VIEWPOINT |
|
|
IMPRINT |
 Indus
Archives |
|
TIDINGS |
| STC
News |
| STC
India Diary |
|
COLUMNS |
|
OUTLOOK |
|
CRITIQUE |
| Web
Site
Review |
| Book
Review |
|
NEWS YOU CAN USE |
Methods for Continuous Learning
By Maya Hoizal
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi.
|
Technical communicators learn through their experience. They learn, unlearn, improve, and grow all the time. In India, we rarely see someone who wants to become a technical writer since most |
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE |
• Stylistic Editing in Writing Process • What
You See is What You Perform |
who graduate do not know much about this profession. There are no full-time technical writing programs offered by colleges and universities. Most of us did not plan to become technical writers. Additionally, we learnt all about technical writing on-the-job. To meet the demands of the industry, we need to have our own methods of learning.
Learn While You Earn
It is true that “easy reading is damn hard writing.” Writing is the most difficult part of a writer’s job. The following are some useful tips for learning on-the-job:
Always have the following handy while writing: a spell checker, a dictionary, a style guide, and a grammar book. Refer to the style guide for any ambiguity in using a word. The Microsoft Manual of Style provides useful guidelines for documenting graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
Read project-related documents to understand the technical requirements and the functionality of the product. The documents include requirements documents, design documents, or any other project-specific documents. It is better to maintain a repository of all the reference documents.
Participate in technical discussions and utilize every opportunity to enhance your product knowledge. When interviewing Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), it is better to record the discussion and refer to it while writing.
Maintain a personal checklist for identifying and overcoming the common mistakes that you make. Once a personal checklist is prepared, use that as a job aid while writing. This helps in eliminating errors at an early stage.
Refer to the documents developed by your peers. If you are new to the organization, this will give you an insight about the writing standards followed in the organization. You can also refer to documentation available with operating systems and tools.
Document best practices and lessons learnt. Once documented, it is good to share these best practices with the team. This is especially useful if we are learning or troubleshooting a tool.
Test your documentation with the application. This process identifies the gaps in the documentation. It also checks the usability of the documentation.
At the end of every project, collect metrics and analyze them. This helps in identifying opportunities for improvement.
Make it a practice to read STC journals and newsletters, such as Intercom and Technical Communication Online, and newsletters of other STC chapters. These newsletters broaden your knowledge and keep you abreast of the latest trends in technical communication. STC also supports SIG Web sites for international technical communication, information design and architecture, and so on.
As you gain experience, take time to refer to the documentation that you have developed in the past. This is the best way to measure your improvements.
Useful References
Books
Technical Writing by John M. Lannon
Managing your documentation projects by Joann T. Hackos
The Little, Brown Handbook by Fowler and Aaron
The Microsoft Manual of Style for technical publications by Microsoft Press
Web Sites for Technical Writing
For new technical writers, the learning can begin from the school-for-champions Web site. David Knopf’s Web site also provides some useful resources for online help.
EServer TC Library is a useful Web site for all technical writers. This online library offers more than 10,000 articles in different categories. The articles are gathered from several technical communication organizations. The Web site also offers an online journal for technical communication and information design. The ORANGE journal is a graduate student journal that fosters critical thinking and encourages discussion on a wide variety of topics and issues that are important to technical communicators.
The following Web sites are some useful resources for grammar and writing:
The Elements of Style by William Strunk
Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab
Magazines and Newsletters
The following magazines and newsletters keep us abreast of the latest trends in technical communication:
Technical Communication Online
Newsletters and magazines of STC SIG Web sites
Technical Web Sites
Most of us cater to the software industry even though we do not have great knowledge about software engineering. It is important to keep ourselves updated with the software industry. The STING Web site offers a good online software engineering glossary. The Whatis Web site offers an online encyclopedia on information technology.
Maya Hoizal is a Lead Information Developer with Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab.
STC India | Home | Contact Us