve been fortunate enough in the past couple of months to be working a few different projects, sometimes even simultaneously. I’ve discovered that this not only keeps me motivated and moving but also makes my writing better.
Here’s why:
It’s not forced- every writer has those moments in front of the screen where the words just .. won’t .. come. It can be a struggle sometimes to force yourself to push through and in the end, you may create something, but it’s not always going to be your best effort. By having multiple projects going on, you’re able to jump off of the ones that are stumping you and come back to them later.
Your time is more productive- there’s nothing more frustrating then trying to use your time effectively when your brain is just not wrapping itself around the work at hand. By stepping away from one piece of content and focusing on another, you’re able to make sure all of your time is focused on getting a piece of work done and not going around in circles on the same piece.
You hit the deadlines with higher quality- Multiple projects does mean you have to be realistic with deadlines but as long as they are spaced accordingly, you will probably spend less effort by hour to complete something, even if the duration is pushed out by a day or so. By working on the content when you are engaged and focused on the particular topic, not only does quality of the content increase, but, so too does the likelihood of hitting the deadline.
I encourage you to make yourself available to multiple teams, if it’s an option for you. You will get so much more in your day, have a greater sense of accomplishment and ultimately create higher quality work.
Tags: Innovatia, productivity, projects, technical writing, writing
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March 15th, 2011 by abbeyvint
I recently returned from an successful two week on-site client visit and have been reflecting on some of the pluses that occurred over my time there.
I often found myself reminded of my journalistic days – researching, interviewing, writing – all under a tight deadline.
I never expected those skills I honed years ago to make the front page would help me develop simplified documentation for highly complex systems.It felt great to be using those muscles again.
It solidified for me even more the importance of clear communications when it comes to working with multiple members of technical staff. There are always moving pieces and conflicting ideas about how actions should be carried out - just like two sides to every story.
It’s important to be able to bring some clarity to a process by combining ideas and compromising on the end result. And to do get it all done on deadline – yet another great carry over from my journalism days.
Tags: journalism, technical writing
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February 15th, 2011 by abbeyvint
I’ve been thinking a lot about visual platforms to deliver content and pondering just how the technical writer fits into this space.
I use videos for a wide variety of tasks – perfecting a recipe, learning new tools about software, enhancing my home yoga practice – all used for different motivations in my life. But it got me thinking – the end product has lots of visuals but what was the writing effort involved, if any? And, for the videos or multi-media pieces I don’t find useful, what role has the development of the words played in the creation of these pieces?
And as we progress towards a more interactive way of online-offline life, it will become even more important for technical writers to understand how to script this type of content.
Here are a just a few components to keep in mind when thinking of technical writing for visual platforms:
Storyboards – these tools are used in a variety of industries, not just technical writing, to put together the text and flow that surrounds a visual presentation. Most of the technical writing storyboards I’m familiar with have been written for a web-based training. The text is usually short and succinct, incorporating a variety of instructional design principles for the flow of the course.
Scriptwriting for multimedia – and no, I’m not talking about the Oscar-type. I’m talking about writing scripts for items like training or show-me videos. Obviously there needs to be some sort of conversational tone as part of this text but it’s important that the wording sounds authentic, not too scripted and not too casual. Someone will be reading this text – so I find sometimes it helps to imagine who may be reading it.
Scripting for How To videos – similar to the multimedia scripting, short and sweet is a key component for these types of videos. Whether it’s demonstrating how to open a can of tuna or detailing the complexity of taking apart a piece of technical equipment, I find it’s always better to keep them to the point. This doesn’t mean there can’t be a series of videos to demonstrate a longer sequence but it’s important to keep in mind users today are accustomed to information in short spurts. We as writers need to make sure we keep our instruction detailed and valuable yet concise. With an instructor as part of this platform, we also need to keep in mind that they will be a show-me aspect of these videos.
These platforms have significant visual components but they are still driven by words. It’s important if you are developing these types of products that you retain a good writer to create solid building block for your visual delivery.
Tags: instructional design, technical writing, video writing
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