March Intercom is focused on core competencies in technical communication, and thus it made sense to me to ask several of the CPTC accredited trainers to submit articles on the nine core skill areas of technical communication, per STC’s Certification Program. The nine areas are project planning, project analysis, content development, organizational design, written communication, visual communication, reviewing and editing, content management, and production and delivery.
These nine core areas were built from a job task analysis (JTA) survey of STC members and professionals in technical communication and from the results of a comprehensive TC BOK content review. The survey asked participants to rank the importance of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to process management, researching, design, development, review, and production. It also focused on tasks, importance, and frequencies related to their job responsibilities and knowledge of the profession.
The Foundation Professional Certification is built on Bloom’s Taxonomy and focuses on knowledge of the field. To achieve the Certified Professional Technical Communicator Foundation designation, applicants must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of best practices in technical communication by passing an exam based on a body of knowledge. The authors of the articles in this issue of Intercom know these nine areas as well as anyone involved with the program, as they have all passed the exam, are CPTC certified, and have been accredited to teach training courses on the subject matter.
The textbook STC selected for the CPTC Foundation exam body of knowledge is Richard Johnson-Sheehan’s Technical Communication Today, 5th edition. The authors have cited important references to the textbook for each of the nine competency areas. If you’re interested in becoming Foundation Certified through STC’s CPTC program, this issue of Intercom will be useful to you in studying for the exam. And even if you’re not planning to become certified, the articles detail the foundational skills every technical communicator should possess.
Besides the Chief Examiner for the program (Craig Baehr), the authors in this issue are all APMG International accredited individual trainers authorized to teach Foundation CPTC courses. Please visit the trainers’ websites, listed at the end of each article, to contact them directly and/or to register for or request an individual training course for your organization.
This issue of Intercom also contains a mid-term report by 2016–2017 President Adriane Hunt, information about STC’s annual awards and honorees to be presented at the 2017 Summit, and details for attendees on the Summit’s Closing General Session and the Washington, DC area.
As always, send your Intercom feedback or comments to intercom@stc.org.
