When we developed our Effective Writing Skills training course, we created the course materials using the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA), to test its usefulness for small content production projects. DITA is an open XML standard for creating, organising, and publishing topic-based information. The content team who developed the course material acted as ‘customers’. They […]
Creating Effective Work Instructions: Kyle Shropshire’s “The Error Free Workplace”
Kyle Shropshire’s The Error Free Workplace explores the significance of well-written instructions and highlights how well-written instructions can contribute to an error free workplace. If you want to reduce workplace errors, this book explains how technical writing can help you achieve your objective. Errors and Consequences To commence, the book outlines why some work instructions […]
Innovating Technical Communication Education
A few years ago, TWi collaborated with Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and other organisations to develop the syllabus for a new postgraduate technical communication program in Information Design and Development. This post tells the story of how it came about. Innovative Design The idea grew from a conversation between Patrice Fanning, founder of TWi, […]
Punctuation for Professionals: Delivering Technical Writing Training
How do you teach grammar and punctuation to experienced technical professionals without seeming patronising? To follow that: how do you condense the skills and knowledge needed for technical communication into a single day of training? (more…)
Reflections on the European Academic Colloquium 2018
The European Academic Colloquium (EAC) is an annual event that focuses on scientific content with respect to technical communication. This year’s event took place on April 26th and 27th at the University of Limerick. The topic of EAC 2018 was “21st Century Skills for Technical Communicators”. In this post, we look at some of the […]
Information 4.0 – Making Content Intelligent
As the industrial revolution enters its fourth stage, technical communication is evolving in parallel. The challenge for technical communicators is to develop new methods of creating, managing, and storing content that are compatible with the latest delivery channels – to close the gap between the more traditional technical communication methods and the requirements that Industry […]
Enterprise Excellence 2018: A Look Ahead
We are excited to be exhibiting at Enterprise Excellence on the 23rd of May in Croke Park alongside experts in lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement. Building on the inaugural event in 2017, this year promises to be even better, with twice as many professionals attending to learn and interact with Ireland’s lean experts from […]
“Information Design: Research and Practice” – a Bible for Information Designers?
Information Design: Research and Practice, edited by Alison Black, Paul Luna, Ole Lund, and Sue Walker, is a compendium of theories and practical examples of information from leading researchers and practitioners. This is an excellent resource, comprehensively addressing multiple aspects of information design. Erik Speikerman, one of the contributors to the book, describes the volume […]
The New Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and the End User: Supporting Usability Through Documentation
The medtech industry is undergoing significant change, from the introduction of the new MDR and the update to ISO 13485, to the growth of home-based healthcare and the uncertainties of Brexit. This post was originally published in November 2017 and updated in March 2018. At some recent Irish medtech events, the major topics dominating conversation were: […]
Human Error Reduction in the Biopharmaceutical Industry: How Outsourcing Can Help
By Liadain O'Driscoll and Carmel Murphy on February 19, 2018 in Pharma and BioPharma, Technical Writing
Improving your Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) documentation is often a central aspect of a human error reduction project. Unclear or poorly written standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions, and batch manufacturing records contribute to increased human error and inefficient training. In this post, we outline how a managed service solution for documentation can support human […]
