Proposal for a paper to be presented at the 2009 STC Summit in Atlanta, GA
#3 - What Tech Doc Can Learn From The Comics
The recent Google Chrome comic caused a lot of buzz. But it's far from being the first "technical" comic. Find out how comics can help you produce better tech docs.
There is a long tradition of connections between the worlds of comic books and technical documentation, but it is one that is often overlooked. (For example the US army has used technical comics for over 50 years)
This presentation will present examples of technical documentation done using comic book techniques from over the years to the present day.
It will also show how by studying the story telling and artistic techniques used in comics we can improve the readability and quality of technical documentation.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
STC Proposals #2 - How To Make Executives Love The Publications Department
Proposal for a paper at the 2009 STC Summit in Atlanta, GA.
#2 - How To Make Executives Love The Publications Department
"The publications department gets no respect" is an often heard refrain. But it need not be that way.
It is possible to make Publications one of the most respected groups in your company?
Building on my own experience of doing just that, this presentation will show five key steps to take in order to change the way people think about publications.
The lessons presented can be applied equally to a single writer, as well as to larger publications groups.
#2 - How To Make Executives Love The Publications Department
"The publications department gets no respect" is an often heard refrain. But it need not be that way.
It is possible to make Publications one of the most respected groups in your company?
Building on my own experience of doing just that, this presentation will show five key steps to take in order to change the way people think about publications.
The lessons presented can be applied equally to a single writer, as well as to larger publications groups.
STC Proposals #1 - Move Over DITA, Chaos is Coming
Last week I submitted proposals for three papers for the 2009 STC Summit in Atlanta GA, and thought it might be fun to post the summaries here. Let me know if you'd be interested in hearing any of these and if so, what sort of questions you'd like answered or topics you would like me to cover.
#1 - Move Over DITA, Chaos is Coming
The Technical Publishing industry is on the edge of a paradigm shift and may not realize it.
As the digital generation enters the workforce they will bring new expectations with them that will challenge the way we write and deliver content.
This presentation will contrast the way we currently produce documentation and our expectations of user behavior with what we can expect our users to be asking for in the not too distant future.
In the world of social networks, online video, wikis, blogs and twitter is structured topic based authoring really the answer?
#1 - Move Over DITA, Chaos is Coming
The Technical Publishing industry is on the edge of a paradigm shift and may not realize it.
As the digital generation enters the workforce they will bring new expectations with them that will challenge the way we write and deliver content.
This presentation will contrast the way we currently produce documentation and our expectations of user behavior with what we can expect our users to be asking for in the not too distant future.
In the world of social networks, online video, wikis, blogs and twitter is structured topic based authoring really the answer?
Friday, October 3, 2008
Reflection on Santa Fe
I must admit after last year's excellent CIDM Best Practices conference, this year's event in Santa Fe was a little disappointing.
I didn't really hear anything new from the presentations, while the networking and side conversations seemed somewhat subdued. I had a couple of good productive pre-arranged one-on-one meetings, but otherwise there was no real discernible "buzz" about this year's event.
Difficult to say why, as that's more of a subjective feeling than an objective observation.
One thing that did surprise me was the fact of how many people still overlook both the importance of graphics, and the impact of the whole publishing process once the content has been created.
Creating good technical documentation is not just about authoring and content management.
I didn't really hear anything new from the presentations, while the networking and side conversations seemed somewhat subdued. I had a couple of good productive pre-arranged one-on-one meetings, but otherwise there was no real discernible "buzz" about this year's event.
Difficult to say why, as that's more of a subjective feeling than an objective observation.
One thing that did surprise me was the fact of how many people still overlook both the importance of graphics, and the impact of the whole publishing process once the content has been created.
Creating good technical documentation is not just about authoring and content management.
Friday, September 12, 2008
NM bound
This weekend I'll be on the road heading to Santa Fe, NM to attend the upcoming CIDM Best Practices conference.
I'm looking forward to the conference, meeting up with some old friends, and hopefully learning a few new ideas and concepts about the art of Corporate Publishing.
I'm looking forward to the conference, meeting up with some old friends, and hopefully learning a few new ideas and concepts about the art of Corporate Publishing.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Instructional Comics - Google Weren't The First
As part of the on-going online discussion about the impact and usability of the Google Chrome comic, fellow blogger Tom Johnson asked me if I had more samples and references for comic book style documentation.
As I mentioned before the "technical comics" I've done to date have been more like illustrated white papers than "how to" instruction manuals, but over the years I have come across a few examples of instructional comics.
Perhaps the best known among the comics creative community is the work done by pioneering graphic novelist Will Eisner for the US Army. Between 1951 and 1972 Eisner produced the P.S. Magazine - The Preventative Maintenance Monthly for the army, which combined comics, instructions and some great artwork covering a whole range of army equipment and procedures.
(The Virginia Commonwealth University has a complete digital library of PSM available online.) He also wrote and illustrated an document known to the US army as "DA-Pam 750-30 - The M16A1 Rifle - Operation and Preventive Maintenance" - but generally referred to as "Treat Your Rifle Like A Lady."
Other examples I've come across include:
- Emergency Roofing
- Playing the accordion.
And there are things like aircraft safety instruction cards (the ones in the seat backs) and numerous instructional notices (like this one about using your cell phone on the subway) that use comics iconography and techniques.
As I mentioned before the "technical comics" I've done to date have been more like illustrated white papers than "how to" instruction manuals, but over the years I have come across a few examples of instructional comics.
Perhaps the best known among the comics creative community is the work done by pioneering graphic novelist Will Eisner for the US Army. Between 1951 and 1972 Eisner produced the P.S. Magazine - The Preventative Maintenance Monthly for the army, which combined comics, instructions and some great artwork covering a whole range of army equipment and procedures.
(The Virginia Commonwealth University has a complete digital library of PSM available online.) He also wrote and illustrated an document known to the US army as "DA-Pam 750-30 - The M16A1 Rifle - Operation and Preventive Maintenance" - but generally referred to as "Treat Your Rifle Like A Lady."
Other examples I've come across include:
- Emergency Roofing
- Playing the accordion.
And there are things like aircraft safety instruction cards (the ones in the seat backs) and numerous instructional notices (like this one about using your cell phone on the subway) that use comics iconography and techniques.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Wanna Be A Tech Writer..
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The Google Chrome comic - why it didn't work.
Yesterday I spent a fair amount of time talking with a prospective client about a project involving the use of sequential art to convey some very technical information.
In short, he wants to use the medium of comics to tell prospective engineers why it would be cool to work on the projects his organization is responsible for. (And having heard what projects they are – I can confirm it would be VERY COOL to be involved in almost any capacity).
I walked him through the process I use to develop and produce promotional comics and various options for delivery etc. based on budgets, audience and so on.
During the conversation the “technical comic” produced by comics guru Scott McCloud in support of the launch of the new Google Chrome browser was discussed.
My client had loved the idea, checked out the links, started out to read the McCloud comic and after about six pages he had glazed over, skim read a few more pages and not actually finished it.
His concern was that he was not alone in this reaction, and because of this was wary of citing the Google comic to his budget holders as a way to justify his own project.
Even with the added incentive of professional interest, I must also admit that I found the Google Chrome comic difficult to finish. No one else I have spoken to since has actually read it the whole way through.
Why? Because despite the “novelty” of the method of presentation, they didn’t stay engaged in the subject matter.
Today I came across the following quote from Scott McCloud in an FAQ.
And perhaps there lies the problem.
There is no single voice and no narrative.
Let me say that I greatly admire McCloud. He knows more about comics storytelling and structure than I ever will. I constantly reference his classic work “Understanding Comics” in producing my own work, and in various papers I write, or presentations I give, on communicating.
But I’m amazed with the Google project, because the lack of narrative seems like a basic omission from such a high profile project.
Whenever I produce a promotional comic I always try and include a central character that the reader can empathize with, along with a story (more often than not something light and fun to off set the heavy technical jargon) to guide the reader through the points being made.
As I’ve often said before, all communication is a story and technical communication needs it just as much as fiction.
I’m not sure what audience the Google Chrome comic was aimed at. While it was great to see comics used in such a high profile way, did anyone consider the implications and impact of the fact that the very use of the comics medium would expose it to a wider audience than first intended?
In short, he wants to use the medium of comics to tell prospective engineers why it would be cool to work on the projects his organization is responsible for. (And having heard what projects they are – I can confirm it would be VERY COOL to be involved in almost any capacity).
I walked him through the process I use to develop and produce promotional comics and various options for delivery etc. based on budgets, audience and so on.
During the conversation the “technical comic” produced by comics guru Scott McCloud in support of the launch of the new Google Chrome browser was discussed.
My client had loved the idea, checked out the links, started out to read the McCloud comic and after about six pages he had glazed over, skim read a few more pages and not actually finished it.
His concern was that he was not alone in this reaction, and because of this was wary of citing the Google comic to his budget holders as a way to justify his own project.
Even with the added incentive of professional interest, I must also admit that I found the Google Chrome comic difficult to finish. No one else I have spoken to since has actually read it the whole way through.
Why? Because despite the “novelty” of the method of presentation, they didn’t stay engaged in the subject matter.
Today I came across the following quote from Scott McCloud in an FAQ.
Who wrote the script?
The engineers, for the most part! I helped conduct interviews with about 20 engineers who worked on the project, then adapted what they said into comics form. Some paraphrasing, lots of condensation, and one or two late drop ins, but basically it was a very organic adaptation and I had a lot of latitude.
And perhaps there lies the problem.
There is no single voice and no narrative.
Let me say that I greatly admire McCloud. He knows more about comics storytelling and structure than I ever will. I constantly reference his classic work “Understanding Comics” in producing my own work, and in various papers I write, or presentations I give, on communicating.
But I’m amazed with the Google project, because the lack of narrative seems like a basic omission from such a high profile project.
Whenever I produce a promotional comic I always try and include a central character that the reader can empathize with, along with a story (more often than not something light and fun to off set the heavy technical jargon) to guide the reader through the points being made.
As I’ve often said before, all communication is a story and technical communication needs it just as much as fiction.
I’m not sure what audience the Google Chrome comic was aimed at. While it was great to see comics used in such a high profile way, did anyone consider the implications and impact of the fact that the very use of the comics medium would expose it to a wider audience than first intended?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
I bet you don't think you're this bad...
I'm not sure if this is genuine or something put together as an example of extreme technical jargon - whichever it still provides one of the best demonstrations of the need for clear concise communications in presenting technical concepts.
You may not think that your company or industry jargon is this bad, but try a little exercise. Take a white paper, or sample page of documentation and show it someone (family or friend) who has no experience of your industry and ask them to read it. See how many words and phrases they stumble over.
You may not think that your company or industry jargon is this bad, but try a little exercise. Take a white paper, or sample page of documentation and show it someone (family or friend) who has no experience of your industry and ask them to read it. See how many words and phrases they stumble over.
Monday, July 14, 2008
How far do you spread the message?
Yesterday afternoon I spent some time posting sample art from an upcoming comics project on my personal blog as well as in a publicly accessible Facebook photo-album, and making sure I mentioned it on Twitter.
Part way through the exercise my wife asked me "Why are you doing that. Shouldn't the publishers be doing it?" On the face of it it seemed like a fair question, but experience has quickly taught me that publishers with hundreds of books to promote can only focus on a select few, and you can't count on yours being one of them. The more marketing you do for yourself the more advance interest you can build and, hopefully, the greater the sales.
Switch to this morning at the WebWorks office, and after reviewing some figures I sent an email to one online distributor of software asking them to remove our product listing from their website.
The two events didn't seem related, but over lunch today I began to think about it.
Last night my underlying philosophy was that "the more marketing the better." The more online exposure I could get for my upcoming project the more awareness it would build for both the project and myself as a writer. So more is good? - Yes
This morning, when I looked at the product listing online at the site in question I saw that the product and company descriptions were years out of date. They obviously had no real understanding of our market, or what business issues our product helped solve, never mind its actual features and functionality. When I looked back at the records I found that they were one of a large group of on-line software distributors who had been signed up "en-mass" several years ago. The philosophy had been the same as mine the previous night "the more web presence the better." So more is good? - In this case - No.
So many distributors had been signed up that no-one was (or could practically for our size of company) manage them all and keep track of how we, and our products, were being represented. The ones that produced steady strong results got noticed and managed. The ones that only produced occasional sales didn't. The result is that those neglected listings were soon sending the wrong messages.
So what's the connection? Having a philosophy of spreading your message far and wide over the Web can be a great one. In today's Web2.0 world viral marketing is one of the strongest marketing tools available. BUT.. you can should only spread the message to places that you can manage. If the message gets inconsistent and diluted it doesn't take long to become worthless.
Part way through the exercise my wife asked me "Why are you doing that. Shouldn't the publishers be doing it?" On the face of it it seemed like a fair question, but experience has quickly taught me that publishers with hundreds of books to promote can only focus on a select few, and you can't count on yours being one of them. The more marketing you do for yourself the more advance interest you can build and, hopefully, the greater the sales.
Switch to this morning at the WebWorks office, and after reviewing some figures I sent an email to one online distributor of software asking them to remove our product listing from their website.
The two events didn't seem related, but over lunch today I began to think about it.
Last night my underlying philosophy was that "the more marketing the better." The more online exposure I could get for my upcoming project the more awareness it would build for both the project and myself as a writer. So more is good? - Yes
This morning, when I looked at the product listing online at the site in question I saw that the product and company descriptions were years out of date. They obviously had no real understanding of our market, or what business issues our product helped solve, never mind its actual features and functionality. When I looked back at the records I found that they were one of a large group of on-line software distributors who had been signed up "en-mass" several years ago. The philosophy had been the same as mine the previous night "the more web presence the better." So more is good? - In this case - No.
So many distributors had been signed up that no-one was (or could practically for our size of company) manage them all and keep track of how we, and our products, were being represented. The ones that produced steady strong results got noticed and managed. The ones that only produced occasional sales didn't. The result is that those neglected listings were soon sending the wrong messages.
So what's the connection? Having a philosophy of spreading your message far and wide over the Web can be a great one. In today's Web2.0 world viral marketing is one of the strongest marketing tools available. BUT.. you can should only spread the message to places that you can manage. If the message gets inconsistent and diluted it doesn't take long to become worthless.
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