[Framers] Modularity and FrameMaker

2016-01-21 Thread McGill, Deb
Hi,
I can speak to a portion of your questions. We also use unstructured Frame 12 
on Windows 7 and ePublisher to generate Help systems for the products we 
develop and manufacture at this site (instruments and software). We have been 
using "agile" for about 6 years now but it was never really successful until we 
adopted the JIRA development tool (Atlassian) about a year ago. For products 
and accompanying documentation, there is always a minimum viable product that 
must be completed before you can think about releasing the product. But after 
that, everything is supposed to be modular...so, say the team wants to add a 
new experiment type or sampling application to a software product, the product 
owners write the requirements for it by adding a JIRA story with a detailed 
description (sometimes a power point is attached), the programmers plan it for 
the next agile sprint by adding effort points to the story and breaking it down 
into small (typically 1-4 hour) tasks, the documentation person a
 dds a related pointed story with tasks for the same or the following sprint 
(you can only document in the same sprint if the programmers finish it early 
(say in week 1 or 2 of a 3 week sprint). Then the sprint starts, the 
programmers do their work, the QA person tests the very day the programmers get 
it finished or have something to look at, the documentation person at least 
gets started during that sprint. At the end of the sprint, there is a demo for 
the key stakeholders. They give a thumbs up or a list of changes. Then stories 
are added for the next sprint to implement the changes and the documentation 
person gets their proof edits completed, QA finishes testing and the whole 
thing is considered done and a release COULD happen. In reality, we plan 
releases with a bunch of new features implemented rather than one or two. 
However, as the release date nears, there is a lot of back and forth about what 
must get in and what can wait for the next release. That's the idea of agile. 
Ever
 y story in JIRA is carefully prioritized, so the most important stuff gets 
done first and gets a lot of focus...as it should be. We have sprint meetings 
for 15-30 min max twice a week that include the product owners, all the 
programmers, and the documentation person so everyone hears about the progress 
and any problems or delays as the sprint proceeds. We also squeeze in some 
usability testing...but that is a subject for another e-mail chain.

For your other question, we use a lot of shared text and minimal conditional 
text. This is because our instruments are not that similar to each other. Maybe 
someone else can talk about the other tool you mentioned, or other tools for 
creating documentation modules that can be reused.
Deb McGill
Sr. Technical Writer in Madison, Wi


-Original Message-
From: Framers [mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of 
framers-requ...@lists.frameusers.com
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2016 1:00 PM
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Framers Digest, Vol 7, Issue 22

Send Framers mailing list submissions to
framers@lists.frameusers.com

To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit

http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/listinfo/framers_lists.frameusers.com

or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
framers-requ...@lists.frameusers.com

You can reach the person managing the list at
framers-ow...@lists.frameusers.com

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: 
Contents of Framers digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. "Modularity" and FrameMaker (eric_isaac...@selinc.com)


--

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2016 15:52:44 -0800
From: eric_isaac...@selinc.com
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: [Framers] "Modularity" and FrameMaker
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi! I'm looking for some guidance for a challenge I was given. My workplace is 
wanting to make products using Agile development and by making things more 
"modular". I don't know that management knows what this means exactly, but I 
have been tasked to see how our product literature can and should fit in with 
this idea. The basic idea as I understand it is that we would have bits of 
information about a product that could be shared in multiple manuals and 
possibly other documents (such as requirement specifications). One engineer 
involved mentioned that in order to manage all of the software development, the 
company plans to use Polarion (and he asked me about Frame and API 
possibilities--I found the Frame Developer Center page and passed that along to 
him). I also know that Atlassian tools are also being used (I believe in 
regards to the Agile development initiative), but I do not understand how those 
two sets of tools are re

Job Posting Question.

2010-11-12 Thread Deb


I think Alan's suggestion has merit.  A separate job posting/finding group 
would be a great asset.


Deborah Riffin 
Writing for Business 
408-206-1423 (cell) 
408-249-3623 (office/fax) 

"Accuracy and Excellence"



-Original Message-
From: Alan T Litchfield 
To: FrameUsers List 
Sent: Fri, Nov 12, 2010 10:49 am
Subject: Re: Job Posting Question.


All, 

Please understand that I am not poking the bone at anyone but a valid question 
was raised about protocol and the general consensus seems to be that the answer 
was to the affirmative. However I think that this is something the list owner 
needs to keep an eye on. As I perceive it to be this list is here primarily for 
FM support type questions and discussion but it could just as easily turn into 
a job finding posting board. If it starts to turn out that way might I suggest 
that a new list is created specifically for those that want to advertise their 
services or that they are looking for services. In which case I shall probably 
avail myself of that opportunity, but not yet. 

Alan 

On 12/11/2010, at 6:09 AM, Deb wrote: 

> Hi.I am located in San Jose, CA and am seeking a new contract or > perm 
> opportunity. I hope to find my next gig through this site of > professionals. 
> 
> 
> Deborah Riffin 
> Writing for Business 
> 408-206-1423 (cell) 
> 408-249-3623 (office/fax) 
> 
> "Accuracy and Excellence" 
> 
> 
> 
> -Original Message- 
> From: Owen, Clint  
> To: framers at lists.frameusers.com 
> Cc: Richard Melanson  
> Sent: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 8:52 am 
> Subject: RE: Job Posting Question. 
> 
> 
> If it's not OK it should be. 
> People looking for jobs need all the help they can get. 
> My company is grinding very slowly towards advertising a couple of 
> ositions, and I hope to find some great candidates lurking on this 
> ist. 
> Clint 
> 
> lint Owen | Sr. Technical Writer | Crane Aerospace & Electronics | +1 
> 25 743 8674 | Fax: +1 425 743 8113 
> -Original Message- 
> rom: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com 
> mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Richard 
> elanson 
> ent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 8:33 AM 
> o: framers at lists.frameusers.com 
> ubject: Job Posting Question. 
> 
> i Everyone, Am I allowed to post a job if my company is looking for a 
> ontract Technical Writer. Thank you. 
> Rick 

___ 

You are currently subscribed to framers as writing4business at aol.com. 

Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com 
or visit 
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/writing4business%40aol.com 

Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit 
http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. 



Re: Job Posting Question.

2010-11-12 Thread Deb


I think Alan's suggestion has merit.  A separate job posting/finding group 
would be a great asset.


Deborah Riffin 
Writing for Business 
408-206-1423 (cell) 
408-249-3623 (office/fax) 

"Accuracy and Excellence"



-Original Message-
From: Alan T Litchfield 
To: FrameUsers List 
Sent: Fri, Nov 12, 2010 10:49 am
Subject: Re: Job Posting Question.


All, 
 
Please understand that I am not poking the bone at anyone but a valid question 
was raised about protocol and the general consensus seems to be that the answer 
was to the affirmative. However I think that this is something the list owner 
needs to keep an eye on. As I perceive it to be this list is here primarily for 
FM support type questions and discussion but it could just as easily turn into 
a job finding posting board. If it starts to turn out that way might I suggest 
that a new list is created specifically for those that want to advertise their 
services or that they are looking for services. In which case I shall probably 
avail myself of that opportunity, but not yet. 
 
Alan 
 
On 12/11/2010, at 6:09 AM, Deb wrote: 
 
> Hi.I am located in San Jose, CA and am seeking a new contract or > perm 
> opportunity. I hope to find my next gig through this site of > professionals. 
> 
> 
> Deborah Riffin 
> Writing for Business 
> 408-206-1423 (cell) 
> 408-249-3623 (office/fax) 
> 
> "Accuracy and Excellence" 
> 
> 
> 
> -Original Message- 
> From: Owen, Clint  
> To: framers@lists.frameusers.com 
> Cc: Richard Melanson  
> Sent: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 8:52 am 
> Subject: RE: Job Posting Question. 
> 
> 
> If it's not OK it should be. 
> People looking for jobs need all the help they can get. 
> My company is grinding very slowly towards advertising a couple of 
> ositions, and I hope to find some great candidates lurking on this 
> ist. 
> Clint 
> 
> lint Owen | Sr. Technical Writer | Crane Aerospace & Electronics | +1 
> 25 743 8674 | Fax: +1 425 743 8113 
> -Original Message- 
> rom: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com 
> mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Richard 
> elanson 
> ent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 8:33 AM 
> o: framers@lists.frameusers.com 
> ubject: Job Posting Question. 
> 
> i Everyone, Am I allowed to post a job if my company is looking for a 
> ontract Technical Writer. Thank you. 
> Rick 
 
___ 
 
You are currently subscribed to framers as writing4busin...@aol.com. 
 
Send list messages to fram...@lists.frameusers.com. 
 
To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
framers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com 
or visit 
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/writing4business%40aol.com 
 
Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit 
http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. 

___


You are currently subscribed to framers as arch...@mail-archive.com.

Send list messages to fram...@lists.frameusers.com.

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
framers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com
or visit 
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com

Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.


Re: Job Posting Question.

2010-11-12 Thread Deb
Hi.I am located in San Jose, CA and am seeking a new contract or perm 
opportunity.  I hope to find my next gig through this site of professionals.  


Deborah Riffin 
Writing for Business 
408-206-1423 (cell) 
408-249-3623 (office/fax) 

"Accuracy and Excellence"



-Original Message-
From: Owen, Clint 
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Cc: Richard Melanson 
Sent: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 8:52 am
Subject: RE: Job Posting Question.


If it's not OK it should be.
People looking for jobs need all the help they can get.
My company is grinding very slowly towards advertising a couple of
ositions, and I hope to find some great candidates lurking on this
ist.
Clint 

lint Owen | Sr. Technical Writer | Crane Aerospace & Electronics | +1
25 743 8674 | Fax: +1 425 743 8113
-Original Message-
rom: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com
mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Richard
elanson
ent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 8:33 AM
o: framers@lists.frameusers.com
ubject: Job Posting Question.

i Everyone, Am I allowed to post a job if my company is looking for a
ontract Technical Writer. Thank you. 
Rick
__

ou are currently subscribed to framers as
lint.o...@craneaerospace.com.
Send list messages to fram...@lists.frameusers.com.
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
ramers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com
r visit
ttp://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/clint.owen%40craneae
ospace.com
Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
ttp://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
---
e value your opinion!  How may we serve you better? 
lease click the survey link to tell us how we are doing:
ttp://www.craneae.com/ContactUs/VoiceofCustomer.aspx
our feedback is of the utmost importance to us. Thank you for your time.
---
rane Aerospace & Electronics Confidentiality Statement:
he information contained in this email message may be privileged and is 
onfidential information intended only for the use of the recipient, or any 
mployee or agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient. Any 
nauthorized use, distribution or copying of this information is strictly 
rohibited 
nd may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please 
otify 
he sender immediately and destroy the original message and all attachments from 
your electronic files.
---
__

ou are currently subscribed to framers as writing4busin...@aol.com.
Send list messages to fram...@lists.frameusers.com.
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
ramers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com
r visit 
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/writing4business%40aol.com
Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
ttp://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.

___


You are currently subscribed to framers as arch...@mail-archive.com.

Send list messages to fram...@lists.frameusers.com.

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
framers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com
or visit 
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com

Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.


Job Posting Question.

2010-11-11 Thread Deb
Hi.I am located in San Jose, CA and am seeking a new contract or perm 
opportunity.  I hope to find my next gig through this site of professionals.  


Deborah Riffin 
Writing for Business 
408-206-1423 (cell) 
408-249-3623 (office/fax) 

"Accuracy and Excellence"



-Original Message-
From: Owen, Clint 
To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Cc: Richard Melanson 
Sent: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 8:52 am
Subject: RE: Job Posting Question.


If it's not OK it should be.
People looking for jobs need all the help they can get.
My company is grinding very slowly towards advertising a couple of
ositions, and I hope to find some great candidates lurking on this
ist.
Clint 

lint Owen | Sr. Technical Writer | Crane Aerospace & Electronics | +1
25 743 8674 | Fax: +1 425 743 8113
-Original Message-
rom: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Richard
elanson
ent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 8:33 AM
o: framers at lists.frameusers.com
ubject: Job Posting Question.

i Everyone, Am I allowed to post a job if my company is looking for a
ontract Technical Writer. Thank you. 
Rick
__

ou are currently subscribed to framers as
lint.Owen at craneaerospace.com.
Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
ramers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
r visit
ttp://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/clint.owen%40craneae
ospace.com
Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit
ttp://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
---
e value your opinion!  How may we serve you better? 
lease click the survey link to tell us how we are doing:
ttp://www.craneae.com/ContactUs/VoiceofCustomer.aspx
our feedback is of the utmost importance to us. Thank you for your time.
---
rane Aerospace & Electronics Confidentiality Statement:
he information contained in this email message may be privileged and is 
onfidential information intended only for the use of the recipient, or any 
mployee or agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient. Any 
nauthorized use, distribution or copying of this information is strictly 
rohibited 
nd may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please 
otify 
he sender immediately and destroy the original message and all attachments from 
your electronic files.
---
__

ou are currently subscribed to framers as writing4business at aol.com.
Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
ramers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
r visit 
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/writing4business%40aol.com
Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit
ttp://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.



Learning curve for FrameMaker

2008-04-29 Thread Deb
Hi David,

In my opinion, itt should not take you more than a month to be hands on.

Thanks
Debashish


On 4/29/08, Chinell, David F (GE EntSol, Security) 
wrote:
>
> Listers:
>
> I apologize in advance for asking an admittedly vague question, but any
> experiences or information you can share will be appreciated.
>
> I've focused largely on MS Word for the past fifteen years of my career,
> and have become quite adept at designing templates for technical
> publications. I'm currently in a shop that uses both Word and
> FrameMaker, and have been offered "ownership" of the FrameMaker
> templates as well. I have only the slightest experience of FrameMaker.
>
> Can anyone hazard a guess as to how long it might take me to get up to
> speed with FrameMaker, to the point of being able to do more good than
> harm with the templates I inherit for maintenance, or create from
> scratch?
>
> I can only add that we're using FrameMaker 7.0 to create print
> publications. That is, we're not using SGML or XML or any of the
> features of structured FrameMaker.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> David Chinell
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to Framers as dghosh at gmail.com.
>
> Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
> or visit
> http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/dghosh%40gmail.com
>
> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>


Re: Learning curve for FrameMaker

2008-04-29 Thread Deb
Hi David,

In my opinion, itt should not take you more than a month to be hands on.

Thanks
Debashish


On 4/29/08, Chinell, David F (GE EntSol, Security) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> Listers:
>
> I apologize in advance for asking an admittedly vague question, but any
> experiences or information you can share will be appreciated.
>
> I've focused largely on MS Word for the past fifteen years of my career,
> and have become quite adept at designing templates for technical
> publications. I'm currently in a shop that uses both Word and
> FrameMaker, and have been offered "ownership" of the FrameMaker
> templates as well. I have only the slightest experience of FrameMaker.
>
> Can anyone hazard a guess as to how long it might take me to get up to
> speed with FrameMaker, to the point of being able to do more good than
> harm with the templates I inherit for maintenance, or create from
> scratch?
>
> I can only add that we're using FrameMaker 7.0 to create print
> publications. That is, we're not using SGML or XML or any of the
> features of structured FrameMaker.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> David Chinell
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> or visit
> http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/dghosh%40gmail.com
>
> Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>
___


You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
or visit 
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com

Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit
http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.


TW hiring qualifications was: RE: Entry Level Technical Writer - Contract - Moorpark, CA

2007-05-16 Thread Deb
Hi All,
I agree with Diane.
I have encountered candidates with english degrees and certifications in
english who have failed badly when it comes to the writing piece and working
on the relevant documentation tools.

Regards,
Debashish



On 5/16/07, Diane Gaskill  wrote:
>
> Rene, All,
>
> Be careful about rejecting applicants without a degree, and don't count on
> an applicant having a degree being qualified for the job.
>
> As a Tech Pubs Manager for 10 years, I disqualified several people with
> MAs
> and even PhDs because they had little or no technical experience.  And I
> hired more than one writer with no degree but had a great deal of tehnical
> experience and writing talent as well.  I would strongly encourage you to
> look at each applicant individually and consider equivalent experience
> when
> screening and hiring writers.
>
> I suggest that you consider other degrees besides English as well.  A
> degree
> in English does not by itself qualify anyone to be a TECHNICAL
> writer.  I'd
> personally rather hire someone with a degree in engineering or computer
> science and who is a good writer.  But people with those degrees are
> usually
> sw developers or designers, not writers.
>
> Diane Gaskill
> San Jose, CA
>
> -Original Message-
> From: framers-bounces+dgcaller=earthlink.net at lists.frameusers.com
> [mailto:framers-bounces+dgcaller=earthlink.net at lists.frameusers.com]On
> Behalf Of Lise Bible
> Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 1:25 PM
> To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
> Subject: Re: Entry Level Technical Writer - Contract - Moorpark, CA
>
>
> Well, I guess I can kind of see both sides. I've been a tech writer at
> my company for a year and a half, and it is frustrating when others
> assume that if you can type and spell
> (or *not* spell..."hey, that's what spell-check is for, right?") then
> you're fully qualified to be a tech writer.
>
> But it is hard to break out of the "admin" mold. I don't have a degree
> in English, but I have a BA in Psychology. I majored in Psych because
> I thought the classes were really quite interesting, not having a
> specific career goal in mind. After college, I started temping, and
> ended up in an admin/customer service role at a manufacturing company.
> Among other things, I wrote work instructions and the like for my
> department, learned PageMaker and became an expert at Word. Two
> acquisitions, two office moves and 2 years later, the tech writer
> position here opened up, and I applied.
>
> I think my former boss went to bat for me, as they moved the position
> out of the marketing department and into the Engineering Services
> department (where I was already), and here I am. I've since taken
> classes in Frame and a Tech Writing course through University of IL at
> Chicago, and I find I have an affinity for the job.
>
> Moral of my story, I guess, is that it's not a bad thing to think
> outside the box, hiring-wise, but yes, it is hard to effectively weed
> out the unqualified while finding the right person for the job.
>
> -Lise
>
> On 5/15/07, Rene Stephenson  wrote:
> > I have had secretaries apply for tech writer openings in my group.
> Internal candidates always get phone screening, so I'd have to call them.
> I
> always asked what they felt were their qualifications, and they all
> responded that they had "good English" and were experts with MS Word. They
> wrote lots of corresondence and updated their draft letters with the
> "edits"
> from their bosses, so they "knew" how to handle document review. We had to
> start posting BA or higher in English or directly relevant field as a
> minimal requirement with no "equivalency" allowed.
> >
> >  Rene
> >
> >
> > Keith Smyth  wrote:
> >  As in "So easy a Caveman could do it"?
> >
> > I am sure all of us have had the experience of someone totally clueless
> > thinking all we do is type. Had a gal at one of our square dances from
> > our church in 1983 tell me that while she is a store clerk, she is going
> to
> > become a tech writer, "because if you can do it, anyone can do it".
> >
> > And she went to an interview. Never heard from her again.
> >
> >
> > >You think that's insulting? When we had a req open for another tech
> > >writer in January, we had people from our shipping department and the
> > >warehouse coming to us and asking us if they could apply for the job.
> As
> > >if Tech Writing was so easy, someone with shipping or warehouse
> > >experience could do it.
> > >
> > >
> > >Thank you,
> > >
> > > -Gillian
> >
> > --
> > Keith L. Smyth
> > President
> > Smyth Consulting
> > -
> > Religion was in charge during the dark ages.
> > -
> > Technical Documentation Consultant
> >
> > ___
> >
> >
> > You are currently subscribed to Framers as rinnie1 at yahoo.com.
> >
> > Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com

Re: TW hiring qualifications was: RE: Entry Level Technical Writer - Contract - Moorpark, CA

2007-05-16 Thread Deb

Hi All,
I agree with Diane.
I have encountered candidates with english degrees and certifications in
english who have failed badly when it comes to the writing piece and working
on the relevant documentation tools.

Regards,
Debashish



On 5/16/07, Diane Gaskill <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:


Rene, All,

Be careful about rejecting applicants without a degree, and don't count on
an applicant having a degree being qualified for the job.

As a Tech Pubs Manager for 10 years, I disqualified several people with
MAs
and even PhDs because they had little or no technical experience.  And I
hired more than one writer with no degree but had a great deal of tehnical
experience and writing talent as well.  I would strongly encourage you to
look at each applicant individually and consider equivalent experience
when
screening and hiring writers.

I suggest that you consider other degrees besides English as well.  A
degree
in English does not by itself qualify anyone to be a TECHNICAL
writer.  I'd
personally rather hire someone with a degree in engineering or computer
science and who is a good writer.  But people with those degrees are
usually
sw developers or designers, not writers.

Diane Gaskill
San Jose, CA

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Behalf Of Lise Bible
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 1:25 PM
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Entry Level Technical Writer - Contract - Moorpark, CA


Well, I guess I can kind of see both sides. I've been a tech writer at
my company for a year and a half, and it is frustrating when others
assume that if you can type and spell
(or *not* spell..."hey, that's what spell-check is for, right?") then
you're fully qualified to be a tech writer.

But it is hard to break out of the "admin" mold. I don't have a degree
in English, but I have a BA in Psychology. I majored in Psych because
I thought the classes were really quite interesting, not having a
specific career goal in mind. After college, I started temping, and
ended up in an admin/customer service role at a manufacturing company.
Among other things, I wrote work instructions and the like for my
department, learned PageMaker and became an expert at Word. Two
acquisitions, two office moves and 2 years later, the tech writer
position here opened up, and I applied.

I think my former boss went to bat for me, as they moved the position
out of the marketing department and into the Engineering Services
department (where I was already), and here I am. I've since taken
classes in Frame and a Tech Writing course through University of IL at
Chicago, and I find I have an affinity for the job.

Moral of my story, I guess, is that it's not a bad thing to think
outside the box, hiring-wise, but yes, it is hard to effectively weed
out the unqualified while finding the right person for the job.

-Lise

On 5/15/07, Rene Stephenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I have had secretaries apply for tech writer openings in my group.
Internal candidates always get phone screening, so I'd have to call them.
I
always asked what they felt were their qualifications, and they all
responded that they had "good English" and were experts with MS Word. They
wrote lots of corresondence and updated their draft letters with the
"edits"
from their bosses, so they "knew" how to handle document review. We had to
start posting BA or higher in English or directly relevant field as a
minimal requirement with no "equivalency" allowed.
>
>  Rene
>
>
> Keith Smyth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>  As in "So easy a Caveman could do it"?
>
> I am sure all of us have had the experience of someone totally clueless
> thinking all we do is type. Had a gal at one of our square dances from
> our church in 1983 tell me that while she is a store clerk, she is going
to
> become a tech writer, "because if you can do it, anyone can do it".
>
> And she went to an interview. Never heard from her again.
>
>
> >You think that's insulting? When we had a req open for another tech
> >writer in January, we had people from our shipping department and the
> >warehouse coming to us and asking us if they could apply for the job.
As
> >if Tech Writing was so easy, someone with shipping or warehouse
> >experience could do it.
> >
> >
> >Thank you,
> >
> > -Gillian
>
> --
> Keith L. Smyth
> President
> Smyth Consulting
> -
> Religion was in charge during the dark ages.
> -
> Technical Documentation Consultant
>
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> or visit
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/rinnie1%40yahoo.com
>
> Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>
>
>
> Rene L

Rebranding/OEM'ing Frame files

2006-01-17 Thread Deb Hardy
I originally posted this question on Friday, but it
didn't go through. (Switching to plain text now!)
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Deb Hardy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
For those of you who distribute your source files to
OEM partners, would you be willing to share the basics
of how you prepare your Frame files for rebranding? I
think our rebranding efforts are going to be very
simple, but I want to go into this
feeling confident that I've picked the best approach.
I would be extremely grateful if any of you who have
successfully created re-brandable Frame files could
share some wisdom. Here's what I'm thinking so far:

* For company name (and product names, if it becomes
necessary), we'll create a user variable.

* For the corporate logo that appears on our cover
page and in our running footers, we'll give our file a
generic name like "corp_logo.gif" and instruct the OEM
partners to replace this file with their own similarly
sized corporate logo.

Do both of these approaches seem reasonable and
optimal? I'm particularly concerned about the
logo-replacement issue. I'm pretty sure that images
and anchored frames can't have user variables attached
to them, so I'm sort of perplexed about any
other option besides replacing the existing logo. It
seems like there should be a better way than
overwriting our file... Am I missing something
obvious? Is there a good argument for using
conditional text for this problem? I'm hesitant to add
more conditional-text tags to our book, but I will
happily do it if it turns out to be the best solution.
 
I've Googled my little heart out searching for
OEM/rebranding best practices, especially in terms of
FrameMaker capabilities, and I'm coming up short.
Thanks so much in advance for any advice you can
offer!

-deb h.



__
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 
___


You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
or visit 
http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com

Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit
http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.


Rebranding/OEM'ing Frame files

2006-01-17 Thread Deb Hardy
I originally posted this question on Friday, but it
didn't go through. (Switching to plain text now!)
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Deb Hardy  wrote:
For those of you who distribute your source files to
OEM partners, would you be willing to share the basics
of how you prepare your Frame files for rebranding? I
think our rebranding efforts are going to be very
simple, but I want to go into this
feeling confident that I've picked the best approach.
I would be extremely grateful if any of you who have
successfully created re-brandable Frame files could
share some wisdom. Here's what I'm thinking so far:

* For company name (and product names, if it becomes
necessary), we'll create a user variable.

* For the corporate logo that appears on our cover
page and in our running footers, we'll give our file a
generic name like "corp_logo.gif" and instruct the OEM
partners to replace this file with their own similarly
sized corporate logo.

Do both of these approaches seem reasonable and
optimal? I'm particularly concerned about the
logo-replacement issue. I'm pretty sure that images
and anchored frames can't have user variables attached
to them, so I'm sort of perplexed about any
other option besides replacing the existing logo. It
seems like there should be a better way than
overwriting our file... Am I missing something
obvious? Is there a good argument for using
conditional text for this problem? I'm hesitant to add
more conditional-text tags to our book, but I will
happily do it if it turns out to be the best solution.

I've Googled my little heart out searching for
OEM/rebranding best practices, especially in terms of
FrameMaker capabilities, and I'm coming up short.
Thanks so much in advance for any advice you can
offer!

-deb h.



__
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com