In a 2015 TWi post, Neil Donovan explored the music that writers at TWi listen to when we work. While music and white noise remain popular soundtracks to our focused work, the audio landscape in 2020 has changed dramatically. With such a rich and varied podcast landscape out there to explore, an attempt to describe […]
Tag Archives | technical writing
Effective Business Process Mapping
Perhaps your organisation wants to automate a process, improve efficiency, or move from one infrastructure provider to another. Whatever the motivation, business process mapping is often the first step in transforming business processes within an organisation. Business process mapping involves detailing the steps in a process, identifying the roles responsible for carrying out each step, […]
Hello World: Writing API Tutorials for Multiple Audiences
As technical writers, we understand where we fit in the world. No one wants to read the manual; they want to use the product. In fact, even that’s not true: often, users just want a certain result. This is especially the case with an application programming interface (API). External developers use an API because it […]
Technical Communication, Music, and Productivity
At this time of year, it can be extremely difficult to concentrate. You’re sitting at your computer, resplendent in your Christmas jumper, trying to make sense of some source documentation. Your mind begins to wander. You start to think about Christmas presents, you wonder who your Secret Santa is, and that Christmas music is driving […]
Word and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA): Worth the Effort? (Part 2)
In the first post in this series, we described VBA for Word and how it could be useful to writers. In this part, we delve into VBA and explore some basic tasks: Getting started Writing text to a document Reading text from a document Looping through all the paragraphs in a document Getting Started There […]
Techcomm Education: What’s Going On?
By Siobhán Ní Chatháin on November 3, 2015 in Techcomm, Techcomm Education, Technical Communication, Technical Writing, Training and Consulting
We recently learned that academic institutions in the UK are no longer providing third-level qualifications in technical communication. Several techcomm courses that had existed at various universities have been shut down. The topic of techcomm education was already one in which we were keenly interested and actively involved. This information seemed to contradict our perception […]
Comparing XML Authoring Tools: Xopus versus Arbortext (Part 2)
In our last post, we started comparing SDL Xopus and PTC Arbortext, two XML authoring tools that some of our writers are using for a client project. Today, we pick up where we left off, with the final round and our ‘post-fight’ analysis. The Final Round: User Interface and Usability Looks matter – and in […]
Comparing XML Authoring Tools: Xopus versus Arbortext (Part 1)
For technical writers, extensible markup language (XML) is a lifesaver. It helps us deliver high-quality technical documentation by applying consistent style and structure to our writing. By using XML, we create single-source documentation that can then be delivered in multiple formats by applying stylesheets. A stylesheet is a set of rules that describes how to […]
