Information Design and Management in 2004 and Beyond
 The James River Chapter STC organized and ran its first regional technical communications conference on the weekend of January 15, 2004 in Williamsburg, VA. Our host site for the conference was the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Historic Williamsburg. Despite the short notice resulting from our late decision to host this event, it attracted world-class speakers as well as highly qualified local professionals.
The cost for STC and Chapter members was held to $20.00 per person, not including the discounted room rate offered by the hotel.
A highlight of the Conference was the declaration issued by The Honorable Mark Warner, then Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, recognizing the value technical communicators provide to the economy and communities within the state.
Keynote Speaker—Vici Koster-Lenhardt
Ms. Koster-Lenhardt, then the STC Region 2 Director-Sponsor, is a Senior STC member, having joined the Society in 1994. In 1998, she proposed and helped establish the TransAlpine Chapter (Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland) and then served as its first president.
Ms. Koster-Lenhardt was born and raised in northern New Jersey and currently lives in Vienna, Austria. She works with Coca-Cola Computer Services in Vienna. As the department manager, her staff has grown from three full-time writers to 11 writers and an editor. Ms. Koster-Lernhard’s department is part of the Development organization and its products support the Coca-Cola bottling business around the world. The documentation library includes more than 30,000 pages of documentation that explain how to install and use more than 30 business and technical software applications running on the IBM AS/400.
At home in the USA before her overseas move, Ms. Koster-Lenhardt worked at MOTOR Magazine, a Hearst publication, as Assistant editor and promotion research manager and for The New York Times and The Courier News. She earned her B.A. in Journalism from New York University in 1984.
Banquet Guest Speaker—Mary Wise
Clowns, acrobats, jugglers, flyers: these are the performers who present a wonderful show for you. Behind the scenes, though, are many other people who are vital to the success of the show: roustabouts, prop handlers, and office staff ensure a smooth operation. How does a circus resemble a career in technical communication? Who are the performers and who are the supporters? How can you, as a technical communicator, ensure that your performance receives rave reviews? Mary Wise, a former circus clown and current technical communicator, shared the lessons she learned from her show–business career.
About the Speaker
Mary R. Wise is a Senior Communications Manager at Fannie Mae and Associate Fellow of STC. She manages the curriculum for the Housing Finance Institute, a seminar series that teaches mortgage professionals how to work effectively with Fannie Mae. Before moving to her current position, Mary was Senior Manager of Technical Communication at Manugistics, Inc., where she directed the development of documentation for the company’s supply chain management software products. She has over 20 years experience in technical communication, including stints as word processor, technical writer, instructional designer, and staff manager. Her STC service includes positions as annual conference program manager, Region 2 Director-Sponsor, and Society President. Although she has a B.A. from the University of Maryland, Mary feels her background as a circus clown prepared her well for both her corporate and STC jobs.
Sessions
A Case Study: Content drives Form drives Content
This presentation examined the lessons learned from the development and publication of the “State of the Valley,” published in November 2003 by the Valley Conservation Council. This document was to be a highly technical land-use planning “infomercial” targeting political decision-makers, advocacy groups and professional planners in the Shenandoah Valley. Each of 2000 copies, with 138 pages perfect-bound that included 98 charts, maps, and tables, needed to be intelligible to both non-technical and technical users. The speaker reviews the role of limited budgets in a small not-for-profit affect decisions and how content and design/layout play off each other dynamically as the document evolves from research notes and an outline to a printed publication.
About the Speaker
David Pugh’s dogged pursuit of eclectic excellence has been consistently recognized by colleagues and employers, beginning with the US Army, which assigned him as a K-9 handler working in a noted tropical location during the 1970s. Subsequently graduating from Eckerd College with a BA in Economics, Mr. Pugh entered into a career as a Foreign Service specialist with the US Department of State. In addition to managing facilities and construction at posts around the world, Mr. Pugh edited local newsletters and authored white papers and marketing research studies to further US economic interests and opportunities. Mr. Pugh earned his MBA from Tulane University during his Foreign Service career. Following his retirement in 1998, Mr. Pugh went into the expanding field of technical communications, earning Publications Specialist certification from The George Washington University whilst working as a Technical Editor at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Mr. Pugh currently resides in bucolic splendor near Staunton VA, where he continues to write for regional planning authorities while keeping bees and dabbling in farming. Mr. Pugh is active in community service with the James River Chapter STC, Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, and as a local Big Brother.
Contractor Furnished Military Technical Manuals
This workshop shared insights into the very broad world of military technical documentation. Generally speaking, technical manuals are either Government- or contractor-furnished. This presentation specifically looked at the development of contractor-furnished Navy technical manuals. Presentation topics included:
- Technical documentation MILSPECs
- Technical Manual Contract Requirements (TMCRs)
- Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) manuals (and how they compare/contrast with “MILSPEC” manuals)
- The Hull, Mechanical, and Electrical Equipment/Systems Technical Manual Production and Style Guide (NAVSEA S0300-AX-GYD-010)
- Qualifications Defense-related employers look for in technical communicators
- Public Internet resources for further information
Several unclassified contractor-prepared HM&E technical manuals, TMCRs, and related handouts were available for participants.
About the Speaker
Zachary Bridges is a Technical Writer in the Logistics Engineering and Services Group of AMSEC LLC. An AMSEC employee since October 1999, his duties include the development of new, changed, and revised CVN 68 Class Aircraft Carrier component and system technical and maintenance manuals using associated engineering source data and logistics research tools in accordance with established ISO 9001:2000 procedures.
Mr. Bridges held the responsibility of “Ship Lead” (Production Lead) for the USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76) program from September 2000 to March 2003. During this period he was responsible for providing daily leadership and production support to over 30 technical writers and illustrators, plus tracking and analysis, for nearly 800 technical documentation products under contract.
Developing a Technical Style Guide for Use in a “Multilocational” Corporation
Developing a style guide for organization use is challenging; developing a style guide for an organization with multiple locations and multiple products is even more so. In 2004, technical communicators at Leitch Technology Corporation took on the task of rewriting a style guide to reflect corporate changes and documentation developments that occurred since the guide was first introduced. They needed to develop a manual that:
- Reflected the same “look and feel” for documentation developed at multiple locations for different products.
- Could be used for both software and hardware documentation development, as well as online documentation.
- Included the desires and often conflicting opinions of a variety of technical writers.
About the Speakers
Katherine Estes has been a technical writer for over 20 years and has worked in both public and private sectors. She has written training materials, software documentation, and hardware documentation for products ranging from serial protocol translators to marine engines and stern drives. Currently she works for Leitch Technology Corporation at its Chesapeake location. Katherine is a member of the James River Chapter of the Society for Technical Communications.
Vivian Viitala has been a technical writer for over 6 years. She has written software documentation for 3-D authoring and rendering software, and for a new line of integrated content environment products. She has written hardware documentation for a variety of video and audio broadcasting products. Currently she works for Leitch Technology, Inc. at its Toronto location, where she is the departmental team leader responsible for coordinating the activities of full- and part-time technical writers and co-operative students. Vivian is a member of the Toronto Chapter of the Society for Technical Communications.
This presentation offered an employee’s perspective on working away from an office environment. This session briefly described telecommuting and its purpose, and also went into detail about common myths, pros/cons, tips/tools for successful telecommuting, and suggestions for implementing a program in your company. The handout may help you find out if telecommuting can work for you.
About the Speaker
Ellyn Hassell received a BA in English and an MA in English/Concentration in Technical Writing from East Carolina University. After graduating from ECU in 1999, she began working as a technical writer at Blackbaud, Inc. in Charleston, SC. For the past 2.5 years, she has been telecommuting for Blackbaud out of Richmond, VA. At Blackbaud, Ellyn focuses primarily on writing and updating software manuals and help files, is co-lead for creating and maintaining all indexes, and leads usability initiatives for her team and department. Ellyn is currently scheduled to speak on usability at STC's 51st Annual Conference in May 2004.
Intercultural Technical Communication: Globalizing the Role of the Technical Professional
We’ve heard it said many times: “It’s a small world.” Technologies such as portable computers, compatible cell phones, and wireless connectivity to the Internet reinforce the notion of “It’s a small world.” But for those of us working in or with cultures different from our own, the world is still a vast and varied array of distances, large and small. Technical professionals find themselves at the forefront of interaction with members of many cultures, working together in a technical environment. These technical professionals (including documentation specialists, product designers, engineers and project managers) rely on clear and effective communication across cultures to ensure safety, functionality and acceptance of their products and services in global markets.
This presentation addressed the need for raising our cultural awareness, provided a framework for discussion of national cultures, and identified strategies for project management and team building across cultures. The (outdated) concept of Corporate Culture with respect to National Culture was discussed along with real life anecdotes and tips for avoiding an intercultural communication crisis.
About the Speaker
Kathryn King is an Interculturalist with an emphasis on communication issues facing the Technical Professional. Ms. King has developed a graduate level course, Intercultural Technical Communication, for the MSPTC (Master of Science in Professional and Technical Communication) program at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). She is dedicated to promoting professionalism in the niche market where Intercultural Studies and Technical Communication converge. Consequently, she is active in SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research) and STC (Society for Technical Communication) and is enthusiastic about the STC SIG (Special Interest Group) on Intercultural Technical Communication (ITC). She has attended workshops given by the Intercultural Management Institute at the American University in Washington, D.C. and at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.
Ms. King currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria and is able to lecture for NJIT via their distance learning program. Prior to moving to Lagos, she spent five years in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and served as the Executive Director for the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM). In addition to her work advocating US trade in Malaysia, Ms. King has worked for ExxonMobil (Reservoir Engineering), NJIT (Special Lecturer), Autodesk (Marketing and Training) and Ventura County (Operations Analyst. Ms. King holds an MS in Professional and Technical Communication from NJIT and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University.
Never Done Training? It’s In Your Job Description
In this workshop, the speaker reviewed some of the organizing principles that professionals use: doing a training needs evaluation, writing instructional objectives, establishing training objectives, and consistently presenting training materials. Participants practiced writing simple instructional objectives and success criteria based on procedures and user manual instructions.
About the Speaker
Robert Meyer has been a technical writing and training professional for almost 20 years, including involvement with programs for NATO, the US Army, and Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) in Italy, Sweden, and Germany. He has been in the US since 1994, doing technical writing, training, and information management development for companies in Richmond, Virginia.
Online Navigation Strategies
This presentation described the various methods used to create and maintain effective, efficient navigation within Web sites and Web-based content. The speaker discussed the breadth and structure of Web navigation as well as anchor links, breadcrumbs, title bars, indexing, labels, and menu styles and placement.
About the Speaker
Michelle Touchette is a communications specialist with extensive experience designing and writing for print and digital media. Her area of expertise is corporate communications and marketing ranging from not–for–profit to manufacturing to upscale retail. Dedicated to balancing practical application and theoretical research she distributes her time between consulting, teaching, and research.
She completed a one-year tour as an AmericorpsVISTA coordinating literacy and citizenship programs in urban elementary schools, moved from the Midwest to Richmond, and is re–establishing herself as a communications professional in the private sector.
Single Sourcing with Word and FrameMaker; XML Strategizing
Two of the most popular tools for authoring technical information are Microsoft Word and Adobe FrameMaker. Often, organizations are required to move information from one source to another. This session demonstrated how to round-trip information between Microsoft Word and Adobe FrameMaker. Many technical publication groups use FrameMaker as the strategic tool for single source publishing. The speaker showed that both tools have a specific time and place for use, pointing out that content often needs to flow between these applications. He helped participants learn how to correctly develop FrameMaker to best use cross-references, generated files, master pages, hypertext commands, and more to breathe life and interactivity into your documents. His presentation encouraged others to take Word and make the documents they create “fly” from the automation added to a traditional template that drives content dynamically and allows for simpler conversion. The speaker also showed how to add the power of XML to both tools, creating a combination that allows for dynamic exchange of data without the problems normally associated with content conversion. The speaker believes that publishing smarter is what software is supposed to allow us to do. This session showed specific steps to develop a publishing system that is better, faster, and smarter.
About the Speaker
A recognized publishing technologies expert, Bernard Aschwanden presents at conferences and events across Europe and North America. Bernard is an Adobe Certified Expert, a Certified Technical Trainer and the author of numerous publications on publishing and single sourcing. A dynamic and entertaining speaker, he tailors his presentations to the audience and welcomes participation.
As the Managing Director of Front Runner Publishing Solutions, a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication, and past president of the Computer Trainers Network, Bernard has helped hundreds of companies implement successful publishing solutions. Bernard is focused on publishing better, publishing faster, publishing smarter.
SnagIt® Demonstration
This demonstration of the then-newest version of SnagIt showed participants how to use the updated tool to:
- Capture an entire screen, window, program menus, scrolling windows, DirectX sources, DOS screens, digital camera images and any on-screen activity
- Quickly access common capture features from within Adobe FrameMaker and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Internet Explorer
- Send screen shots to multiple sources
- Use the SnagIt editing component, SnagIt Studio
- Use the SnagIt Catalog Browser
Note: This material is not available from our Web site.
About the Speaker
Mr. Murphy, a son of South Carolina who feels much more at home in sunny Montreal, has fifteen plus years of technical writing experience with substantial and diverse work in a variety of settings. Currently the Senior Technical Communicator for Venturi Technology Partners in Richmond, Virginia, Mr. Murphy has authored communications products for the Commonwealth State Corporation Commission, Christian Children’s Fund, Philip Morris USA, NHC Communications, Butler Service Group—Canada, ICS Learning Center, Canadair, Ltd., and Muir Publishing, Inc. Mr. Murphy received his Certificate in Technical Communications and his BA in English Literature from Concordia University.
Where Does It Go From Here? An Examination of Professional Opportunities in Everyday Life
The speaker believed that, as writers faced with job demands, we often develop tunnel vision and “tunnel skills” that enable us to effectively perform our day-to-day job responsibilities. However effective that approach is, he felt that it does not necessarily encourage us to develop skills above and beyond those immediately applicable to our job. Yet in today’s volatile job market, he pointed out that it’s essential that we develop a palette of “extra-job” or “non-job related” skills to make sure we not only retain value in the general marketplace, but provide added value as employees.
About the Speaker
Born at an early age, Christopher Thiessen lived most of his formative years in a small stone house filled with weasels, but had an otherwise normal childhood. His service over 25 years to STC chapters in Kentucky, Atlanta, and central Virginia resulted in the receipt of the Distinguished Chapter Service Award from the Atlanta Chapter. He’s also played guitar for more than 35 years.
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