Capital Letter - STC: Washington, DC Chapter
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1. Although a CMS can eliminate time spent on formatting and make reuse and archiving easier a CMS can also present hurdles for writers Some writers find it difficult to write within designated spaces Some CMS tools have Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 a high learning curve for writers The use of a CMS may also isolate writers If writers do not meet periodically collaboration is difficult What can a company or organization do to help content professionals develop the web writing skills they need to work within a CMS Companies can provide training on writing well publish web writing standards make examples of fine web writing easily available and develop internal case studies on the value of the CMS Training is extremely important Individuals who write web content are not always experienced writers Training would enable inexperienced writers to learn and apply web standards In addition training costs are small compared to the cost of purchasing and implementing a CMS A company can establish its own web writing standards or borrow the standards of another organization Workflow will be facilitated by the use of the same standards Many web standards are available on the Internet The Web Content Standards Working Group at http www cio gov documents ICGI Web Content Policies DRAFT 4 9 04 doc is a collection of standards that were developed by a federal working group Also new research based web design2. July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 SIC SOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION Washington DC Chapter The Capital Chapter CAPITAL LETTER In this Issue Daily s Dish Letter from the Editor 2 From the President 3 Chapter Chatter 0 000eeeeee 4 Articles How To Stay Hot When Your Java Gets Cold 1 Content Management vs Document Management The Difference is Granularity 7 SIGs Revealed 0 000 cee eee ae 9 The Independent Voice 11 Rave ReviewS 00000 eee eee 12 Managing Enterprise Content A Unified Content Strategy by Ann Rockley 12 Writing Great Content Within a Content Management System 14 Telecommuting 00 eee ee eee 16 Quotable Quote The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think Edwin Schlossberg How To Stay Hot When Your Java Gets Cold by Conni Evans Senior Member If you re trying to keep abreast of the latest trends affecting the workplace you ll find that the trends are becoming decidedly non technical Technology is always a topic of conversation but so are the economy healthcare and war Security and compliance issues impact almost every person in nearly every organization Ask human resources professionals for advice on what employers are looking for and technology skills are not anywhere near the top
3. 2004 Vol 40 No 1 required to implement a unified content strategy and the importance of content relationships in version control Pay close attention to usability The rollout of a content management system authoring tools and authoring standards affects every member of the organization If it s not easy to learn easy to use easy to support and easy to maintain authors will revert to the traditional way of writing and managing content Read Managing Enterprise Content before you invest in a content management system and consulting fees You will be an educated and informed customer and user when you begin shopping for a content management solution of your own Writing Great Content Within a Content Management System by Tina Howe Content management systems are used more and more to manage and streamline the web publishing process On April 28 at the Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Center Leslie O Flahavan writing instructor and partner in the Maryland based company E Write http www ewriteonline com gave an informative and enlightening presentation on how to write great web content within a content management system CMS Leslie s clients have included the National Wildlife Federation Pan American Health Foundation and Coca Cola She is also the author of Clear Concise E Mail A Writing Workbook for Customer Service Agents In her presentation Leslie discussed which skills are needed for creating fine
4. I also have learned that I am not alone in this feeling of gratitude You are truly a gem to so many of us and I hope you know that we all appreciate the time you have given each of us individually making us feel that we have a special connection with you that no one else could have If I could create an award of recognition for you it would be the INSPIRING GEM AWARD I would also like to thank all of our contributors both past and present We couldn t have done it without you And of course I also thank our readers and members alike who we do it all for I truly enjoy being a part of this newsletter team It is a great creative outlet for me and has proven to be something I cherish and look forward to reading And although Kathy Bell will be taking my place as Managing Editor I will still be a part of team I look forward to all the great ideas that Kathy has in store for the Capital Letter At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us Albert Schweitzer CAPITAL LETTER July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 From the President Kathy Bine I m grateful for technology in part because thanks to the World Wide Web you were able to vote in your STC chapter s elections That s how I came to write this column and I m grateful to every one of you who vot
5. content from accidental deletion When you delete a piece of content rather than throwing the content away the system holds it in a recycling bin area and marks it as retired That way if you ever need to access that information again for any reason you can still restore it without rec reating it Creation of New Materials One of the things that content man agement systems do that document management systems do not do is facilitate the creation of new mate rials Thanks to single sourcing and the ability to change granular CAPITAL LETTER ity on the fly users can quickly and easily extract content for a new project Going back to the medical dictionary example suppose that after you created this year s edition of the dictionary you decided to create a special website of informa tion relating to cancer treatment Instead of writing content for this Website from scratch a content management system would allow you to repurpose the information that you already used in the medi cal dictionary You could go back into the system select the relevant cancer information and reuse it to create the website Organizations that invest in a content manage ment system often see a return on investment ROI surprisingly quickly due to how much money and time they save on the produc tion of new materials What is right for you You want a document management system if e You want to track invoices con tracts i
6. flagship Vasont software a content management system for cross media publishing that enables enterprises to create manage and publish con tent across numerous media chan nels She has more than seventeen years of experience in the informa tion management and publishing field SIGs Revealed This column explores selected Special Interest Groups SIGs and discusses how you can benefit from joining one If you have feedback or would like to write an article for this column contact Jennifer Reed at jlreed4 aol com JENNIFER REED Column Editor Starting a SIG by STC Washington DC Chapter Member Jennifer Reed While summer is a good time for us to relax and recharge our batteries it is also a good time to evaluate changes that we can suggest or better yet lead that will make STC more valuable to everyone involved This can be as simple as reviewing open volunteer positions and finding CAPITAL LETTER one that interests you or as involved as starting a new initiative I am not suggesting spending a lot of time on these endeavors this summer but if you think you may need guidance in seeing your idea through the summer is a good time to tap into the planning efforts of the chapter officers and other volunteers Judging by affiliations members select when they renew their STC memberships Special Interest Groups SIGs are an STC resource that many of our members find valuable While the Society sponso
7. s free online conversion tool Presenting at STC s annual conference helps prepare you for presentations to clients and employers and it raises your visibility within the profession The new online form greatly simplifies the proposal process but don t delay The deadline to submit your proposal is July 30 2004 It impressed me how quickly the room monitors turned over the rooms between sessions They were very polite and helpful and often had interesting stories to share Meeting new people was the best part of the conference for me Marnie Grozdanich Documentum Rockville MD WriteThinking newsletter by Michael Knowles http www writethinking net STC scholarship information http www stcwdc org scholarships shtml Test the maturity of the publication products in your organization using the Information Process Maturity Model IPMM Quiz http www tds co il ipmm quiz intro htm STC communication resources http www stcwdc org communicate stc 2 shtml Educational opportunities at EEI Communications Inc http www eeicommunications com CAPITAL LETTER Save the Date July 21 2004 Phone Seminar Seven Ideas for Sprucing Up Help hosted by Saul Carliner Watch for more information at http www stcwdc org calendar shtml Membership News Chapter Chatter July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 Having the STC Annual Conference in Baltimore this year was so convenient and there were so many session
8. technologies and training are not cheap Investment costs are incurred in technology training and consulting and lost productivity Are you ready to buy a content management system Performing a substantive audit Determining business requirements begins with an introduction on how to determine goals that you want a unified content strategy to solve For example Reduce the time to plan write review approve and publish Create flexible content that is eas ily reused to create information products for multiple products and multiple media Reduce the cost of translation by reusing existing translations Make content more accessible separating content from format After having attended six consecutive STC annual conferences I think that Baltimore had by far the most to offer conference attendees This location offered a range of hotel prices close proximity to dining and entertainment and quick access from nearly any point As usual the highlight for me was the reminder of how large our technical communication community really is Carolyn Kelley Klinger Documentum Rockville MD makes it possible for content to be displayed automatically in a format appropriate to the disability Many desktop publishing tools can dynamically publish personalized letters and forms by matching elements such as names and addresses a content management system can do the same The design of information reuse models m
9. the customers raved about the new quick reference guide But if you do outstanding work the word will spread You also have an impact on people outside your department or even outside your company When you ve accomplished something tell your family friends and neighbors You never know who might be in THEIR scope of influence Go for Personal Glory YES This is not the time for false modesty How will anyone know about your great contributions unless you tell them It is too easy for your audience to become complacent even if you consistently produce outstanding communication products Make sure they know about your efforts Display awards and acknowledge ments Did you get a certificate of appreciation from someone within or outside of your company Frame it and hang it on your wall Add an awards section to your r sum Forward emailed thank you notes to your boss and the rest of your team Belong and participate Belonging to in a professional group such as STC or IEEE PCS lets people know you are serious about your work and your career Warning Don t overcommit It doesn t matter how well inten tioned you are if you don t turn in the work Pay attention to what s going on around you In addition to doing good work you can also increase your visibility by staying informed of trends and knowing the market and the people around you Keep up with changing technolo gies While this obviou
10. web content how a content management system affects the process of writing web content and how companies can help writers develop the skills they need to write effectively within a CMS A CMS can hinder the quality of web content if writers are not given standards to follow as well as training and support Before discussing different types of content management systems Leslie invited us to consider what characterizes fine web writing We discussed that effective web writing can be read easily while looking at a monitor while also compelling readers to value the information To make information easy to read and find a writer needs to provide information in different amounts for different readers Leslie recommends the Bite Snack and Meal approach A writer should provide the Bite a very short version of the main message the Snack a slightly shorter version of the summary and the Meal the full content Fine web writing is also marked by clear message headings good hypertext links and concise content For example don t use click here to mark links It s more effective to use relevant words in links so that users can anticipate the information they ll see after clicking the 14 mouse If information is provided in concise text users are more likely to locate and absorb the information quickly Content that is easy to scan includes clear headings plenty of white space and key words What kind of impac
11. 3 988 0592 Email info dctechsupport com Web http www dctechsupport com Email help 2 computerfixer net Web http www computerfixer net Cell 703 862 7796 Phone 1 800 905 GEEK Email info 9 geeksoncall com Web http www geeksoncall com These companies offer a wide array of services ranging from hardware repair and maintenance to home network security audits but for a price So do your homework and take the time to decide which company is right for you Price should not be the only deciding factor either Not only should you make sure that their employees are highly qualified and have the right expertise and background to meet your needs you ll want to be sure that they possess good interpersonal communication skills and are customer service oriented If you want to prevent your current computer problem from snowballing or prevent computer problems in the future but balk at the idea of paying for it think of the time money and energy you could waste using your free support Not considering it could cost you business I was exposed to new ideas in so many ways besides the sessions Attending the opening session with Ben Shneiderman seeing the international competition award winners browsing the books in the bookstore and networking over lunch were as valuable in their own right as the educational sessions themselves Sarah Gill Documentum Rockville MD CAPITAL LETTER 17 Articles July A
12. Klinger carolyn klinger verizon net The Capital Letter is published six times per year by the Washington DC Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication Its purpose is to pro vide articles and essays in the field of technical communication as well as inform chapter members about special functions and regular activities of the chapter and Society Material for pub lication should be submitted to the editor Kathy Bell at news stcwdc org This newsletter invites writers to sub mit articles that they wish to be con sidered for publication Note By submitting an article you implicitly grant a license to this newsletter to run the article and for other STC pub lications to reprint it without permis sion Copyright is held by the writer In your cover letter please let the edi tor know if this article has run else where and if it has been submitted for consideration to other publica tions The design and layout of this newsletter are copyright STC 2004 2 July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 Daily s Dish Letter from the Editor Pam Daily Since this is my last official Letter From the Editor I would like to acknowledge those who have been a very important part of this newsletter committee First I want to thank all those individuals I have worked with during the past two years I have learned so much and Iam finally seeing all my ideas come to life especially the variety of great columns we hav
13. ail systems Microsoft Instant Messenger Yahoo Instant Messenger Microsoft Sharepoint portals to check Lotus Quickplaces to check five Yahoo Groups a VOIP telephone with voice mail that appears in Outlook a Handspring and a cell phone My job has gotten easier while the collaboration seems to be the continuing significant challenge Is this occurring because my time is more expensive Because I m more experienced Or is the industry itself changing I d like to think it s because I plan I work desperately to stay informed about the information technology industry which helps me update that plan on a continuing basis I focus on professional development and I network within my company and outside it I try to make my perspective part of the strategy for projects not just a commodity Part of that solution is STC and my involvement in the local chapter and special interest groups SIGs My goal is always to ensure that technology improves the quality of my work and my life Perhaps that will be the next big technology trend having the guts to say No to the Blackberry so that we can focus on what we do well CAPITAL LETTER From the President Kathy Bine Chapter Leadership President Kathy Bine president stcwdc org First Vice President Melissa Brown firstvp stcwdc org Second Vice President Kristen Sweet secondvp G stcwdc org Secretary Eddie VanArsdall secretary stcwdc org Treasurer Dave W
14. and usability guidelines are available at http www usability gov pdfs guidelines html These guidelines were developed by the U S Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute Leslie stressed that many examples of effective web writing should be made available to content contributors People learn through models Her years of teaching writing have shown her Good writers are made not born CMS Resources CMS Watch at http www cmswatch com e Program handout available at http www stcwdc org program_handouts shtml apr04 We Want Letters to the Editor Do you have something to say about a recently published article Was there incorrect information we printed that you want to point out Do you have an idea that you would like to share that may make the newsletter be a more useful and enjoyable resource CAPITAL LETTER 15 Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 srinath1 earthlink net Telecommuting This column examines the challenges and rewards of working from home and the ways in which telecommuting changes the way we work play and do business If you have comments or questions please contact Patricia Srinath at PATRICIA SRINATH Column Editor Tech Support for the Professional Home Office by STC Washington DC Chapter Member Patricia Srinath You are a small home based business a telecommuter an ind
15. aps metadata and workflow are all tool independent tasks Regardless of the tools selected you must first analyze and then design a content or information model so that it can be presented to IT staff and software vendors Analysis provides an opportunity to collect metrics From your information models you can identify how much of your content could be reusable and where Educated on how content is used where and how you are better prepared to match the tools and technology to the origination s goals to deliver a unified content management solution Tools and technologies offers guidelines for evaluating tools Rockley recommends that you identify your needs and criteria for evaluating product options in terms of usability training provided supporting documentation provided technical support upgrades and enhancements implementation time cost vendor viability partnerships the vendor has to provide an expanded solution and references A supplement to Tools and technologies is Appendix C Vendors which is an overview of products features and vendors Appendix D Tools Checklist which lists CAPITAL LETTER Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 sample questions to ask a vendor When you have narrowed your list of potential vendors Rockley suggests that you either contact the vendors and request onsite demonstrations or send vendors an RFP request for proposal Tool
16. at will prepare you to meet the increasing demands of creating managing and distributing content The book discusses techniques that will help you define your content management requirements build your vision design your content architecture select tools and overcome obstacles of managing enterprise content It will help you visualize the spectrum of enterprise content the requirements for effectively creating managing and delivering content and the value of developing a content strategy for your organization The book is written for three audiences content managers information architects and authors Managing Enterprise Content follows the same methodical approach that Rockley uses to teach content management in seminars and workshops CAPITAL LETTER Rockley begins with the basis of a unified content strategy and describes how content is created who creates it why authors work in isolation and the consequences of isolation and centralizing content The solution is to consolidate content in a definitive source and a process that encourages authors to work collaboratively The next step is to assess opportunities for content reuse If you have never heard the term reusing content you may know it as single sourcing Content reuse involves using existing content components e g paragraphs sections and chapters to develop new documents Implementing a unified content strategy is a costly investment tools
17. e average user s computer network and leaving it wide open for attack In fact most users do not even know that the Wired Equivalent Privacy WEP software that comes loaded on the computer is typically turned off and needs to be Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 properly configured to make it more secure Unfortunately WEP does not even provide adequate security in the face of experienced whackers If you are not a computer expert or you just don t have the time to fight your unending computer battles then the best solution is to find an expert who can As a small business owner full time employee or independent contractor you may not have the knowledge time or inclination to monitor and secure your network and stay abreast of the latest security patches The good news is that if you live in the Greater Washington D C metropolitan area there are a number of companies out there that offer expert advice and provide in home technical support DC Tech Support Computer Fixer net and Geeks on Call to name a few Their contact information is listed below DC Tech Support 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway Suite 1003 Arlington VA 22202 Computer Fixer net 4600 S Four Mile Run Dr 202 Arlington VA 22204 Geeks on Call World Headquarters Interstate Corporate Center 814 Kempsville Road Suite 106 Norfolk Virginia 23502 Voicemail 703 578 0083 Phone Virginia 703 988 0055 DC 202 431 6196 Fax 70
18. e in every issue I want to thank Kathy Bell for being my Copy Editor and stepping up as Managing Editor Kathy you have taken on my baby and I have all the confidence that you will continue to build on the great things this newsletter has to offer the members of STC Bobbie Dofflemyer I appreciate all of your attention to the beautifully detailed layout of this newsletter and for making our HTML visions come to life Keep up the great work Jennifer Reed you have contributed so many great things to this newsletter You always make sure we have some visuals to add to the mix And I thank you for bringing our SIGs Revealed column to our readers It is very informative and I love that you have so many ideas and information to share Patricia Srinath I absolutely love all your wisdom that you bring into the Telecommuting column and I thank you for all your great articles David Dick all the way from Belgium with all your support and commitment it feels like you are here Thank you for always having a book review lined up for the Rave Reviews column And now I especially want to thank my mentor Carolyn Kelley Klinger for being there for me since day one Carolyn you somehow made me see the strength in myself to take on the newsletter when I thought I could not bring it to new levels You inspired me in so many ways I sincerely thank you for guiding me and showing me the freedom and self confidence to bring my vision forward
19. ed Technology infuses our lives in many subtle ways After Hurricane Isabelle last year I realized that I ve become so spoiled by appliances that I can barely work without a cup of hot caffeinated beverage After 16 hours without electricity half of those spent asleep I was ready for my hot water heater stove fans and radio to work again Information technology overwhelms our lives at times too Electronic mail voice mail cell phones DVDs and personal digital assistants sometimes seem like less appealing versions of the Tamagotchi the Japanese keychain toy that demands you feed play and clean up after an electronic pet In the job market it s easy to think that if I learn Framemaker InDesign Cold Fusion everything will be better The problem is that today s must have tool is quickly superseded by something different While computer technology is taking over our time and wallets other technologies genetics and gene therapy materials engineering cryptography confront us with ethical Enjoy Some STC 51st Annual Conference Photos http img72 photobucket com albums v218 AmandaCross STC 20Conference 202004 problems even as they provide amazing solutions Technology s effects are astounding In the past 10 years I ve gone from using an array of software tools Photoshop Visio Word RoboHELP at least four website development tools to using an array of communication tools Outlook web based em
20. ependent contractor or just someone who likes to bring work home from the office You have just set up your home office You diligently did all of your research and are convinced that you bought the latest and greatest computer system You even purchased an extended warranty just in case Your high speed Internet connection moves you through the World Wide Web at quantum speed And then it happens You have a deadline and your state of the art computer starts acting like it is possessed It could be a myriad of problems For example your email stops working The computer keeps shutting down within seconds of rebooting The browser starts taking you to places you never intended on going You lose your Internet connection It doesn t really matter what the problem is The point is that you may not make your deadline and you need to find a solution fast After digging out your computer warranty user manual the 1 800 numbers for your computer system Internet Service Provider and software vendors you are then faced with a dilemma Who do you call If you do not know what the problem is then how do you know who to call Or perhaps you have a pretty good idea that the problem stems from your Internet connection After dialing the technical support number you are led through a maze of menus and then put on hold for 15 minutes You finally get to talk to a live person who tells you that you are not talking to the right department You are the
21. ered months Publish Online and Send to Printer 1 of odd numbered e All Edits to Production Designer 20 of even num bered months CAPITAL LETTER months Chapter Chatter July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 Themes for Editorial Calendar 2003 2004 six January Working From Home Pros and Cons Ques issues per year tions and Answers e September Job Strategies Career Moves and Transi March Baltimore Conference News tions May Continuing Education e November The Importance of Volunteerism SIGs July Technology Trends STC Transformation Update Keep up with all of the latest information about STC s transformation initiative by reading the pages starting at http www stc org transformation While a new membership model with five membership categories is proposed at http www stc org transformation newsLetter1 pdf it is far from decided Take a look at the new categories and share your opinions on this and any other STC topic by sending an email to the very responsive folks at transform stc org J u g g i n g Ns b g Comments from n revious Attendees too many N i projects Best conference amp ever attended Juggling more deadlines than S TE P dn en you have time or resources ee uiae t e examples wish o meet ont had attended these m Attend LavaCon and learn best S993003 a yaar aga practices for estimating projects meetin
22. ew employees Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 Take an accounting class to under stand how managing profit and loss affects your department and your job Don t forget to include non technical assignments on your r sum These competencies are critical and will always be hot even when your Java gets cold 1 Employer Hot Buttons Straits Don MSN Career Advice http msn career builder com June 2004 Advertise in this Newsletter If you would like to advertise your business in our newsletter please send a message to Pam Daily at news G stcwdc org Please include your phone number in the message Advertising rates are as fol lows Full page 140 Half page 75 Quarter page 40 Business card 25 Discounts are avail able if the same ad runs in two or more issues within 6 months Content Management vs Document Management The Difference is Granularity by Suzanne Mescan When it comes time for a technical writer to choose a software solution that can help them manage their content the selection can be overwhelming How do you know if you want a document management or content management system What is the difference between the functionality of the systems Which one provides the most savings in time and money Understanding the fundamental differences between document management and content management can help narrow down your options so that you can select the
23. for STC s 52nd Annual Conference Have you always wanted to present at STC s annual conference but never taken the time to submit a proposal Perhaps you were put off by the cost in time and money of filling out and mailing the proposal form If so you re out of excuses STC s new online proposal process eliminates the hassle of making copies dealing with the post office and cramping your writing hand Submitting conference proposals has never been easier Aspiring presenters for STC s 52nd Annual Conference which will be held May 8 11 2005 in Seattle Washington can access the new proposal form at http www stc org 52ndConf Proposal Note the list of information you ll need to complete the form You ll want to have this information on hand before you enter any data Using your STC member number and Web Gems Find jobs and staff http www stcwdc org employ shtml Join chapter discussion and announcement lists http www stcwdc org list shtml Shop at Amazon from our home page http www stcwdc org Chapter honors http www stcwdc org history chapt honors shtml password you can automatically populate the name and address fields with information from STC s membership database And when you re done with the form a single click allows you to upload your presentation file to the STC server Please note that your file must be submitted as a PDF in case you don t have Adobe Acrobat the proposal form provides a link to Adobe
24. g multiple deadlines with minimal resources and more ooo 8 anrsus Early Registration Discounts Available Register Today www lavacon org cT LavaCen Chateau Sonesta Hotel See eee New Orleans Louisiana The International Conference on Technical Communication Management For more information visit the LavaCon website at http www lavacon org 6 CAPITAL LETTER Continued from page 1 you create an API guide However you need to learn how to apply these intuitive skills beyond the IT arena For example you can think like a web hacker and help the security team develop a password protection policy You could imagine what it s like to be a Chief Financial Officer and help the compliance team develop internal controls procedures for corporate purchases Keeping abreast of the newest technology is important but you must expand your learning to focus equally on non technical issues Here are some experiences that touch on non technical hot buttons Volunteer for the competitions committee for your local STC chapter to expand your leadership capabilities Show initiative by representing your department on the disaster recovery team e Do research and learn how to assess your team members person ality traits and work styles to improve everyone s communica tion skills Leada team to develop a website for your religious or social organization Enhance your job description by mentoring n
25. he chunks as many times as they need within a document or across many documents For example a user s manual for an appliance might have a warning that is used in several places within that manual This same warning might also be used in another product s user s manual It would make sense to break out this warning as a chunk of content to be managed in the system so it would only be created stored and edited one time but could be reused in all instances needed within multiple user s manuals Through a thorough analysis of their documents users can determine how granular they need their chunks of content to be in order to take the best advantage of the system and they can change the granularity on the fly depending on their needs Of course this all happens digitally and once the pieces of content are saved one time they are available for reuse and repurposing Features All Types of Content A con tent management system can man age any type of content including text graphics multimedia clips and sound clips Single Sourcing The best con tent management systems on the market are the systems that single source that is they save content once in a centralized repository and make it available for reuse and repurposing across multiple docu ments regardless of the media for mat For example imagine that your organization publishes a large medical dictionary Using a content management
26. he same Internet that enables hackers to attack our computers with viruses worms and other malicious programs In May of 2004 the Sasser Worm infected hundreds of thousands of computers that run the Windows 2000 and XP operating systems Although users could download a tool to remove the worm they had to be fast enough to download it before their computers crashed Because many computers infected with the Sasser Worm were also infected with malicious programs such as Agobot unsuspecting users who removed the worm probably mistakenly think that their computers are safe again Unfortunately programs like Agobot cannot only disable antivirus and firewall software they can run on your computer without your knowledge Unless you are a computer expert who CAPITAL LETTER knows how to track down these programs you could be inadvertently sharing sensitive information with the rest of the world Hackers could not only steal credit card information passwords and social security numbers just imagine the legal ramifications of them stealing the information of your employer clients or customers Wireless technology is another convenience that compromises security Laptops that allow us to surf the web and exchange emails from practically anywhere make it possible for wireless hackers whackers to steal information right off of our laptops without our knowledge For example the wireless LAN cards now standard in most laptops are exposing th
27. mit it to the President e An application with at least 10 sig natures from active STC members willing to serve as charter mem bers committing their time to the SIG for one year Alistof three people willing to assume leadership roles within the SIG A SIG mission statement includ ing a list of goals and objectives Astatement describing how this SIG differs from other chapter SIGs and organizations e A list of possible activities for the year and e A tentative budget if funds from the local chapter are going to be sought When creating gathering all this information keep in mind the local chapter s bylaws You need to ensure that your initiatives enhance rather than conflict with the benefits already provided to the chapter members Once you have prepared your application send it to the chapter president who will then present it to the Administrative Council for review and approval If you have looked at the Society level SIGs and not located a SIG that meets your needs you can also create a new Society level SIG Through discussions on the Lone Writer SIG I have seen comments about the need for a Manufacturing SIG for example I could also envision a SIG for government communication The process for creating a Society level SIG is similar to the local SIG just slightly more involved since you need a commitment from 30 members representing three different chapters The Society level SIG creatio
28. n guidelines are available at http www stc org PDF Files Ad 70 93 pdf SIGs are an important part of our membership and provide a wealth of information to STC members As STC is transforming SIGs are going to become more and more prevalent If you feel there s something missing take that first step and start a SIG It s a great way to increase both your network and your skills I got a lot more out of attending the conference than I thought I would While I went with the expectation that I would focus only on sessions that would be immediately helpful to me at my job I found myself drawn to sessions on topics such as usability that I rarely have time to explore Ruth Frost Documentum Rockville MD 10 CAPITAL LETTER Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 The Independent Voice This column explores issues and trends encountered by independent technical communicators in the Washington DC metropolitan area If you have feedback or would like to write an article for this column contact Carolyn Kelley Klinger at carolyn klinger verizon net CAROLYN KELLEY KLINGER Column Editor Increasing Visibility Building Demand for Technical Communication Services by Brenda Huettner Associate Fellow STC Southern Arizona Chapter You need to showcase your talents and encourage people throughout your company and the community to value and appreciate the work that you do This will ideally lead to m
29. n transferred to a different department and put on hold again this time for 20 minutes The clock is ticking and you are running out of time You can tell your boss or client that you can t make the deadline because of computer problems but in today s modern age that is like the dog ate your homework excuse of yesteryear 16 You finally track down the right department to answer your questions but are you talking to the right person If your computer knowledge is more advanced than that of the average user you may feel like you are talking to a very friendly but incompetent customer service representative who is just reading from a script On the other hand if you are a novice the technical support staff may seem patronizing and confuse you with a lot of computer doubletalk Either way you wade through the long and tedious troubleshooting process and realize that the problem is not because of the Internet connection Now you have to call someone else and start the whole process over again The problem has not been solved you have wasted countless time and money and you have missed your deadline Suppose you were finally able to resolve your computer problem this time That doesn t mean your computer woes are a thing of the past Advances in technology make our lives easier however they bring with them a host of new problems and challenges The Internet which has revolutionized the way we communicate and do business is t
30. nsurance claims or other similar documents Content man agement systems can also do this but document management sys tems are specifically designed for it These systems are also good for keeping records to comply with government regulations such as HIPAA You want to organize and share documents with many users in your organization while controlling the security of those documents e You are only concerned with man aging documents as a whole and do not regularly reuse content within the documents over and over again You want a content management system if e You have a lot of duplicate content to manage A single sourcing con tent management system will allow you to more efficiently organize and store chunks of content and will make it easy for you to quickly Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 access and update that content as needed e You regularly create new materials that reuse and repurpose chunks of content from existing documents A content management system allows users to quickly create new documents by reusing chunks of content that were previously writ ten for other documents saving editors and writers hours of time e You want to improve the accuracy of your content Because content is stored only one time the content management system ensures that all instances of content usage are updated and consistent Suzanne Mescan is Vasont Systems Vice President of Marketing for its
31. of P N Designs Inc a publishing and con sulting company based in Tucson AZ She s an Associate Fellow of STC and recently published her sec ond book Career Tactics for Tech nical Communicators Rave Reviews This column provides reviews on books software programs or other topics of interest to technical communicators These reviews are the opinions of the reviewer and not necessarily the opinion of the STC WDC chapter or STC If you are interested in submitting a review contact the Capital Letter at news stcwdc org Managing Enterprise Content A Unified Content Strategy by Ann Rockley Reviewed by STC Washington DC Chapter Member David Dick Paperback 592 pages Publisher New Riders 1st edition October 17 2002 ISBN 0735713065 Are you overwhelmed with the need to create more content faster customized for more customers and 12 for more media than ever before Do you consider storing documentation on a server an effective content management system Do you want to learn how content management will empower your organization The answer to these questions are covered in Managing Enterprise Content A Unified Content Strategy by Ann Rockley with Pamela Kostur and Steve Manning of The Rockley Group The Rockley Group is one of the leading providers of content management methodologies Managing Enterprise Content provides concepts strategies guidelines processes and technical options th
32. of their list In fact in some cases technology tools don t even appear on the list Things like initiative compatibility leadership integrity and CAPITAL LETTER even social interests and involvement are employers hot buttons Sure Java is a hot skill to have But technical jargon like XML VoIP and Wi Fi is like sci fi to many hiring managers Technical skills can be taught integrity and a positive attitude cannot Thinking and reasoning skills are applicable in any job and therefore marketable in a variety of industries As a technical writer these higher level aptitudes are critical to the way you do your work You re used to transforming yourself into a user when you write software documentation You become a developer as Continued on page 7 Daily s Dish Letter from the Editor Pam Daily Creating and supporting a forum for communities of practice in the profes sion of technical communication Society for Technical Communication STC 901 North Stuart Street Suite 904 Arlington VA 22203 1822 Phone 703 522 4114 http www stc org Region 2 http www stcregion org region2 index shtml Washington DC Chapter P O Box 14125 Silver Spring MD 20911 http www stcwdc org STC Washington DC Chapter Capital Letter Managing Editor Kathy Bell news stcwdc org Production Manager Bobbie Dofflemyer doff bigfoot com Copy Editor David Dick David Dick village uunet be Advisor Carolyn Kelley
33. ore respect better pay and more interesting work First things first Do Great Work Make sure your product is the best it can be Your product might be a manual policies and procedures online help or even an article like this one If you re out job hunting the product is YOU as you appear in your r sum cover letter and perhaps most importantly your reputation Unlike the entertainment business there is such as thing as bad publicity in the technical communication field If your work is not high quality word will get out Understand your starting point before you launch a visibility campaign Make a list of your own strengths and weaknesses Are you good with the nuts and bolts or better at basics Do you always meet deadlines no matter what Have you won awards Understand your audience whether itis a client the marketing department or a human resource person you want to impress This CAPITAL LETTER goes back to Tech Writing 101 Though we can t always give everyone everything they want it is our job to know what the audience expects and to give them what they need Your scope of influence is probably larger than you think When you produce your product you know the primary people who see it this might be customers or support personnel or the editing staff Your scope of influence includes all of these people and more You don t always know who will hear about what a great job you did or how
34. right treasurer stcwdc org Immediate Past President Daree Allen Woodard pastpres stcwdc org Region 2 Director Sponsor Vici Koster Lenhardt ds2Q stc org Committee Managers Competitions Melissa Brown competitions stcwdc org Employment Ann Ray employment G stcwdc org Events Knowledge University Kristen Sweet events stcwdc org History Harold Hofstad history stcwdc org Membership Laura Jackel membership stcwdc org Newsletter Kathy Bell news stcwdc org Nominations Mike Cleary MCleary216 aol com Public Relations Denise Joseph denise_joseph msn com Speaker s Bureau Webmaster Cynthia Lockley webmaster stcwdc org Strategic Planning Janet F Scharp jscharp aim4value com Chapter Chatter July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 Chapter Chatter The 2004 2005 Competitions Committee Needs You Are you interested in seeing what other companies are producing in the way of technical communication Do you want to network with other fabulous writers editors graphic artists and other professionals If your answer is yes then the Competitions Committee is for you We are currently recruiting for all positions on the committee For details on position responsibilities see http www stcwdc org comp committees shtml If you don t see a position that appeals to you we can create one for you If you are interested please email Melissa Brown Competitions Committee Manager at mbrown C quadramed com Submit Proposals
35. right tool for your needs CAPITAL LETTER Document Management In many ways a document management system is like a smart digital filing cabinet It is like a filing cabinet because it stores and organizes whole documents so that they can be easily found and referenced later It is smart because it helps to manage the lifecycle of the documents rather than just storing them In fact these systems are often marketed as a tool to automate business processes rather than as a tool for writers and editors Features File Management A document management system can manage any kind of file including word processing files spreadsheet files and printed documents that are dig itally scanned into an electronic format This makes them ideal for managing documents that are typi cally stored and shared among many users including invoices contracts and insurances claims A document management system stores the files in one central repos itory that can be accessed by many users within an organization allowing them to reference those files and reuse them in their entirety as necessary Lifecycle Management This is where the smart filing system comes into play Document man Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 agement systems are designed to track documents from their cre ation all the way through the edito rial process inception gt creation gt review gt storage gt dissemina
36. rs Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 21 SIGs only two of these are active in Washington DC a situation created simply because of a lack of local SIG leaders Starting a local SIG might seem daunting initially You might think it will take too much work require too much time or that all your efforts might not be supported due to lack of interest However it is not as difficult as you might expect Details on how to start a new SIG are available at the SIG website http www stc org sig links asp and in the Washington DC Chapter Guidelines for Forming Special Interest Groups at http www stcwdc org PDF Guidelines 20for 20Forming 20Sp ecial 20Interest 20Groups pdf Once you have identified the SIG you would like to start inform the chapter president of your intentions Working now as a team with the chapter president decide how to get the word out to local members to see if others share your interest I would suggest using the STC WDC member discussion list http lists stc org cgi bin lyris pl enter stcwdc chat as your first point of contact and then continue the process with an informal gathering to collect more details You may also be able to contact the Society level SIG manager explain your intentions and have them send a targeted email to people in your local chapter who are in the Society level SIG To actually establish the SIG you need to gather create the following information and sub
37. s and technologies covers XML because it provides interoperability between applications XML is not a set of tags that you apply to documents it is a specification that sets rules for the creation of tag sets that you apply to documents For instance if you selected tools first and then designed your content you might find that some of the content does not behave the way you expect it to One solution would be to use XSLT to transform the content and move it around where you want it However the conversion costs time money and resources An XML system is best suited and ideal for a large documentation department for all content authoring or an organization where every author uses the XML authoring tool A team of ten or fewer will be constrained to balance XML implementation and documentation project duties and learn how to use the new content management system Even if you assign the complex task of XML implementation and creation of information models workflows and DTDs to a consultant the consultant will require guidance from the team These are only a few of the constraints to overcome to assure a successful unified content strategy that Rockley expertly describes how to overcome Managing Enterprise Content concludes with a checklist for implementing a unified content strategy suggestions for writing for multiple media sample questions to ask vendors a checklist for the tools 13 Articles July August
38. s on the issues we re facing today I was able to take away concrete ideas that I could start using as soon as I got back to the office Vanessa Trochmann LEGATO Software Rockville MD New Members Who Joined Between April 16 2003 and June 15 2004 William Beerman Jack Burbridge Lloyd Davis Emma DiMaria Mark Filiatreau Hilary Freer Ernest Garrett Joan Gibala Jane Green Alexandrine Henry Jill Janson Rita Lewis Phyllis Mann Kathrine Masters Kevin McCall Brian Melchers Heather Myrick Theresa O Connell Steve Paulin Florine Purdie Ashley Reeves Steven Ruppenthal Tiomthy Schmidt Robert Shipione Ginny Silhanek Charnell Simanowith Terri Singleton Ken Smith Allison Smith Laura Storey Chris Sturm Virginia Wheaton Terry Winchester Welcome to STC According to the STC Bylaws the grade of senior member is conferred upon those who have held the grade of member in STC for five years We congratulate the following new senior members of the Washington DC chapter Senior Members as of June 15 2004 Arlene Borella Renee Calarco Katherine Fisher Paulena Meyer David Murphy Debbie Panitz Pesach Martha Williamson Rebecca Young Congratulations Newsletter Events Important Newsletter Deadlines Member Totals Total STC Members 17 034 Total STC WDC Members 611 e Final Review of Layout 25 of even numbered months 3 h T All Content 10 of even numb
39. sly benefits your company it will also help you in your long term career prospects 11 Articles July August 2004 Vol 40 No 1 Become known as a subject matter expert You know the product as well as anyone since you wrote the book on it or whatever your prod uct is Use that expertise in ways that both help your company and your reputation Understand upper management s hot buttons You ll get alot more done if you use the terminology they want to hear Be careful here though as management changes so do their buzz words e Use internal communication chan nels Does your department have an intranet page Make it the best it can be Is there an internal employee newsletter Write and submit articles Do you have weekly brown bag lunch ses sions Volunteer to present some thing e Participate in external evaluations Many local STC chapters as well as other organizations such as IABC and APEX sponsor a variety of competitions Submit your best work or offer to help with the judging You ll get feedback pub licity and maybe an award Remember There are only a few things you need to do to keep yourself and the need for your services out in front of people Do great work Talk about what you do e Pay attention to what s going on around you Do great work Yes I know I repeated one of them But it is the most important thing of all Brenda Huettner is principal
40. system you could save each definition individually one time and then reuse it to con struct the print web and CD ROM versions of the dictionary But imagine that in this year s edition of the dictionary you have to update one definition Thanks to your system s single source func tionality that change only needs to be made once and the print web and CD ROM versions of the dic tionary will all be updated auto matically This protects the integrity of your content because all the changes are performed uni formly ensuring content accu racy Lifecycle Management A content management system can manage editorial workflow in even more detail than a document man agement system because it tracks the lifecycle of each individual piece of content rather than whole documents This is especially use ful for writers and editors who manage large amounts of docu mentation It allows users to track exactly what changes are made to a specific piece of content when they were made and who made them Security Like a document man agement system a content manage ment system also protects your materials only on a content level rather than a document level Most content management systems con trol exactly what content a regis tered user is authorized to access which helps to protect against user error and ensures that users can access only the content that they are authorized to work on Some systems also protect
41. t does a CMS have on the process of writing web content One of the benefits of a CMS is that it equalizes content staff All content providers will be using the same tool A CMS also standardizes the process of web publishing by establishing workflow and approvals Web publishing will no longer be an ad hoc process A CMS also labels parts of web content and sets limits on types of web content For example most CMSs limit the number of characters that make up a heading Ideally a CMS will liberate a writer to focus on the quality of content rather than the presentation Since the CMS standardizes the content s format a writer can have more time to consider how to express an idea or message in a fresh original way Without endorsing any specific product Leslie gave examples of CMSs that are being used today Her CAPITAL LETTER examples included a proprietary U S State Department CMS that was created using Word macros St ee ee hh be ee ene a s Another example was OpenCMS which is a form based editing tool In OpenCMS a user opens a form and enters content into each field Se Se oa te ee T eve yetme sn ax srr di r aj sir sim mu sisisi 1 Se e i lt CMSs typically offer a form and a WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get editor Another CMS RedDot has a WYSIWYG interface that uses red dots to indicate where a writer can change or enter content pr ua i is
42. tion gt destruction Automatically track ing document lifecycles makes it much easier to manage many docu ment workflows at once At any given time an editor can check the status of a document to see where and when it was last updated and who has reviewed it Security Along with lifecycle management a document manage ment system can keep your docu ments secure Using the system only registered users can update the documents ensuring that unau thorized users do not have access to edit those documents In addi tion access levels can be set for registered users allowing them to access only certain groups of docu ments This ensures that only users assigned with the appropriate secu rity level will be able to access the documents Content Management The key difference between content management and document management lies in the idea of granularity and content reuse With a document management system users are limited to organizing and managing entire documents With a content management system users are able to manage the individual pieces of content that make up those documents In other words unlike a document management system that offers low level granularity i e an entire file a content management system offers multilevel granularity Users break documents down into meaningful chunks of content These chunks are saved in the content management system one time allowing the user to reuse t
43. ugust 2004 Vol 40 No 1 18 CAPITAL LETTER
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