Ray Gallon, Candidate for Director

Radical Persuasion

Friends and colleagues, I am seeking your vote for STC director at large, and I’m doing it because I believe that despite some positive indications in the last year or two, STC remains at a critical point in its history—one where the future of the society will be written large.

Eras of transition are always dangerous. They are also full of opportunity. I seek your vote because I believe that I am especially well suited to help STC recognize and seize opportunities, while recognizing and avoiding the dangers.

I’ve posted my vision for STC on the STC election section of my personal blog. If we could attain that vision, we wouldn’t have to be discussing our value proposition—it would be obvious.

That vision is also why I’m running for director. I believe we can achieve that vision, and if elected as a member of the STC Board of Directors (BOD), I intend to do everything possible to help us get there.

Those who followed my 2011 campaign know that I believe that STC is advancing, but too slowly. I’d like to step on the accelerator—but a BOD member cannot dictate to fellow board members. The board is a team. To bring the team along and also step up the pace, I plan to use what I call Radical Persuasion—another idea I’ve blogged about.

What I mean by this, is I intend to constantly raise subjects that I think are important, to ask questions, even if they are uncomfortable, and to push for constructive reform inside our society, based on these ideas:

• Our communities are our strength, and the communities are where we are seeing the greatest level of innovation, creativity and flare for change. Let them lead the society.
• We need to change our business model to accomodate the society to today’s economy and today’s communications environment. The music business missed the boat. Let’s not imitate them.
• I believe we should take a close look at how we are spending our money—with no taboos. I know it’s been done, but this is money that comes from the members, and we have a responsibility to constantly re-examine and search for creative ways to be more efficient with the resources we have.
• STC must be a truly international society. We have members in over 50 countries. No other technical communication professional association has that. Let’s capitalize on that—use it to strengthen our profile and the profession.
• We cannot remain isolated in our tech writers’ ghetto. The profession of technical communicator now includes so many varied activities that we must work together with organisations in related professions, and develop joint activities that help all of us in the content professions to gain visibility.

That’s the radical part of my approach. The persuasion part is less visible, inside board discussions. As I mentioned, a board member cannot act alone, and the board is bound to speak with one voice. For this reason, we candidates have been advised, wisely, in my opinion, to avoid making promises, especially since we might not be able to deliver on them.

Election pledge

All the same, I will make one promise: inside the board, I will continually and energetically propose new ideas and insist that they be seriously considered. I will work with other creative board members (and there are many) to push us ahead as far and fast as we can. This also means listening to others’ ideas, and changing my opinion if it’s not appropriate to the situation. I don’t think I know everything, and this is a collegial activity that demands mutual respect as well as strong convictions.

I also pledge to you, that my first and only concern on the board will be the good of STC. For me, that doesn’t mean simple survival of the institution. It means that STC must further our profession effectively, internationally, and provide significant and lasting value to its members.

I’m developing these issues in more detail in various forums, especially on my blog, Rant of a Humanist Nerd. Please join me to engage in debate and help me understand your needs.

Bernard Aschwanden, Candidate for Director

Meet Bernard Aschwanden: Since 1992 he has worked as a trainer, courseware developer, writer, team lead, manager, and business owner. His extensive travel and work with 1000s of people across North America, Europe, and Asia gave him the chance to see the benefits STC membership brings to technical communicators. As a professional consultant, he implements technical writing solutions for teams and projects from startups to Fortune 500 corporations. This broad exposure to different cultures, policies, and processes has taught Bernard a great deal about technical communications and the people in this field.

Offerings for the overall STC community: Foresight and leadership. Before zero-based budgeting became par-for-the-course in STC communities, Bernard introduced this concept to his own community. He built a management team to keep Toronto STC strong and deliver membership value. His innovations granted Toronto a Community Pacesetter Award. Bernard is also a professional presenter, recognized as a top-rated speaker at events such as STC Summit, tekom, and more. For over 15 years he has represented STC communities in discussions regarding funding, in educational presentations, and in many roles as a senior STC member. It is a logical extension of his services that he be elected to represent your needs to the Board in a formal role as Director.

Offerings to STC community leaders: Bernard has helped community leaders by promoting long-term sustainability and strong communities with solid partnerships. He understands how stakeholders, plans, budgets, and unforeseen circumstances can impact a community and helps leaders formulate plans to manage each of these components. He provides educational events to communities to help raise funds, delivers workshops online, and travels to communities to meet leaders and learn about their local needs.

Services and support for STC members: He supports a strong pro-member agenda. Bernard delivers community workshops, establishes partnerships with vendors, and leads presentations (both online and in person). He is active online, providing both direct and indirect support for members. He is also a strong voice for the rights of student members. Bernard speaks passionately about the value of the STC and technical communications as a profession both within the STC and to organizations outside the STC.

Elect your STC Director: Bernard is a community level past-president, webmaster, newsletter editor, and competitions manager. He has been a member since 1997. Many people within the community have asked him to run for this position, and to bring his skills, ideas, and leadership to the international level. Bernard is eager to work with the STC for the betterment of the Society and its members regardless of community size, funding, or location.

Solid business credentials: Bernard is also a small business owner and responsible to both clients and staff. This means he sets realistic expectations and ensures his business is run in a fiscally responsible way. Growing a business, managing projects, and working with the STC board all require similar skill sets. Leadership means understanding what is realistic, what resources are needed, and where estimates change. Bernard’s business survived one of the toughest economic downturns in recent history, and continues to grow. In part, it is because he can adapt quickly to change, and is willing to ask for ideas from many sources to find solutions.

Next steps to consider: Talk to others in the STC about Bernard. Perform a Google search to learn more about him. Review his business website. Follow him on Twitter. The STC needs clear leadership to continue to rebuild the community; it needs people with a vision for the future and the ability to bring membership into a future where the STC is a strong organization. STC needs people who ask intelligent questions, talk to communities, or explain why requests cannot be met. It needs strong leaders who listen and can make the right decisions.

Conclusion: Bernard Aschwanden has almost 20 years in training and technical communications, resolving technical communication challenges, and providing fresh ideas and solutions. His vision is an STC community that is strong and well positioned to meet the growing needs of technical communicators. To that end, please add your support and help Bernard Aschwanden. Elect him as a Director of your STC.

Candidate Statement:

I want to be an STC Director to bring experience and leadership to a community I have been involved with since 1997. I have been the Toronto STC President, active in the STC community as a presenter, educator, and a leader, and feel the time is right to run for this position. Over the past 20 years in technical communications I have forged strong relationships with service providers, software developers, STC community leaders, and our membership at large. My abilities to find common goals and work with diverse teams to make them happen are something the STC needs.

Other Links:

http://www.publishingsmarter.com/community/stc-community

http://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardaschwanden

http://www.youtube.com/user/publishingsmarter

“Write Less, Write More!" (A Review)

By: Gwyneth Evans

A passionate, colourful, and playful Joe Welinske of WritersUA both informed and inspired an intimate group of 15 technical communicators who gathered at the IT hub that is the University of Waterloo Davis Centre for an expertly crafted class on content selection and development. Drawing upon extensive corporate, academic and STC community experience, Welinske shared his accumulated knowledge of writing approaches and writing tools used in the marketplace. He also drew from his most recent work in the intricate and fast-paced mobile application development space that is the subject of his most recent book, "Developing User Assistance for Mobile Applications." The mobile world is one interactive space that he promises is still playing catchup in the domain of documentation assistance.

Using case studies, screen samples, effort allocation charts, and examples of writing challenges and well applied solutions, Welinske broadly addressed the use of video, image and text for delivering user assistance in application, newsgroup, web, and mobile environments. The benefits of increased demand for user-customized solutions and augmented interaction in user assistance are offset by the challenges presented by code complexity, smaller screens and varying storage options. For design success across these environments, Welinske firmly advocated the "less is more" approach of traditional technical writing and provided a back-to-basics primer on clear writing that seemed refreshingly new.

Welinske recommended beginning all technical communication work with solid requirements and context analysis, to be followed by implementation of a flexibly planned structure. Progressive or iterative content development activities that follow should result in work that just fits in the framework built. The "Write More, Write Less" philosophy, he contended is applicable to any overall production process. He spoke to how planning and costing activities can realize economies through early engagement, collaboration with programmers, and appropriate tool and process selection. The culprit of challenged technical writing projects, he claims, is that too often effort is not dedicated to the most important user experience or production priority at every stage and so gradual quality and rework costs accumulate. "Spend half as much time writing twice as much," is Welinske's key point, particularly for those hoping for big rewards. When he emphasized the need to take responsibility for identifying and actioning work priorities, our own classroom for the evening (a large pie-shaped piece of the round room affectionately called, "The Fishbowl"), was the perfect life-size metaphor to reinforce his slide about appropriate allocation of effort to what matters most!

Taking a tour of the technical communication world with Welinske is a priority you won't regret. The investment made by attending this one well crafted seminar will pay dividends when you seek a share of the timely mobile application UX opportunities. You will be poised and ready to practice your own craft with a fresh appreciation for writing with minimalist precision.

Related links:

To learn more about Joe Welinske and his work at WritersUA, see www.writersua.com where you can also learn more about Joe Welinske’s North American tour of STC chapters. The WritersUA website also provides access free resources on mobile application development at www.writersua.com/mobile.index.html.

Webinar with Tom Johnson about the Problem of Findability

by Shannon Lerner

I’ve been working on a documentation re-org over the last year, so when I saw that our chapter had scheduled Tom Johnson to speak on findability, I was quick to RSVP.

Tom’s presentation was organized and finely developed. Anyone responsible for organizing content and coordinating search tools would find the presentation informative. Such an engaging speaker is rare to find, so I was truly disappointed when Tom went over the one hour allotted. I had to head off to another meeting before he had wrapped and missed the last 5-10 minutes of his presentation.

If you weren’t able to attend (or, like me, missed the tail-end), a recording of the webinar is available on Tom’s website. Don’t miss the opportunity to read a few of his blog posts. Tom's articles are insightful and he approaches technical communication from a variety of angles: usability, corporate culture, career advice. Like me, you may also end up adding him to your reading list.

Shannon is an experienced technical communicator working in the Southwestern Ontario region.