1. About the Presenter
I am Sandeep Kumar M, with over 6 years of experience in Technical Communications, am currently associated with Broadridge as Consultant. I hold my graduation in English Literature from Bangalore University and Philosophy from De Sales University, Pennsylvania. Began my career in Content Management with Thomson Reuters and am currently pursuing my interests in Technical Communications.

2. 3Es of Technical Communications
05/19/2018
3Es of Technical Communications
Entering, Exploring, and Evolving
2nd LEARNING SESSION – STC HYDERABAD

3. Agenda Introduction Historical Evolution Entering Exploring Evolving
Required Skills
Key Elements
The Growing Demand
Exploring
Evolving
Enroll
Attend
Join

4. Introduction Technical Communications as defined in WWW.STC.ORG
Technical communication is a broad field and includes any form of communication that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:
Communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations.
Communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites.
Providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is or even if technology is used to create or distribute that communication.
Technical communication is a broad field and includes any form of communication that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:
Communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations.
Communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites.
Providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is or even if technology is used to create or distribute that communication.
Technical Communications as defined in Wikipedia.
Technical Communications is a means to convey scientific, engineering, and technique or other technical information.
- Johnson-Sheehan, Richard (2005). Technical Communication Today

5. Introduction Different professions under Technical Communications
Technical Writers & Editors
Indexers
Information Architects
Instructional Designers
Technical Illustrators
Globalization & Localization Specialists
Usability & Human Factors Professionals
Visual Designers
Web Designers & Developers
Teachers & Researchers of Technical Communication
Trainers and E-Learning Developers

6. Historical Evolution 1908 1911 1940-46 1946 First Textbook
A Guide to Technical Writing" by T.A. Richards, the first textbook written about technical writing, was published in 1908 to help engineers specifically.
Samuel Earle's "The Theory and Practice of Technical Writing" was published. Earle was focused on "giving systematic training in technical writing." To him, technical writing was either narrative, descriptive, expository or directive.
During the World War II ( ) and for a short period afterwards, published documents regarding technical writing were practically non- existent.
Technical writing experienced a boom in growth after the war due to an influx of students and a niche for technical writing. Technical writing became a legitimate profession itself during this time.
First Textbook
Systematic Training
Non-existent
Rise as a Profession

7. ENTERING REQUIRED SKILLS KEY ELEMENTS GROWING DEMAND
Must be CLEAR & CONCISE
Must have GOOD EYE FOR DETAIL
Must have an EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE of punctuation, syntax and style, grammar
Identify the AUDIENCE
Understand the PURPOSE
Organize the SUPPORTING MATERIALS and OUTLINE
Budget the TIME to
WRITE
REVISE
EDIT
GROWTH RATE – 15% faster than average for all occupations.
A COLLEGE DEGREE in Technical Subject
Certificate Program in Technical Writing

8. WRITING STYLE & APPROACH EVOLVING INTEGRATE GRAPHICS & VISUAL AIDS
SIMPLIFY THE TERMS
RHETORICAL AWARENESS
&
USER-CENTRIC DESIGN
ACTIVE VOICE
&
ACTION VERBS
FORMAT AS PER STYLE GUIDE
TASK BASED APPROACH
REVISIONS & REWRITES

9. EXPLORING ENROLL ATTEND JOIN Enroll in a course to gain more insights.
Explore the various elements
Audience Awareness
Organization of Information
Use of Visual Aids
Use of Simple language
Attend Technical Communication Conferences
Meet other writers in the industry.
Identify a possible Mentor
Networking
Workshops
Seminars
Panel discussions
Join Professional Associations
Society for Technical Communication (STC)
Forums (eg. STC Group)
Meet other professionals
Keep a track of latest developments in the industry

10. STC Forum Documentation and Technical Writing Management
Google Group
Multiple STC Google groups
API, DITA, UI, General, Help Authoring Tools, GIF’s, Videos, etc…
API/DITA, Chat Bot vs Doc Bot, Digitization of Technical Documents, clickable hotspots in images, etc..
Technical Writer Forum – LinkedIn
Technical Writing in Nuclear sector
Help + Manual From EC Software, Paligo (HAT)
HAT or WIKI produces the best results?
Alternatives to swagger-codegen
Time spent on understanding the product vs documentation
Documentation and Technical Writing Management
LinkEds & Writers