this issue: book review: information design workbook
TRANSCRIPT
Orange County STC Newsletter
www.stc.org January 2010 Vol. 49, No. 1
This Issue:
Book Review: Information Design Workbook 1
Editor’s Desk 2
Next Meeting (a Saturday morning meeting) 3
EduNotes 5
Society Pages 6
OCSTC Employment Information 6
Orange Slice— Calendar of Events 8
January Meeting Info 8
Book Review: Information Design WorkbookBy Lu Kondor, Faculty Adjunct, California State University, Dominguez Hills
The Information Design Workbook by Kim
Baer is an interesting book that, at first ap-pearance, looks like a coffee table book filled with beautiful graphics; however, it shouldn’t languish on the coffee table or the bookshelf collecting dust. While not for everyone, the Information Design Workbook contains 30 case studies of design, typography, tips, and approaches to creating improved presentation of information.
Who says all technical communication has to be bland and clinical? Baer provides inspiration for documents through discussions and examples of typography, layout, design, and visual processes for the communication of information. While some material is meant to be represented in a way that’s appropriate for the subject matter, such as truly clinical informa-
tion, other information can be made approachable and pleasant to read by creat-ing visually interesting, elegant, and clean-looking graphics. This book con-tains interesting examples of print and web sites and information design recom-mendations for exhibits, displays, packaging, inter-active projects, charts, and experimental case studies.
The book has interesting short sections by guest writers on topics like plain language. As William Lutz explains, “Writing plain language is not about reformatting and making shorter sentences. You have to rethink the whole document. What is it you want to say, who are you saying it to?”
This is my new go-to book for inspiration when I want something visu-ally stimulating yet technically informative. The case studies the book ex-amines are very good and provide an overview of how various organiza-tions present challenging information. What I really like about this book is that it reminds me of integrating my design roots as well as the techni-cal and writing side of document creation. (If you’re already a graphic designer, this book may be one of many you already own on the topic.)
Book Information:
Information Design Workbook: Graphic Approaches, Solutions, and Inspiration + 30 Case Studies By Kim Baer (Jill Vacarra—contributing writer) Rockport Publishers, 2008
2 • January 2010
Chapter Contacts
OCSTC P.O. Box 28751 Santa Ana, CA 92799-8751
Chapter Fax: 949.830.7585
Web site: http://www.ocstc.org
Administrative CouncilPresident, Betsy Malone, [email protected]
Past President, Bruce Giddens, [email protected]
1st Vice Presidents, Programs, Jane Baker and Suzanne Madison [email protected]
2nd Vice Presidents, Membership, Penny Marco and Pat Olsen [email protected]
Treasurer, Shannon Summers, [email protected]
Secretary, Neala Covell, [email protected]
AppointeesTechniScribe Managing Editor, Jennifer Gardelle, [email protected]
Public Relations, Open
Education, Bill Darnall, [email protected]
Scholarship Chair, Carrie Damschroder, [email protected]
Webmaster, Jeff Randolph, [email protected]
Employment Manager, Betsy Malone, [email protected]
Committees Nominating Committee:
Bill Darnall, [email protected]
Adrienne Escoe, [email protected]
Jeff Randolph, [email protected]
Bruce Giddens, [email protected]
Editor’s DeskBy Jennifer Gardelle, TechniScribe Managing Editor
Happy New Year 2010! I thought I’d start the
New Year with a series of thoughts and postulations to elicit some feedback—or future articles. I welcome all subjects and concerns, and, as always, I appreciate your contribution.
Google WaveGoogle Wave is rumored to be the latest revolu-tion in collaboration. In this era of high-pressure, high-speed networking (mostly virtual), this is a great idea! Of course, I was pleased when I recently received an invitation to join. “Wow,” I thought, “I’d love to try the next greatest thing.” So, I happily accepted the invitation. Hmm, what followed was not what I expected. When I joined Facebook and LinkedIn, I found very user-friendly web sites that had lots of built-in features. When I joined Wave, I had the feeling of being in a large building with lots of rooms, one of which had my friends in it. Admit-tedly, I’m not as tech savvy as I should be, so I’m sure there are quite a few features that I just have to learn. Wave is also only as big as your own wave, and, because I have two contacts, my wave isn’t very impressive. Given time, though, Wave will be as big as promised, and my wave will be bigger, too. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Wave, and I’d especially appreciate a formal review for TechniScribe. Please send it to me at [email protected].
Book ReviewsThis month, I’ll feature another book review. I’ve been fortunate to have authors offer to do these. Lu Kondor of California State University, Dominguez Hills, has written a couple and promises more to come. Virginia Butler, OCSTC member, also wrote one for the December issue. There are a lot of great books out there, and it’s not always obvious which ones we’d enjoy reading, so these book reviews are especially helpful with everyone’s busy schedules. If you have an idea for a book review, feel free to send it to me at [email protected].
STC Renewal It’s time again to renew your STC dues. Although STC has raised their dues for 2010, they’re offering a couple of incentive programs to help you out. See if you qualify for one of these programs at http://www.
Continued on Page 4 >
January 2010 • 3
Next Meeting (a Saturday morning meeting)Topic: Grabbing AuthoritySpeaker: Thomas Cutting
When: Saturday, January 23, 9 a.m. to noon
**Note new day and time**
Where: DoubleTree Club Hotel 7 Hutton Centre Drive Santa Ana, CA 92707 714.751.2400
Cost: Members with reservations $26
Students with reservations $20
STC member, speaker-only $12
Nonmembers with reservations $31
Walk-ins, or those registering after
the deadline $35
No-shows billed $26
Reservations:
Due by midnight, Wednesday, January 20
Registration:
Online at http://www.ocstc.org/dinres.asp
Directions to the DoubleTree Club HotelMap of the I-405 and SR-55 area. The star below indi-cates the hotel location. Parking is FREE.
If you would like to receive e-mail notifications about upcoming OCSTC meetings, sign up at http://mailman.stc.org/mailman/listinfo/stcocc-l.
Enter your email address, create a password, and click Subscribe. This list broadcasts only meeting notices and STC announcements.
4 • January 2010
Publication PoliciesTechniScribe is published 12 times a year as a benefit to the members of the Orange County Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. The goal of the publication is to reflect the interests, needs, and objectives of OCSTC members. TechniScribe strives to be an advocate for, and an inspiration to, technical communicators by keeping them connected to each other and to opportunities for professional growth.
Articles published in this newsletter may be re-printed in other STC publications if permission is obtained from the author, credit is properly given, and one copy of the reprint is sent to the TechniScribe managing editor.
Submission InformationThe editorial team retains and exercises the right to edit submitted and requested material for clar-ity, length, and appropriateness.
When submitting material, please remember to:
Include a 25-word biography about yourself.•
Send articles in Word (doc), Rich-Text Format • (RTF), ASCII (txt), or in the body of an e-mail message.
Send material to the managing editor • (techni [email protected]) five weeks before the date it will be published.
Editorial StaffManaging Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Gardelle Copyeditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teresita del Sol Copyeditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anne Stratford Copyeditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Young Proofreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Opsteegh Proofreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suzanne Madison Proofreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sima Staav Web Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff Randolph
Monthly Advertising Rates1/4 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40 1/3 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $45 1/2 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60 Full page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80
Subscriptions$10 a year to members of other STC chapters.
PrinterPrintWorks, Irvine, CA
stc.org/2009/12/stc-offers-recovery-package-for-membership.asp.
One such incentive program is that they’re offering to pay dues for some out-of-work technical commu-nicators. MadCap will also pay your dues if you buy either Flare or MadCap with a maintenance pro-gram. For more information, email them at [email protected].
OCSTC’s Monthly MeetingsThis month, OCSTC will have its meeting on Sat-urday morning, January 23. Normally, we have our meetings on the third Tuesday evening of the month, but our VPs of Programs have decided to try some-thing new in an effort to accommodate more people. This meeting will feature Thomas Cutting, PMP, from Project Management Institute (PMI). Quite a few like-minded and like-career-oriented groups are in the area, such as the American Society for Training and Development (www.astd.org), the International Society for Project Management (www.ispi.org), American Medical Writers Association (www.amwa.org), as well as PMI (www.pmi.org). It’s great to have speakers from these other organizations at our meet-ings, and joint meetings could be exciting, too. With technical communication being such a broad field, it fits in nicely with these other organizations. If you have an idea for a speaker or comments about hav-ing more Saturday morning meetings, please send them to [email protected].
I’d like to thank everyone for their support in 2009, and I’m looking forward to everyone’s continued support in 2010. I hope you all had a great holiday season and are ready for a great year to come.
Not Getting Your TechniScribe?Are you an OCSTC member, but not receiving your copy of TechniScribe by mail? We may have an incor-rect address for you. You can update your informa-tion online at http://www.ocstc.org/changeform.asp.
Also, we’ll be purging inactive members from our mailing list this month. So, if you’re no longer a mem-ber and would like to continue receiving TechniScribe by mail, please consider rejoining OCSTC, or you can subscribe to the newsletter for $10 per year. Just send a subscription request to http://www.ocstc.org/changeform.asp.
Editor’s Desk< Continued from Page 2
January 2010 • 5
EduNotesBy Bill Darnall, OCSTC Education Committee
An Undocumented Business Process
Picture this: You’re an experienced technical com-municator working for an innovative but strug-
gling, high-tech company. Your assignment is to document a critical ad hoc business process. Man-agement is concerned about the lack of actionable process information. Operators had to shut down and restart the process twice this past month. You will document the improved process. You will need the input and full cooperation of several different subject matter experts (SMEs).
Where to Start?You agree to take the assignment, after the general manager issues a company-wide memo that you drafted. The memo authorizes you and your team to talk with any of the company employees about the process and related activities. SMEs will review and critique your documen-tation to ensure it matches the process. You’re satisfied with the arrange-ment because you’ll be re-porting directly to the general manager. Your task is to document the process quickly and accurately. The memo explains that award of a massive company-saving contract depends on a sat-isfactory external audit of the documentation and of the process.
You Have the BallFailure isn’t an option. Your company must acquire new business or everyone will be out of work. You’re going to do everything you can to be suc-cessful. You know a project framework will provide the needed short-term organizational structure. The general manager’s memo serves as your project’s authorizing charter. You’re the designated project manager. Everyone understands the project is im-portant. Everyone understands success is essential. Now, you need to develop a set of formal require-ments. You need the requirements to control the project’s scope and to limit the stakeholders’ expec-tations. The requirements will allow you to develop a project schedule. The schedule will be composed of well-defined managed tasks that will lead to measurable milestones. The project milestones will
satisfy the detailed requirements. Successful dem-onstration of all of the milestones will complete the project.
It’s All about PeopleYou realize that a formal project structure is neces-sary; however, it’s not sufficient to ensure success. You know the key to success will be your ability to satisfy multiple constituencies. Different people have different perspectives. You make a list of the some-times-overlapping groups who will have require-ments that must be satisfied:
Auditors•
Stakeholders•
Process owners•
Operational Department•
QA Department•
Marketing Department•
Tech Comm Department•
Auditors. Who will perform the audit? What will they expect to see? What checklists will they use? You make a note to yourself to have Marketing and QA work on this issue.
Stakeholders. Everyone’s a stakeholder. You decide to publish a company-wide one-page status news-letter every Monday.
Process Owners. If things were going smoothly, there wouldn’t be a problem. You need to learn how the process currently works and how it should work. You need to discover why there are problems. You’ll identify process SMEs.
Operational Department. What’s going on here? To which manager do the process owners report? You need to understand why the department has not taken care of the problem. You will talk with the department manager.
QA Department. QA is responsible for process over-sight. Why has QA not been effective? Is it a new process? You’ll talk with the department manager.
Marketing Department. Marketing knows the cus-tomer. All customer contact will be through Market-ing. You’ll talk with the department manager.
Tech Comm Department. You know the resources of your own department. You’ll work with the manager to assign personnel. You know that one task will be to identify and to document operational procedures.
Next month: The Requirements.
OCSTC Employment InformationOur job listing is entirely online at the OCSTC web site. Pages are updated as jobs are submitted.
Staff Jobshttp://www.ocstc.org/employme.asp
Contract Jobshttp://www.ocstc.org/contractme.asp
Free Job Postinghttp://www.ocstc.org/jobsubmit.asp
InquiriesIf you have an inquiry, e-mail our employment manager, Betsy Malone, at [email protected].
Society-Level Job ListingsSTC maintains job listings on the Internet. You can download the listings from the STC web site at http://jobs.stc.org.
6 • January 2010
Society Pages
STC Mission StatementSTC advances the theory and practice of technical communication across all user abilities and all media.
Positioning StatementSTC helps you design effective communication for a technical world through information sharing and industry leadership.
The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is the world’s largest organization for technical com-municators.
Its more than 14,000 members include writers, edi-tors, illustrators, printers, publishers, photographers, educators, and students.
Dues are $75–215 per year. Membership is open to anyone engaged in some phase of technical communi-cation, interested in the arts and sciences of technical communication, and in allied arts and sciences.
Society for Technical Communication 9401 Lee Highway, Suite 300 Fairfax, VA 22031-1803
703.522.4114 (voice); http://www.stc.org
TechniScribe Copyright and Trademark StatementOCSTC invites writers to submit articles that they wish to be considered for publication. Authors retain copyright to their work and implicitly grant a license to this newsletter to publish the work once in print and to publish it once online for an indefinite period of time. In your cover letter, please let the editor know if this article has appeared elsewhere, and if it has been submitted for consideration to other publications.
The design and layout of this newsletter are copy-righted as © STC, 2010.
Some articles might refer to companies or products whose names are covered by a trademark or regis-tered trademark. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Reference to a specific product does not constitute an endorsement of the product by OCSTC or by STC.
ColophonTechniScribe is written using Microsoft Word, and laid out using Adobe InDesign CS3 for Windows. Gill Sans and Palatino Linotype are used for heading and text fonts. PDFs are produced using Adobe Acrobat Professional 8.
TechniScribe relies on the following editorial refer-ences for style: American Heritage Dictionary, Chicago Manual of Style, and Words into Type.
January 2010 • 7
Going back to school and need textbooks? You can find what you need at Amazon.com! Plus, shopping at Amazon.com is not only a great place to find books and other items, it’s also a
great way to give back to the OCSTC! The next time you shop at Amazon, please access the site via OCSTC.org. Amazon donates a percentage
of your purchase to the chapter.Thank you!
Educational OpportunitiesBy TechniScribe Staff
Reprinted from December 2009
With the new school year coming up, I felt it would be worthwhile to reprint this infor-
mation about the local colleges and universities and the courses they’ll be offering in 2010 that ap-ply directly to technical communication. If you see a class that interests you, register right away.
If you’re looking for an intern, contact the schools and let them know. Most technical communication programs require that students finish an intern-ship before receiving their technical communica-tion certificates.
There may be other classes or programs offered, and I’d like to hear about any that I’ve missed here. Send an email to [email protected] if you know of any information not listed here.
College and University InformationCSULB: California State University, Long Beach 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840-2403 562.985.4223 http://www.csulb.edu/
CSUDH: California State University, Dominguez Hills 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson, CA 90747 310.243.3730 http://www.csudh/extended/
GWC: Golden West College 15744 Golden West St., Huntington Beach, CA 92647 714.892.7711 http://www.goldenwestcollege.edu/
IVC: Irvine Valley College 5500 Irvine Center Dr., Irvine, CA 92618 949.451.5100 http://www.ivc.edu/
Advanced Technical Communications
CSUDH Online 1/18/10–3/21/10
CSUDH Online 3/29/10–5/30/10
Creative Suite
IVC T 7p–9:50p 1/11/10–5/23/10IVC Online 1/11/10–5/23/10Desktop Publishing with InDesignGWC M 6p–10:15p 2/1/10–5/30/10
Digital Illustration I
IVC Th 7p–9:50p 1/11/10–3/21/10English GrammarCSULB 10a–11:50a 1/25/10–5/23/10CSULB 2p–3:50p 1/25/10–5/23/10CSULB 10a–11:50a 1/25/10–5/23/10CSULB 2p–3:50p 1/25/10–5/23/10
Fundamentals of Technical Communication
CSUDH Online 1/18/10–3/21/10CSUDH Online 3/29/10–5/30/10Information DesignCSUDH Online 1/18/10–3/21/10CSUDH Online 3/29/10–5/30/10Introduction to Web Page DesignGWC T 6p–10:15p 2/1/10–5/30/10GWC S 8:45a–12:55p 2/1/10–5/30/10GWC Th 8:30a–12:45p 2/1/10–5/30/10Proposal WritingCSULB Th 7p–9:45p 1/25/10–5/23/10Technical CommunicationCSULB 9:30a–10:45a 1/25/10–5/23/10CSULB 9:30p–10:45a 1/25/10–5/23/10CSULB T 6:30p–9:15p 1/25/10–5/23/10CSULB Th 6:30p–9:15p 1/25/10–5/23/10Technical EditingCSULB 5p–6:50p 1/25/10–5/23/10
Orange Slice: Calendar of EventsDate Event Location TimeJanuary 5 OCSTC Council Meeting Airport Executive Suites, Irvine 6 p.m.–7 p.m.
January 23(Saturday)
OCSTC Chapter Meeting and Project Management PresentationThomas Cutting, “Grabbing Authority”
DoubleTree Club Hotel, 7 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, CA, 92707, 714.751.2400
9 a.m.–noon
February 2 OCSTC Council Meeting Airport Executive Suites, Irvine 6 p.m.–7 p.m.
February 16OCSTC Chapter MeetingMatt Sullivan, “The Best Tech Comm Deal From Adobe You Never Heard About
DoubleTree Club Hotel, 7 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, CA, 92707, 714.751.2400
6 p.m.–9 p.m.
January Meeting InfoAbout the PresentationStart the New Year off on the right professional track—learn more about and fine-tune your project management skills. Join the OCSTC for a Saturday morning breakfast presentation—complete with lots of collaboration and networking. “Whether you’re heading up a project, leading the testing, or simply a member of the team, this session will give you practical ways to use the authority you have and grab a little more!”
“Grabbing Authority” is a unique look at getting and using authority. We'll explore the four different types of authority, discuss how to build authority from scratch, and follow up with what to do if you lose it. We'll look at both functional and projectized organizations.
About the SpeakerThomas Cutting is a senior principal consultant with C3G, an IT consulting and professional services company. His experience spans the entertainment, retail, insurance, banking, healthcare, and automotive industries. Managing and mentoring in this diverse background enables him to bring that learning to you through his training, writing, and conference appearances. His contributions to the project management world include several articles for Computerworld and presentations at conferences for the Project Management Institute, International Institute for Software Process, and the Southern California Quality Assurance Association.