From ann at annlwiley.com Wed Oct 4 11:31:16 2006 From: ann at annlwiley.com (Ann L. Wiley Consultants Inc.) Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 13:31:16 -0400 Subject: Boeing invites participation in benchmarking study Message-ID: <000d01c6e7da$ec64e5c0$6600a8c0@ACERTMate> Boeing invites participation in a new custom benchmarking study in technical communications. In exchange for completing the survey below, participating organizations will receive a custom metrics report comparing your cost performance in that area to that of other similar organizations. Information provided through the survey will be used in accordance with the Benchmarking Code of Conduct, http://www.apqc.org/bmkcode, meaning that all information you provide will remain anonymous. This benchmarking study is initiated and sponsored by Boeing, which will be an active participant, but neither Boeing nor any other participant will be able to link your survey responses to your organization. To participate please follow the link below. Data collection is scheduled for October 2006. www.apqc.org/surveys/writing_editing From ann at annlwiley.com Wed Oct 4 19:24:08 2006 From: ann at annlwiley.com (Ann L. Wiley Consultants Inc.) Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 21:24:08 -0400 Subject: Want to be involved in a usability competition or global online card sort? Message-ID: <002b01c6e81c$f865b060$6600a8c0@ACERTMate> There will be a news release announcing this imminently, but meanwhile, this lets people know that STC is participating in World Usability Day, Nov 14th. (1) STC is starting to work on a usability competition - setting up the competition criteria and so on - the initiative itself will be announced on WUD but we're taking names now if you want to be part of the committee (2) STC is organizing a global, online card sort exercise to take place on WUD. People can sign up to participate as a card sorter, or to be part of a local group that finds participants, or to be part of the committee that sets up the card sort. You can sign up to be part of this at www.stc.org/wud/ From rl_benjamin at hotmail.com Tue Oct 17 18:53:30 2006 From: rl_benjamin at hotmail.com (Robert Benjamin) Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 20:53:30 -0400 Subject: Introducing myself Message-ID: I have just joined STC and the Quality and Process Improvement SIG. I am a business process, quality, and risk management specialist, now working for a large consulting company. I have spent the past few years performing Sarbanes-Oxley compliance assessments. Interesting but not nourishing for the soul. So I decided to start a writing business for green companies, state and local government, and public service organizations. Most of my work for most of my life has involved writing and presentation. I specialize in Plain Language and want to help my target clients communicate better with non-expert audiences. I am active in politics and in community service. My website is at www.greenwords.net. That's me. Robert Benjamin 4 Green Briar Drive Hamilton, NJ 08690 (T) (609) 587-9069 (C) (609) 977-6214 Alternate email: Robert.Benjamin at GreenWords.net "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them" - Albert Einstein From Harold.Voorhees at baesystems.com Wed Oct 18 06:07:02 2006 From: Harold.Voorhees at baesystems.com (Harold Voorhees) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 07:07:02 -0500 Subject: Good Morning, Message-ID: Good Morning, My name is Harold Voorhees and I am a Logistics Documentation Project Manager at BAE Systems, Land and Armaments Division in York, PA. I began my logistics career after separation from the U.S. Navy in 1982. I spent the time between 1983 and 1991 as a contract employee in positions as a technical writer, provisioner, and engineering writer. I was on assignment at General Dynamics/Electric Boat Division, Sikorsky Aircraft, General Dynamics/Atlanta, and BMY Combat Systems. Once at BMY Combat Systems I found a home for my career. I began as a technical writer and worked up to becoming a Documentation Specialist and to my current position. Here I oversee all publication efforts related to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (all variants) and the MLRS system. Our efforts are completed using an Arbortext Epic database, IADS, and also EMS2, whichever is pertinent to the current contract. I look forward to sharing and learning from not only my own experiences but others as well. Best Regards, Harold Voorhees From Kathy_Day at hyperion.com Wed Oct 18 06:23:59 2006 From: Kathy_Day at hyperion.com (Kathy Day) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:23:59 -0400 Subject: FW:classes on tranisitioning to content management Message-ID: <5A5C970C908F574E8238C26D7D5A8BB9C985E9@NASTMEXM02.hyperion.com> HI Our company is going to start using content management. I am looking for a class that describes how to move to content management: how to analyze current documentation, how to chunk your topics and move to modular authoring. Does any one have suggestions? Thanks Kathy If you have received this e-mail in error, please delete it and notify the sender as soon as possible. The contents of this e-mail may be confidential and the unauthorized use, copying, or dissemination of it and any attachments to it, is prohibited. Internet communications are not secure and Hyperion does not, therefore, accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message nor for any damage caused by viruses. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Hyperion. For more information about Hyperion, please visit our Web site at: www.hyperion.com From dgreen at associatedbrands.com Wed Oct 18 10:56:10 2006 From: dgreen at associatedbrands.com (Dori Green) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 09:56:10 -0700 Subject: FW:classes on tranisitioning to content management In-Reply-To: Message-ID: from the techwr-l list: ANNOUNCE: Vasont Systems Presents "Content Management 104: How to Cho ose a Content Model" Leading Provider of Content Management Software to Deliver Fourth Presentation in Webinar Series on Basics of Content Management Emigsville, PA, October 2, 2006 Vasont Systems, a leading provider of content management software and data services, today announced the webinar, "Content Management 104: How to Choose a Content Model" presented by Vasont Systems Applications Engineer, Mary Hush. The webinar, the last of a four-part series, will take place on October 18, 2006 at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT. To get started in content management, you must choose a content model and get your content structured. But that is a tall order to ask of a technical writer or manager who is not familiar with content models. What content models are available? How do you know which content model to choose? Or should you create your own custom model? In this presentation, Mary Hush will explain the differences between the content model options and provide guidelines for choosing a content model that is right for an organization. Attendees will learn: * What a content model is * Content model options for a content management system * Differences between off-the-shelf content models, such as DITA and DocBook * When is it better to create your own custom content model? Mary Hush, Applications Engineer for Vasont Systems, is responsible for technical support for the sales and marketing staff within the organization. Her primary responsibilities include consultation with prospective clients and providing demonstrations of Vasonts technical features and capabilities. She also participates in presentations for Vasonts Webinar Series, industry conferences, and media events. She has more than ten years of experience in the communications and publishing industries, as well as extensive knowledge in content management and workflow strategies. To register for this event, please visit the following link: https://lra100.livemeeting.com/LRSRegistration/EC/vasont/702931706.as px From davidovic.milan at gmail.com Wed Oct 18 08:09:19 2006 From: davidovic.milan at gmail.com (Milan Davidovic) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 10:09:19 -0400 Subject: FW:classes on tranisitioning to content management In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <23d299f50610180709s36f09c37vc57c955c20160cfa@mail.gmail.com> On 10/18/06, Kathy Day wrote: > Our company is going to start using content management. Can you share anything about *why*? For example, to satisfy Q&RM requirements? -- Milan Davidovic http://altmilan.blogspot.com http://www.terminus1525.ca/studio/view/2758 From Pamela.Sarantos at bigbandnet.com Wed Oct 18 08:09:39 2006 From: Pamela.Sarantos at bigbandnet.com (Pamela Sarantos) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 10:09:39 -0400 Subject: FW:classes on tranisitioning to content management Message-ID: <3F9D53FDF438E84CBCFBD8D8DF94B8EB03000D70@wsb-srvr-02.bigbandnet.com> Hi Kathy, I just read about a Webinar from Vasont about this same subject. I didn't keep the details since I am not planning to attend. Also, ComTech Services has just started offering a DITA Boot Camp class, which covers these topics, plus, allows you to bring a book file so you can practice the exercises on your own material. Thanks, Pam -----Original Message----- From: bounce-stcqsig-l-278611 at lists.stc.org [mailto:bounce-stcqsig-l-278611 at lists.stc.org] On Behalf Of Kathy Day Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 8:24 AM To: STC Quality and Process Improvement SIG Discussion List Subject: [stcqsig-l] FW:classes on tranisitioning to content management HI Our company is going to start using content management. I am looking for a class that describes how to move to content management: how to analyze current documentation, how to chunk your topics and move to modular authoring. Does any one have suggestions? Thanks Kathy If you have received this e-mail in error, please delete it and notify the sender as soon as possible. The contents of this e-mail may be confidential and the unauthorized use, copying, or dissemination of it and any attachments to it, is prohibited. Internet communications are not secure and Hyperion does not, therefore, accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message nor for any damage caused by viruses. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Hyperion. For more information about Hyperion, please visit our Web site at: www.hyperion.com From mconnor at austin.rr.com Wed Oct 18 08:16:25 2006 From: mconnor at austin.rr.com (Mary Connor) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 09:16:25 -0500 Subject: FW:classes on tranisitioning to content management In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4ef23a1b0610180716w67b2b0e9ue7ee0bd52781f80f@mail.gmail.com> I've attended this workshop by JoAnn Hackos -- it's a rare enough topic (how to move to structured authoring itself, versus how to use a tool) that folks were flying in from Europe to attend it: http://www.comtech-serv.com/workshops/singlesource.shtml hth! Mary Connor On 10/18/06, Kathy Day wrote: > > Our company is going to start using content management. I am looking for > a class that describes how to move to content management: how to analyze > current documentation, how to chunk your topics and move to modular > authoring. Does any one have suggestions? From dgreen at associatedbrands.com Wed Oct 18 08:35:27 2006 From: dgreen at associatedbrands.com (Dori Green) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 07:35:27 -0700 Subject: Intro Message-ID: Dori Green, happily back into STC and ASQ and technical writing with a focus on ISO 9000 after an absence of several years. I'm now in Medina, NY using ISO as a content model to organize the documentation and help to develop a formal quality management system for the American branch of a Canadian dry food packaging company. Bouillon might just be salt but getting it wrapped as cubes and into the jars and shipping crates is more complicated than you might think! People who have worked with me in the past are saying "Okay, she's creating an ISO system without saying the dirty ISO word and working it all into the corporate policies and procedures while adhering to FDA and USDA regulations and educating 300 people who are just baffled that they haven't had to worry about documentation before so what's the big deal now. Maybe Dori finally has enough to keep her busy for a full day." Actually, I am loving it. Made the mistake early on of telling the Director that I loved it so much, I would keep coming to work even if they didn't pay me. Had to follow that up with "...just kidding, Dude!" but he was a good sport and signed the time card. We no longer have that problem now that I'm on Exempt payroll. Seriously, I'm working with a truly great group of people whose talent and dedication have earned my deep respect, just a 15 minute drive from home. I'm looking forward to spending a quiet weekend soon reviewing the SIG archives. If we have power! In the other half of my life I train packgoats (big 150-200 lb. guys with attitude) and I'm organizing the area's first member-owned community organic farm and education center (and local farmer marketing network) with resident and non-resident members at Connections Community Farm and Center for Sustainable Alternatives. Right now I'm developing an ISO-modeled documentation set for intentional communities to facilitate replication of the ones that succeed. I will be working with the members for the next year or so cleaning up the storm damage in our forest and five-acre organic herb farm on the Erie Canal. As hobbies I go camping with the goats, create garden labyrinths, garden, and keep tweaking our emergency preparedness system. Last weekend identified a few minor holes, it was a great test. Dori Green Technical Writer, Quality Management System Project Associated Brands, Inc. From ann at annlwiley.com Wed Oct 18 10:03:39 2006 From: ann at annlwiley.com (Ann L. Wiley Consultants Inc.) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:03:39 -0400 Subject: Welcome, resources of the QPI SIG was Re: Intro References: Message-ID: <004901c6f2cf$59841be0$6600a8c0@ACERTMate> I'm delighted to see Dori back in STC; we knew each other years ago in the Rochester Chapter. I'm hoping many, many of our former members will rejoin. We miss old friends. We are also glad to have so many new ones. Dori mentioned looking over the resources of the Quality and Process Improvement SIG, which are considerable. I'm listing the articles in the online newsletters as follows: (1) open each issue; (2) block copy the title and author and any intervening text; (3) paste in Notepad; (4) strip all but the title and author; (5) post. You can see the start of this at http://stcsig.org/quality/q_newsletter_archive.htm If anyone would like to do an issue or two and email the output of steps one to four to me, I would really appreciate it. Otherwise listing these articles is going to happen very, very slowly. Ann Ann L. Wiley, Ph.D. Ann L. Wiley Consultants Inc. ann at annlwiley.com Fellow, Founder and Manager, QPI SIG From thomasn at twelfthnight.com Wed Oct 18 18:55:46 2006 From: thomasn at twelfthnight.com (Thomas Neuburger) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 17:55:46 -0700 Subject: My participation at FrameMaker Chautauqua Nov 8-10 Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20061018175504.0643e5c0@twelfthnight.com> Hi Quality fans, Just a note about my participation in the Austin TX FrameMaker Chautauqua, November 8-10. I'm a late addition to the program, so information on what I'll be discussing may not be well disseminated. Because our profession is moving toward topic-based documentation, there's a renewed interest in the quality of the writing itself. It's becoming well recognized that the ability to chunk documentation down to topic-sized bites means nothing if those bites are indigestible. This interest in quality takes many forms, as it should. One of those forms is clarity of explanation, clarity of prose, and attention to the layout decisions that writers make in the creation & editing phrase -- for example, Should I use bullets here or not? Do I break out this code or keep it inline? How long is too long for this particular paragraph? Attention to these aspects of quality have a direct bearing on whether documentation will be useful, and whether it will even be read. All of these subjects will be explored, with examples and audience interaction/discussion in my talk, "A Writer's Guide to Quality: Editing and Layout". Those of you who have heard me speak about quality know my interest in the subject. Please join me, if you're attending, and participate in this session. The full conference schedule is here: FrameMaker Chautauqua Schedule And registration information is here: FrameMaker Chautauqua Registration Best, Thomas Neuburger The Masters Series: FrameMaker 6 www.twelfthnight.com From ann at annlwiley.com Thu Oct 19 13:10:54 2006 From: ann at annlwiley.com (Ann L. Wiley Consultants Inc.) Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 15:10:54 -0400 Subject: Boeing-sponsored studies continue to seek participants Message-ID: <006201c6f3b2$501883f0$6600a8c0@ACERTMate> This is a follow up to a message posted a couple of weeks ago on behalf of the APQC. The writing and editing survey can now be "previewed" so that people can see the entire survey prior to taking it. Writing and Editing Take the survey: www.apqc.org/surveys/writing_editing Preview the survey: www.apqc.org/Writing/Editing In addition, APQC has surveys (also sponsored by Boeing) in related "creative services" areas that may be of interest to some members. These are below. Photo and Video Take the survey: www.apqc.org/surveys/photo_video Preview the survey: www.apqc.org/Photo/Video Graphics Take the survey: www.apqc.org/surveys/graphics Preview the survey: www.apqc.org/graphics From debkramasz at comcast.net Fri Oct 20 16:00:19 2006 From: debkramasz at comcast.net (debkramasz at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 22:00:19 +0000 Subject: Ideas on criteria for ISO NMRs for service companies Message-ID: <102020062200.8445.453946F300057A94000020FD2200761064969C0E030E9D050D0A0B@comcast.net> Greetings Quality SIGers, I work in a translation company that is ISO 9001:2000 certified and we've been going around and around with establishing realistic criteria for NMRs (nonconforming material report). We want to set criteria that are valuable but yet don't require that we fill out NMRs all day long. The translation process parallels the publishing process in many respects, as we manage the cross-language writers (translators), editors, proofreaders, and DTP through to completion. We deal with all file formats (from rc files to Word docs), translation software, and DTP software and all the "opportunities for improvement" that come with them in a multilingual environment. So, our "products" entail translated files, video/radio/TV voice work, onsite validation of software, and linguistic expertise. Does anyone from a service company have any ideas or stories about their experience with setting NMR criteria? Regards, Deb Kramasz Senior Language Manager Tel.: 612.349.3142 Email: dkramasz at prisma.com PRiSMA International 204 N. First Street Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA From r2inovatns at look.ca Thu Oct 26 10:17:34 2006 From: r2inovatns at look.ca (Ralph E. Robinson) Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 12:17:34 -0400 Subject: Ideas on criteria for ISO NMRs for service companies Message-ID: <000701c6f91a$5ec543d0$f99afea9@R2Innovations> Deb Kramasz recently asked > Does anyone from a service company have any ideas or stories about their > experience with setting NMR criteria? I recently implemented an ISO-registered quality management system at a client that provides translation and technical writing services to a wide range of clients in both Canada and the US which only uses an NMR when non conformances are reported by a client - theirs is a Client Non Conformance Report (NCMR). We found that to report every grammar mistake by a writer, or error by an illustrator, or translation error by a translator at the various quality check points within the process would just create a paperwork nightmare. The process does, however, allow for a Corrective/Preventive Action Request to be completed by an editor or quality assurance personnel if they find the same errors consistently in work (more than 3 occurrences in the same type of work over a 1 month period) which would indicate a systemic problem. The production process includes the use of editors and/or quality assurance checkers to catch errors BEFORE delivery to the client, and therefore a slip in this process would be the only way a non conforming product would result. This process exists in 3 facilities geographically spread across Canada and audited by 3 different auditors and found to be compliant with the requirements of ISO 9001:2000. Hope this helps you out. Ralph E. Robinson, Principal R2 Innovations Policy & Procedure Specialists (705) 726-0975 From bcaskey at omnilingua.com Thu Oct 26 11:58:35 2006 From: bcaskey at omnilingua.com (Bob Caskey) Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 12:58:35 -0500 Subject: =?us-ascii?Q?RE:_=5Bstcqsig-l=5D_Re:_Ideas_on_criteria_for_ISO_NMRs=20?= =?us-ascii?Q?for_service_companies?= Message-ID: <8B5193CDAC0F8C4DB05B3FD94C861BFA059EABBE@x1.omnilingua.com> Ralph, This is a topic of high relevance for me. Can you please tell me what data analysis tools you used to determine this: "The process does, however, allow for a Corrective/Preventive Action Request to be completed by an editor or quality assurance personnel if they find the same errors consistently in work (more than 3 occurrences in the same type of work over a 1 month period) which would indicate a systemic problem." Thank you very much. Best Regards, Bob Caskey From r2inovatns at look.ca Thu Oct 26 15:11:01 2006 From: r2inovatns at look.ca (Ralph E. Robinson) Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 17:11:01 -0400 Subject: [stcqsig-l] Re: Ideas on criteria for ISO NMRs for service companies References: Message-ID: <000501c6f943$4f8eee10$f99afea9@R2Innovations> Bob Caskey asked: >This is a topic of high relevance for me. Can you please tell me what >data analysis tools you used to determine this: >"The process does, however, allow for a Corrective/Preventive Action >Request to be completed by an editor or quality assurance personnel if >they find the same errors consistently in work (more than 3 occurrences >in the same type of work over a 1 month period) which would indicate a >systemic problem." Bob, my client's offices are staffed by under 30 people each and the team leads in writing, desktop publishing, and illustration complete the final edit/review of the document prior to release to the customer. For translation the team lead performs a technical accuracy check on the work. These people advise anyone of any errors they have made, and since they also perform the annual performance review on these people, they keep record of repeat errors so as to take the necessary remedial action ASAP. In the two years I've been advising them on ISO matter I know of no situation that resulted in a Corrective/Preventive Action Request being raised by the team leads - usually the problem area is rectified before three instances of the same error takes place. All C/PARS raised todate have been as a result of internal audits or, in one instance, a Client Non Conformance Report. Hope this helps. Ralph E. Robinson, Principal R2 Innovations Policy & Procedure Specialists (705) 726-0975