Upcoming ebusiness Club Event: Cloud Computing Conference, Nottingham

If it's good enough for the likes of Google and IBM, then I am guessing Cloud Computing is good enough for me! But what is it and what can it offer to small businesses such as mine? The East Midlands ebusiness Club is hoping to quell some of the fears by answering these and many other questions at their free one-day conference on Friday 15th April (see http://tinyurl.com/3ce54bh for more details).

The conference will include a series presentations explaining the business benefits of employing cloud computing, including discussing the risks and security considerations. In addition the conferences promises to provide case studies and practical demonstrations of how a small business can set up and fully integration cloud technology.

As a freelance technical author I am particularly interested in understanding how cloud computing can help the exchange of information between client and remote author, an issue that often rears its ugly head during the review process.

A picture is worth a thousand words

We are all familiar with the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words", but is it always true? As technical authors should we be using more images or shying away from their use? 

Localisation

In a previous life (well it seems that long ago!), part of my remit was to oversee the localisation of a company's software and documentation. The documentation to be translated included the legacy user guide that had been widely distributed throughout the UK and included abundant numbers of screen shots. It was only as the cost of localising each image became apparent that I realised the error of our ways. Yes having a screen shot of every page of a wizard did make the document complete...but did the cost outweigh any usefulness, after all even the most naive of users can find the Finish button! I ultimately paid the price for my errors as it soon became my job to retake the screen shots in Spanish, German, French, etc. Since this experience I have always been more sparing in my use of screen shots, constantly weighing the benefit against potential cost, I still firmly believe they have their place, just not on every page!

When a picture doesn't tell a thousand words

Recently National Express underestimated the need for words when they were found guilty by the Advertising Standards Agency for misleading passengers travelling from Stansted Airport to London (BBC News Report). To help non-English speaking passengers, National Express had adopted a purely pictorial approach to passing on their message, unfortunately for them, the message was deemed to be misleading.

Likewise product instructions often come in the form of an expanded illustration of product X, or a series of picture clues (think flat pack furniture) giving step by step instructions on how to use or build product Y. The success of these instructions is questionable, as demonstrated by a survey by Userview which suggested 45% of those questioned had encountered poor flat pack instructions.

Technical writing and pictures

As technical authors should we be embracing the use of imagery, or sticking to our more traditional words? Personally I would suggest a mixture of both is the right way to go. My recent experience suggests technical authoring has moved away from the monster guides full of screen shots, but that doesn't mean all imagery has gone. Instead careful use of selected annotated screen shots helps to generate a clear message. Additionally, I am a keen advocate of using flash card pictorial instructions as a method of documenting key tasks carried out by users who often have neither the inclination nor the time to trawl through a weighty user guide.

In conclusion...

As with everything we do, careful consideration, clarity and testing are all essential when embracing the tools available to us to pass our message on.

Documentation:worth its weight in gold?

When selling documentation services to software development managers I am often faced with the question "does documentation add value?" I usually start my response with talk of reduced support call costs, professionalism and improved end user experience, but until now I have failed to fully evaluate the true cost versus benefit. 

Poor documentation - who pays the price?

The obvious answer to this question is the supplier as they manage the incoming support calls whilst attempting to retain their standing within the market. However, there is also a cost to be shouldered by the customer caused by lost time and productivity. For example, each problem encountered by an end user may take the user 5-10 minutes of frustration trying to resolve the issue, followed by a 5 minute phone call to a support call centre explaining the problem, followed by a further 10-20 minutes following the guidance of the support technician to finally resolve the issue. Consequently a conservative estimate suggests an end user could easily lose 20-35 minutes from their day. If such losses occur too frequently productivity questions will soon start to be asked. 

Documentation in 2010

When I first started life as a technical author 10 years ago, we proudly produced hundreds of pages of documentation, all nicely filed in several ring binders (that allowed for changes to be inserted), to support our humble product which shipped on CD. From past experience these large cumbersome volumes made wonderful door stops, shelf supports and general dust catchers but did little to improve user experience. Bigger was definitely better in those days.

Nowadays though documentation plays a much more supportive role and is often accessed entirely via the Internet. Single-sourcing means that product documentation can easily have a second life as training manuals. Likewise through adding emphasis to new features your documentation in 2010 can soon become a selling aid. Imagine the glee on the faces of your sales team as they stand up with a slick product and an even slicker document that describes all the key features and workings!

Ongoing user support 

Online social networking seems to be taking over the lives of everyone at the moment, for example a report for the BBC in 2009 demonstrated that 67% of us use social networks, and this number is probably rising. Through the likes of facebook, twitter and youtube we are all familiar with the concept of "sharing" online. As a consequence we start to expect the same level of interaction with suppliers, and the use of user forums is equally on the increase. Reports as far back as 2008 suggested that almost a third of US IT users regularly accessed forums. 

As this social networking phenomenon grows and grows, why not harness its potential? Online forums offer users support at a fraction of the cost of a fully staffed support centre. Users help each others, although monitoring by support staff is essential to ensure accurate information is being provided and end users are gaining answers in a timely fashion. Furthermore the information you collect from your forum can form the basis of searchable online frequently asked questions, ensuring that future users can find answers quickly. Forums allow documentation gaps to be effectively identified ensuring that your product documentation grows in line with user expectation and experience.

Recession busting

As we continue to flounder through difficult financial times, organisations are being urged to cut costs whilst increasing profitability. On the face of it, such an equation is not always easy to balance, however improving your product or in-house documentation offers an opportunity to achieve the impossible. Not only can providing documentation reduce support costs, it can also enhance your organisation's standing through adding value to your product or service whilst removing an element of risk for your potential customers.


In conclusion
Quality documentation cannot fail to add value to the products and services offered by an organisation. The trick is to invest wisely and ensure that the value of the documentation is maximised. 

Jack of all trades, master of ONE....technical author!

4 years ago, when I was first considering leaving the world of the employed and setting up as a freelance technical author, no-one told me I would soon have a list of job titles longer than my arm. Before I knew where I was I had become:

• Technical author
• Managing director
• Accountant
• Marketing executive
• IT purchaser
• Network manager
• Bid writer
• Cleaner

to name but a few!

It was only after I had been in business for a few months that my multidisciplinary role became apparent...at which point I started to panic!

In January 2009, my outlook started to change. I enrolled onto the mentoring scheme run by East Midlands Development Agency, and almost simultaneously I read an article in the ISTC Communicator entitled "A day in the life of Mike Unwalla". In his article Mike described how he spent a considerable part of his day carrying out "business development" activities, something which I had always struggled to reconcile. Suddenly I was able to see that I was running a (successful) business and that I wasn't "just" a technical author for lots of different companies.

With the help of my business mentor, I have developed my "non-authoring" skills and now I see myself not just as a technical author, but also as a successful business owner. The client list continues to grow, so I must be doing something right both as an author and a business owner. However, I still think the mark of my true success will only be seen when I can farm some of my new found job titles out to others! Roll on that day!

Finsbury Solutions joins the SmartAuthoring client list

SmartAuthoring are pleased to announce that Finsbury Solutions has been added to the growing list of SmartAuthoring clients. Finsbury Solutions offer governance, risk and compliance solutions for spreadsheet and EUCs. SmartAuthoring are working closely with the Finsbury Solutions development team to produce administrator and end user documentation that matches the quality of the product offering.

SmartAuthoring launches new web site

SmartAuthoring has today launched the latest version of its website after many weeks of development. For the first we have not used a combination of Dreamweaver and HTML coding to create the website, but instead have utilised the site creation wizard that is offered by the hosting company.

This has been a bit of an experience! Site wizards have many benefits in that they allow users with little or no HTML knowledge to create intricate websites using the many built-in templates, from this perspective I was impressed. However, as a competent HTML/Java coder I found the inability to develop the layout of the site frustrating. That said, there is a HTML mode which allows you to tinker with the underlying code a little...so not all was lost. That said I like the end result (any comments?) and will return to try out new templates in the future!

Do you need a staff handbook?

Recently I started work for a new customer and I quickly realised what this organisation needed....an up-to-date staff handbook! As an employer of self-employed contractors, the organisation has a high turnover of staff, most of which are use to hitting the road running. However, unless my experience was unique, many will have spent their first month asking questions about timesheets, kit signout, and travel expenses! This is not only a waste of the contractor's time, but also the poor heads of department who have to repeatedly answer the questions.

If ever there was a case crying out for a staff handbook this is it...needless to say I will be offering my services! Although the initial outlay for such an item may seem high, the long term cost and time savings will compensate.