What’s the real job of a technical editor?

A One-day Seminar

If the job of the technical editor is to make complex subjects accessible to normal people, why is it that so many technical documents fail. What is the real job of a technical editor?

Using real-life examples and humour, Jason will demonstrate just how spectacularly technical documents can fail and how you can become an advocate for excellent documentation. This hands-on workshop helps you assess your own skills while exploring what it is technical writers do. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have developed your own toolbox of skills that technical writers need to succeed.

When: Saturday, November 27, 10 AM- 4 PM

Where: SFU Harbour Centre, room TBD
515 W. Hastings St., Vancouver, BC

Instructor: Jason Hall

Cost:

• Early Bird (on or before Friday, Nov. 12, 2010) Member: $100.00  Non-member: $160.00
• After Nov 12: Member: $100.00  Non-member: $160.00
• Note: Registration closes Friday, November 19 at 5 Pm

Register

About Jason Hall

Jason Hall has over 15 years of technical writing and training experience and brings excellence to all his documentation endeavours. He has prepared industry-relevant user manuals and training materials for a great variety of industries from law enforcement to inventory management to health care software products. Past clients include SAP, Best Buy, WorkSafeBC and Health Canada. Jason is comfortable with the full documentation development cycle including interviewing subject matter experts, creating documentation needs analyses, and converting product specs into accessible end-use documentation.

I would rank Jason in the top 10% of consultants in his area of expertise, not only for his high level of professionalism, but for his commitment to his responsibilities.

Jason is a knowledgeable and dedicated person. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for a true professional.

Jason took strong ownership of the content, direction, and consistency of these communications and delivered consistently to previously agreed-to scope on time, and on more than one occasion, earlier than expected.

A self starter and engaging collaborator, Jason demonstrated the ability to maintain focus on his and his team’s set of deliverables whilst being aware of overarching project milestones during it’s lifecycle.

I would welcome the opportunity to engage Jason again on any future project which would benefit from his creative skill.
March 31, 2010

Thanks again for pulling the rabbit out of the hat. I look forward to working with you again.

I was contracted to provide technical help, which I would describe as The Perfect Contract. What was perfect about this contract was how much I was able provide because it mirrored my diverse range of skills and abilities. So much so, in fact, that the description of what I did reads almost like my résumé. This contract was a quick turn around – I was called on Thursday and had the majority of work completed by the following Wednesday.

Needs Assessment – 6 hours

The client was in the midst of an office-wide migration from Macintosh computers to Windows PC computers to be compliant with head office. I spoke with their IT Administrator to determine what operating systems were involved and what she thought the key issues were.

I discovered that some Users would migrate directly to PC computers and other would be on their old Apple Macintosh computers running Windows in a Citrix shell for several weeks. My training and materials needed to reflect that.

I explored their system making notes. I needed to know their systems well enough to anticipate a broad range of questions pertaining to both Apple Macintosh and Windows PC operating systems as well as the Citrix Shell. I concluded that I would be giving a lecture type demonstration to all staff using screen projections and handouts.

Create End-User Guide – 11 hours

At home, I created a complementary End-User Migration Guide aimed at both the full PC Users as well as the Mac Users now operating Windows in the Citrix Shell.

Topics covered included Understanding Windows 2000 Server, Using Word and Excel in Windows, Introduction to Outlook, Good PC keyboard shortcuts for Mac Users and how to navigate between the two environments.

Deliver Presentation – 1.5 hours

On Monday, I delivered a presentation to all available staff in their boardroom. I handed out my Guide and used a projector to demonstrate how their new computer environment would operate.

Following the demonstration I answered questions ranging from how to access old programs and files to security concerns in Windows 2000.

Provide Desk-side Support – 14 hours

After the presentation, I visited each staff member in person to help with specific questions or concerns. As with many offices, there was a broad range of skills to accommodate. Some Users had come from Windows backgrounds in other companies and were pleased to return to a Windows environment. Others had only ever known a Mac environment and verged on terror at the prospect of starting all over again with a new and unfamiliar operating system.

I took time to assess their individual needs so that I could provide service to even those who initially thought they didn’t require any support. For example, I showed some Users how to create mail rules to organize their email in Outlook, how to assign their favourite keyboard shortcuts to toolbars in Word and how to navigate and manage files in Windows.

I returned over several days to provide desk side support and re-iterate the initial presentation to those how had not been to the original presentation.

Design Corporate Logo 3.5 hours

An interesting spin-off of this contract was that the IT Administrator discovered that their corporate logo did not port over well from Macintosh to Windows and asked if I could redesign it.

My solution was to recreate their old logo using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and create both Web and print versions to suit all their needs. After one revision, they were pleased with what I created and the new logo now adorns their corporate letterhead and Website.

Conclusion

Although I have taken on more technically challenging contracts than this one, rarely have I been able to roll so many skills into one short contract. I welcome all other creative and diverse opportunities where my skills and abilities can be as well utilized.

And here’s what the client had to say

Thank you for providing [us] with Jason Hall’s services during their migration; the project is officially over. During the sign-off interview, [our IT Manager] said she was extremely satisfied with the work Jason did. (Despite me giving you such short notice!) [She] was particularly impressed with Jason’s ability to quickly resolve their logo migration issue. This would have been a huge problem for them to resolve but Jason did it within a day.

Thanks again for pulling the rabbit out of the hat. I look forward to working with you again.