About Cherryleaf
Cherryleaf Limited is a technical communication company based in the United Kingdom. We are the most copied technical communicators in the UK, with expertise in single sourcing (reusing content) and online Help. We have locations in Brighton, Heathrow (London) and Oxfordshire (Thame), and we carry out work throughout the UK and Europe.
As a member of TechComm Alliance, an international consortium of technical communication companies, we can also work with you on international opportunities.
Our services
Cherryleaf helps you explain technical information in an easy to understand way
Even when organisations decide to write their technical documentation themselves, they still often call upon our help. That's because we offer more than just technical writing services; we offer specialist training and writing recruitment services, too:
"Cherryleaf stands out in the technical communication business; the free monthly newsletter they publish is a great marketing tool for the business and is full of all the latest industry news and product information. It's a convenient way to keep track of new developments and an excellent resource which indicates that the team behind it are knowledgeable professionals, who are committed to their work. The newsletter hooks into their website which includes further information on their comprehensive products and services they supply." Duncan Willmore Technical Author November 2008
It's easy to contact us - just phone 01784 258672 or send us an email.
The management team
Ellis Pratt BA, Sales and Marketing Director; Head of Cherryleaf Recruitment.
Ellis has over ten years experience working on documentation projects.
"I co-own a company that writes straightforward user information - explaining tasks, procedures and concepts, user manuals and online Help (aka technical authors, writers and trainers). I've realised that I enjoy explaining things to people. It's the part of sales and marketing that I love the most."
He is an accomplished speaker on topics such as the future trends for user assistance, online Help and online communities. Ellis has spoken at these conferences: TICAD-Technical Information Creation And Distribution (in 2005 and 2006), The Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators, Tekom (Germany), Society for Technical Communication (UK Chapter) and several European Online Help Conferences.
He is the author of "Tech Writing 2.0 - The application of Web 2.0 technologies to technical documentation", "So you want to become a technical author" and "Network to Get Work". Ellis has also had articles published on technology trends in Online Help in journals such as The Communicator (UK), The Southern Communicator (Australia and New Zealand), and Tech Talk (Victoria). In 2006, he was a remote judge for the Puget Sound STC's (Society for Technical Communication) technical communication competition.
His philosophy is winning by sharing, connecting people to what they seek, networked businesses and people. The aim is to create a network of business professionals who support one another, learning, networking and trading. He is also an Associate of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.
Testimonials
"Ellis Pratt also brings wisdom - indeed, he has lessons on metrics that go beyond their use in technical publishing." Prof. James Woudhuysen, ITWeek, November 2005.
"I have know Ellis for about 4 years and we have collaborated on a project. I find Ellis to be trustworthy, knowledgeable, intelligent and a man of unimpeachable integrity. As a result of working together, I have come to know Ellis as a genuine, caring and reliable friend - someone I would happily turn to for advice, knowing that his guidance would be based on a carefully considered, balanced and fair approach to finding the best possible outcome. In short, Ellis is a man I have huge respect for and I recommend him wholeheartedly without the slightest hesitation." Rory Murray , Social Networking Expert , SpidERA November 2008
"Ellis has added clarity, light and meaning to our website content and our business proposition. These skills are rare in the world, and few have the gift to produce them. We're very grateful." Stephen Ashurst, CEO, Bugbox
"His work in the field of Documentation and Interactive Walkthrus has landed his company some big name contracts, and I have full confidence in his ability in this field." Adam White
"Very helpful, both providing general training materials and customised advice. Thank you." Simon Gregory
"Ellis is a selfless connector of people with an excellent memory...If you need technical writing done - Ellis usually knows a man or woman who can!" Andy Coote
"Ellis is a great balance for any group or relationship, he brings understanding, patience and focus to everything he does, his ability to explain is immense, if you don't understand he has the ability to teach you what you need to know. Worth spending time with." Ian Plumbley
"Ellis Pratt is always well-informed, helpful, and above all courteous. I would be happy to recommend him to anyone seeking the services that he provides." Alan Fisk , Board member , TCeurope November 2008
"Ellis is a great person to contact if you need technical authorship services. He can provide expertise, training, and resources to help you produce great documents." George Montgomery , Director , GBS Group January 2008
"I first worked with Cherryleaf when I was with Zetex Semiconductors. We had a requirement for authoring/editorial support on some of our technical publications. Ellis initially made sure he fully understood our specific requirements and profile of the person we were looking for, then supplied us a selection of carefully vetted resumes.
This saved us valuable time in selecting a shortlist of candidates. Ellis has also been an excellent source of help and advice on subsequent occasions. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the valuable services Ellis and Cherryleaf provide."
Mark Tamblyn November 2008
"As a technical author, I've benefitted from Ellis's wide range of contacts. He's found me good roles when I needed them, and his knowledge of the market makes his monthly updates mandatory reading. I've always been impressed by Cherryleaf's contributions to the profession." Nancy Halverson November 2008
"I have worked with Ellis on several occasions where he has provided sound advice on the design of suitable training and then produced and delivered practical and successful training to a large user audience. I have always found Ellis to have a wide experience that he is able to convert to practical use. I am happy to recommend his work." Peter Greenfield November 2008
"Ellis is a capable and hard working marketeer. Extremely personable he has caught my eye as a champion of all things concerned with technical communication. Ellis has consistently demonstrated a strong grasp of future developments. He was the first person I knew to adopt Author-it component-content-management company-wide and more recently has introduced the concepts of Documentation 2.0 (and now Documentation 3.0) to the authoring community." Richard Pineger November 2008
"Cherryleaf introduced me to work at Vodafone in 2003 and Ellis has been a speaker at some ISTC events I organised. We keep in touch and I can recommend him as a reliable contact who is up to date with our industry and with whom I would be very happy to work again." Stephen Helms. November 2008
"I met Ellis through the ISTC and have worked with him on and off for a number of years and can recommend both him and Cherryleaf." Mick Davidson Technical Author November 2008
"Ellis is a knowledgeable and energetic professional within the field of technical communication. He stays abreast of latest trends and technologies, and shows great incite into how these impact the jobs of technical authors." Matthew Ellison November 2008
You can read a fuller profile of Ellis here.
Carol Johnston MA (Cantab); Head of Cherryleaf Technical Documentation Services
Carol has been working in the information design field for 11 years, and has extensive experience of managing (and writing for) documentation projects. She has technical expertise in using many of the major authoring tools. She also has an MA from Cambridge University and a Post-Graduate teaching qualification
Carol is also an accomplished trainer and communicator, developing many of Cherryleaf's courses. She is a Certified Technical Trainer, Certified MadCap Flare trainer, and has been a Certified RoboHelp Instructor and a member of the Society of Technical Communicators (STC). Carol has taught and presented both in America and Europe.
Most recently, she spoke at the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators' (ISTC) conference on writing and designing information for the screen.
"I had some basic instructions for my new online application, Opportunity Matrix™, but absolutely no idea how to turn them into a proper Help system. Carol at Cherryleaf was able to take my rough notes and turn them into a professional Help file. She worked through the application, suggesting appropriate changes where I was making assumptions that would have left users confused.
Once we were both happy with the file, Carol liaised very effectively with the programmer to make sure that the Help system worked perfectly right from the start.
The information and guidance from Cherryleaf was always top notch, so I always knew exactly where the project was, and what the (quite reasonable) budget needed to be. I shall have no hesitation in using Cherryleaf again, and in recommending them." Andrew Horder, CEO, Opportunity Matrix™
Ginny Critcher BA, MSc,; Head of Cherryleaf Training
Ginny has a background as a skilled trainer and information designer, and is responsible for the development of Cherryleaf's training courses. In addition to her skills in information design, she has over twelve years experience in teaching and training throughout the world.
Ginny also has extensive project management skills and has considerable experience using the main technical authoring tools. Ginny is fluent in Spanish, has an MSc (in Information Systems), a BA (in Spanish Studies) and an RSA TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) certificate. She is Cherryleaf's representative to the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC).
Other Quotes about Cherryleaf
"Cherryleaf is one of the best technical authoring houses in the business, and profoundly knowledgeable, professional and approachable. Highly recommended for anyone requiring top-notch documentation or training services." Julian Maynard-Smith, technical author and journalist
"Cherryleaf stands out in the technical communication business; the free monthly newsletter they publish is a great marketing tool for the business and is full of all the latest industry news and product information. It's a convenient way to keep track of new developments and an excellent resource which indicates that the team behind it are knowledgeable professionals, who are committed to their work. The newsletter hooks into their website which includes further information on their comprehensive products and services they supply." Duncan Willmore Technical Author November 2008
"Cherryleaf is one of the hubs of the UK Technical Documentation scene. Ellis is very friendly, professional and knowledgeable. If it is offering a service that you are interested in then you can rest assured that your needs are in fully capable hands." Arjuna Krishna-Das, Documentation Manager , Frontier Silicon November 17, 2008
"I'm very, very happy with the new site content. There are still a few rough edges (like the font sizes, the blog and some of the images/buttons/logos), but our web builder will tackle all that when he's back from a well-earned holiday next week.
And some good things have happened straight away: our Alexa ranking has started to climb -slowly; our competitors have started really piling in on our Google keyword.
Your work has generated a subtle change that is starting to have a big impact on the way we work with our site. I'll keep you posted - if this is the effect your work has on sites I think we'll be working together again soon."
CEO Software company
"Our Web site was confusing, not easy to find and didn't define what we offered. What Cherryleaf did was improve the ease of search, define our services and clearly improve the format and layout, using plain English to allow our potential clients understand what true value we can offer. Thanks to Cherryleaf, we now get more hits on our Web site and finally we are getting enquiries… worth every penny." Ian Plumbley, CEO, Kazco Ltd
"A note of our sincere thanks for the work which Cherryleaf have delivered to very demanding timescales. Yesterday, we published a very important (word deleted) manual on the Intranet using RoboHelp and this looks to be a great success. Thank you again." (14/4/2004)
UK Government Department
"I've heard only compliments on your professional approach and knowledge of single sourcing. Your presence had very much the positive effect that we had hoped for, and has helped considerably with our change management process." Documentation Manager
"I'm very pleased with the enhancements to the Help System. You created very clear topics for some areas that I find difficult to explain. You also identified a number of 'bugs' with the current version that have now been fixed. This just continues to improve the product." Bruce McNaughton, CEO, ProcessAssets
"There's an initial effort involved in learning the product, customizing templates, and setting up your workflow. You could teach yourself, but some training/consultancy is a good idea, as it's important to get good practice in place from the start. The initial cost pays for itself quickly. We used Cherryleaf to help set this up, and they were excellent. We are now using Webworks with Frame and the results and time saved are impressive."
Message posted to the Society of Technical Communicators' UK Chapter discussion group by Leila Smith, Tertio Telecom.
Cherryleaf developed an animated tutorial to assist users of the ecademy Web site, which is one of the top 2,000 visited sites on the Internet.
Here's some of the unsolicited feedback we've received:
"Watch this, it is brilliant."
"I have just watched your FANTASTIC guide on how to use Ecademy, thank you so much for creating this."
"The tutorial will certainly help me give more to the ecademy (sic) and benefit from being a member."
"Thank you for your on-line guide which I've just played; really excellent! "
"I have referred people to your quick start guide often. It certainly helped me ramp up quickly on Ecademy."
"We love your guide to networking on Ecademy."
"I may add that Cherryleaf is the only organisation that has never disappointed me, and you have always behaved in an exemplary manner." Email from one of our candidates
Published Articles
We have listed below some of our articles that have been published:
- "A Different Perspective on Measuring the Value of Technical Communication" Intercom; July/August 2009
- "How We Work with Technical Communicators" Technically Write (STC Lonestar Community); December 2008
- "The Death of the Technical Author?" Dateline Houston; January/February 2005
- "Help formats" The Communicator; Winter 2004
- "RoboHelp vs WebWorks" The Communicator; Spring 2004
- "Implementing single sourcing" The Communicator; Summer 2003
- "Single Sourcing" STC Forward; March 2003
- "Nine Trends in online user assistance" tekom newsletter; November 2003
- "Understanding single sourcing" The Communicator; Spring 2003
Legal
Registered in England 4575705
VAT Number 803 2288 54
Further information
Contact us if you would like to know more about how we can help you. If you can, please state the issues you are interested in fixing. We'll respond by email or phone.