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Item Upon - The Death of the Technical Author?
Business process monitoring helps those in authority determine the exact situation of the flow of all business processes and how they are carried out in real time. Alerts are sounded, indicating possible breakdowns of business processes while business process monitoring systems are installed. Initially, firms were hesitant to use business-monitoring systems, as they need to provide detailed workflow process, which made it a very expensive investment. This is no longer the case, and more and more business are looking to implement business process monitoring.Business process monitoring systems help identify the inefficiencies of the IT infrastructure of a firm and help identify ways they can be modified. These systems also ensure consistent work flow by identifying breakdowns before they happen, causing action to be taken to prevent disruption of work flow, thereby making sure there is value
We call this skill "information design". It is sometimes called (in Germany, for example) "information development". We believe these skills in information design have a wider application to the business than just the development of u
This week I spent a few hours with a highly successful CEO discussing his brand identity questions and concerns. “What do the most successful brand initiatives have in common?” he asked. I shared an observation with him based on many years of having similar conversations and being involved in successful (and not so successful) branding programs.There are a lot of reasons to embark on a major corporate branding program, but from the point of view of a CEO, most of them are simply not compelling. For many years I have watched marketers and design managers struggle to get large scale identity programs funded and supported by senior-most management. Even though there are clear breakdowns caused by the existing identity systems and designers believe they are presenting a clear, rational justification for investment…their attempts are rebuffed more often than accepted.While designers think
The problems
Let's first look at a number of issues that Technical Authors face :
1. Overlapping technologies means overlapping job roles
Technologies and software are developing in a way that means the boundaries between the programmer, the Technical Author, the Web Developer and the Trainer are becoming blurred. For example, the online Help that will ship with the next release of Windows (code name Longhorn) may look more like a Web site or a Web-based learning (CBT) system than the type of Help files we currently see. This means that some Technical Authors feel they are being "crowded out" and losing their jobs, as their work is taken on by others within the organisation.
2. The work can be done in other ways
From time to time new software or technology will come out that will lead some technology evangelists to claim you can away with the need for "man-made" user assistance. Common themes appear and reappear with each technology wave, with people claiming:
3. It's a specialist and lonely job
Many are in an environment where they are the only Technical Author in their organisation, and this can mean their career path is unclear.
4. Their contribution to the business can be uncertain.
Some people perceive what Technical Authors produce to be a necessary evil - something that needs to be provided, but not actually of any great value. So they look to keep costs, and consequently the quality, to a minimum.
So what do Technical Authors do that is of value to the organisation?
We believe Technical Authors, as well as specialist documentation companies, are valuable to the organisation in:
We call this skill "information design". It is sometimes called (in Germany, for example) "information development". We believe these skills in information design have a wider application to the business than just the development of u
Most small business owners find themselves in a Catch 22 situation because on one hand, they need to increase the customer base, but on the other hand, they cannot hire enough employees to service these new customers.Small business merchant accounts can help the small business owner to over come this dilemma. Small business merchant accounts allow the business owner to accept payments from customers in various modes such as credit cards, checks, and other electronic mediums. Electronic check processing and credit card payment processing are some of the more popular payment methods today. Payment gateways that come with a small business merchant account allow the instant processing of purchases, and this rapid processing allows the merchant to handle many more transactions more quickly.As the payment process is made simpler and safer, more customers return for repeat purchases, and th
1. Overlapping technologies means overlapping job roles
Technologies and software are developing in a way that means the boundaries between the programmer, the Technical Author, the Web Developer and the Trainer are becoming blurred. For example, the online Help that will ship with the next release of Windows (code name Longhorn) may look more like a Web site or a Web-based learning (CBT) system than the type of Help files we currently see. This means that some Technical Authors feel they are being "crowded out" and losing their jobs, as their work is taken on by others within the organisation.
2. The work can be done in other ways
From time to time new software or technology will come out that will lead some technology evangelists to claim you can away with the need for "man-made" user assistance. Common themes appear and reappear with each technology wave, with people claiming:
3. It's a specialist and lonely job
Many are in an environment where they are the only Technical Author in their organisation, and this can mean their career path is unclear.
4. Their contribution to the business can be uncertain.
Some people perceive what Technical Authors produce to be a necessary evil - something that needs to be provided, but not actually of any great value. So they look to keep costs, and consequently the quality, to a minimum.
So what do Technical Authors do that is of value to the organisation?
We believe Technical Authors, as well as specialist documentation companies, are valuable to the organisation in:
We call this skill "information design". It is sometimes called (in Germany, for example) "information development". We believe these skills in information design have a wider application to the business than just the development of u
If you own a business, you also have to install a communication system to run it. It is simply unthinkable to run a business without the right type of communication system, which is the backbone of your business. Each and every member of your staff needs to have a telephone or other communication device for running business operations smoothly.With as many communication devices as the number of staff in your business establishment, the chances of over-billing and even the misuse of the communication network can never be ruled out. This means your hard-earned revenues may be going down the drain while you are planning and working overtime to increase the efficiency of your resources to maximize your profits.You need to put a check on this drain. For this, you can contact a Telecom Audit agency to look into your communication network. The agency can offer suggestions for improving eff
3. It's a specialist and lonely job
Many are in an environment where they are the only Technical Author in their organisation, and this can mean their career path is unclear.
4. Their contribution to the business can be uncertain.
Some people perceive what Technical Authors produce to be a necessary evil - something that needs to be provided, but not actually of any great value. So they look to keep costs, and consequently the quality, to a minimum.
So what do Technical Authors do that is of value to the organisation?
We believe Technical Authors, as well as specialist documentation companies, are valuable to the organisation in:
We call this skill "information design". It is sometimes called (in Germany, for example) "information development". We believe these skills in information design have a wider application to the business than just the development of u
When a company or business looks for insurance, there may be a set requirement for insurance on their lease or loan for the business. In these cases, lack of the proper insurance can result in them losing everything.On the other hand, insurance companies require a specific type of insurance for different types of businesses. For instance, if an insured company is high risk for theft, then they require much more theft coverage insurance as well as a higher premium to cover the potential losses.Compliance jobs in the UK are common. The people in these kinds of roles spend most of their time ensuring that the regulations of the insured party are met, that the terms of the insurance requirements on their lease or loan are met and to ensure that the insurance company’s terms are met. Compliance jobs also entail finding the right policy and insurance company for the company wishing to be i
3. It's a specialist and lonely job
Many are in an environment where they are the only Technical Author in their organisation, and this can mean their career path is unclear.
4. Their contribution to the business can be uncertain.
Some people perceive what Technical Authors produce to be a necessary evil - something that needs to be provided, but not actually of any great value. So they look to keep costs, and consequently the quality, to a minimum.
So what do Technical Authors do that is of value to the organisation?
We believe Technical Authors, as well as specialist documentation companies, are valuable to the organisation in:
We call this skill "information design". It is sometimes called (in Germany, for example) "information development". We believe these skills in information design have a wider application to the business than just the development of u
One of the key factors to a successful fundraising event and future fundraising events is to follow up with the supporters, volunteers and participants after the fundraiser is completed and the numbers are tallied!Taking the time to add that personal touch will go a long way in the eyes of your supporters, participants, volunteers and sponsors. Take the time to send them a thank you card and thank them for the time spent helping through out the fundraiser. This will help assure that they are pleased as well and they will want to participate again next year.Not only should you thank your supports, merchants, volunteers and supporters for their participation and contributions within your fundraising event but they will most likely want to know the ending results of the fundraiser. How much money was raised in total - Yet another reason they will want to participate in your next event,
We call this skill "information design". It is sometimes called (in Germany, for example) "information development". We believe these skills in information design have a wider application to the business than just the development of user manuals, procedures documents and Help files. These skills - organising information and providing the means by which people get that information - can help organisations fight and win the "information overload" battle.
Our recommendations
Technical Authors' skills need to be applied more widely across the organisation. In other words, create an Information Design department.
We suggest the role of the Technical Author should be redefined as "Information Designer" and the Technical Publications department should be redefined as the "Information Design" department. Doing this should help to make it clearer to everyone where their specialist skills - making large amounts of unstructured information more useful - can be applied elsewhere in the organisation.
IT departments don't have information design skills. Quality Managers don't have these, nor do marketing executives or Webmasters. The Technical Author (or Information Designer) does have these skills, and can offer these skills to anyone in the organisation that has to deal with large amounts of unstructured information.
Cherryleaf (along with other similar organisations) applies its skills to others outside of the technical authoring and software development community. For example, we work with people who are interested in improving their intranet, quality management systems, sales proposals or training courseware. So there's good reason to believe these newly named "Information Designers" could contribute in a similar way within their own organisations.
1. Carry out usability testing to measure the value of what technical authors produce
Some form of measurement needs to take place if you want to place a value on something. Jakob Nielsen (www.useit.com) has described how meaningful usability studies can be carried out for a small amount of effort. So test to see what happens if users don't have any documentation, and how they react to different types of user assistance.
2. Get involved in the development of new software at an earlier stage
As online user assistance becomes more tightly integrated with the software, the Technical Author will need to be more tightly integrated with the development of the software, right from the beginning of the process.
3. Acquire the additional skills needed
The role today requires more than just writing. It requires skills in online information design and usability. In the future, it could require skills in writing JavaScript and developing e-learning content. However, some of the need to hack into code can probably be avoided if you use the most popular Help authoring tools. These developments in the role probably mean more training is required by Technical Authors.
4. Use the right tools for the job
The latest software from the main software vendors
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