Most of the Technical Authors I have met don’t have a good thing to say about Microsoft SharePoint. In many ways, it represents how not to publish content online. It is seen as encouraging people to move print-optimised documents (Blobs) around, rather than units of content (Chunks), and users are typically left to rely on search… Read more »
Category: tools
Why you probably shouldn’t use Word to create your policy documents
Imagine you are an IT manager for an organisation that has been implementing new IT systems. You have now reached the point where you need to create and document the new IT policies and procedures. The organisation already has some general policies for IT in its staff handbook, but you need to provide more detailed… Read more »
Changing times in technical communication 2 – Workflow
We’ve been on the road in recent days and weeks, visiting different documentation teams, and we’ve found there are distinct signs of change. In this post, I’ll look at how we’re starting to see the workflow for creating User Assistance beginning to change. We found many documentation teams overstretched and starting to be asked how… Read more »
What’s the best way to deliver distance learning for technical communicators?
You’ll find our latest post for the Society for Technical Communication on its Notebook blog. It’s called What’s the Best Way to Deliver Distance Learning for Technical Communicators? One of the most frequent questions we’re asked at Cherryleaf is if we can deliver our advanced technical writing techniques course as a distance learning class. We only offer… Read more »
The DITA XML authoring barrier for non-Technical Authors
One of the challenges for organisations moving to a new content management system for their user documentation is selecting an authoring tool that is: powerful enough, and can be used by non-Technical Authors as well as the professional Technical Authors. Many organisations want staff, such as developers, to be able to add content to the… Read more »