Tech Comm Bootcamp 2.0: Beyond the Fundamentals
26 March through 30 April (Thursdays) No class on 9 April | 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EDT (GMT -4)
This course presents more advanced concepts to TC practitioners who may still be within their first three years in the profession. It covers topics that are beyond the scope of the introductory courses, such as TC Fundamentals Bootcamp.
At the end of this five session online course, participants will:
- Be able to manage projects, including estimating, planning milestones, and budgeting time.
- Be able to identify the need for glossaries and reference material, and create functional and useful deliverables.
- Be able to write global-ready content and understand how to work with localizers (translation services)
- Learn techniques to reduce text and think creatively to create minimalist content.
- Understand the different types of style guides and be able to start an in-house style guide.
- Understand the intersection between UX and TC, and be able to plan and implement simple documentation usability tests.
This course covers these topics to help you enrich and develop your TC career:
- Managing Projects
- Glossaries and References
- Localization
- Style Guides
- UX and Usability Testing
Each topic includes a live lecture and a related homework assignment. Assignments typically require 10 to 20 hours of work. At the end of the course, there is a final project that may require up to 50 hours of work. There is no final exam. The lectures are supported by the virtual classroom site, in which participants can download materials, upload assignments, and participate in forums.
Session Descriptions
- Why we all need to manage our own work
- Estimating project scope
- Using Gantt charts to track projects
- Managing and adjusting during projects
- The role of glossaries
- The key elements of a glossary entry
- The role of reference (vs task or concept) content
- Creating useful and effective reference content
- Why every technical communicator needs to know about localization
- Basic terms and concepts in localization
- The role of reference (vs task or concept) content
- Performing a global audit on legacy content
- Writing global-ready content
- Tips and tricks for working with LSPs (language service providers)
- The role of style guides
- Four types of style guides
- The key elements of an in-house style guide
- Creating a useful term table
- What is User Experience and Usability
- Why technical communicators should care about UX
- Planning and running a basic documentation usability test
Bio:
Leah Guren entered the field of technical communication in 1980. Her experience as a writer, editor, tech pubs manager, and consultant allowed her to develop a variety of technical communication training programs. Leah trains new writers for this field, as well as conducting seminars and in-house training for TCs of all levels, engineers, and managers. Her clients include many of the top high-tech companies in Israel.
Leah is best known for her ability to bring dry theory to life, illustrating rules with real-life examples and providing a clear, practical guidelines which can be applied by writers of all levels and experience. Leah is an STC Fellow and a regular speaker at STC and other international technical communication conferences. For more information, see Cow TC (www.cowtc.com) or contact Leah (leah@cowtc.com).
