Stephen Hawking once said, “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” Constant change, quick decisions, and regular exchange about current tasks are key elements in agile project management. In the 2017 Pulse of the Profession report from the Project Management Institute (PMI), they concluded that “(…) 71 percent of organizations report using agile approaches for their projects sometimes, often, or always”.
These days, technical communicators are generally aware that translators almost always use computer aided translation (CAT) tools to work more quickly and produce a translation with the highest degree of consistency possible – given the source text and reference material provided.
The Dynamic Information Model is a toolkit for creating an integrated style guide that describes and enforces editing rules in a DITA authoring environment.
Knowing the technical information of a product is essential when it comes to using it properly. However, getting to know and keeping in mind all that information can be an ordeal for anyone. One solution however, which primarily deals with the accessibility of technical information, is making waves: gamification marketing. By means of a reward-based system, the learner feels more involved and is more likely to assimilate information, which will inturn make your technical information more efficient.
In an almost entirely metric, decimal world, the imperial measurement system is a hurdle that technical communicators haven’t had to worry about. That is, until lately. Before 2000, imperial units in Britain used to be a feature that could not be overlooked when translating from or towards the British market. Yet, with Brexit, hopes have been rekindled into bringing back the old imperial unit system. However, Is such a prospect at all realistic?
Nowadays, your customers are looking for information that is easily accessible online in many formats. Moreover, the technical information of a product not only helps to sell it, but also to build a community around it that perceives it positively. That way, your product will gain value and improve your reputation, leading to a healthy business model.
If you regularly follow the TCLoc blog, then you probably love languages, as we do. You might like to find people that share your passion, with whom you can discuss localization, and from whom you can learn many new localization-related tips. If you like the sound of this, then going to conferences is the perfect place to start. For this reason, we gathered information a host of major global localization and technical communication events. We hope that this information will help you connect with colleagues like-minded individuals in the localization industry.
Safety, efficiency, and readability are the main considerations for the use of ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English (STE) in the aerospace and defense industries. For many other industries, such as machinery, automotive, electronics, IT, and medical equipment, another important consideration is to save on translation costs without compromising on translation quality. As technical communicators, navigating the tricky terrains of cost, quality, and efficiency in project management can be an extremely delicate equilibrium to maintain.
tekom is Europe’s largest professional association for technical communication with organizations in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania and Turkey. Founded in November 2013 in Germany, this association focuses on the expansion of technical communication, the technical writers certification and the “development of technical guidelines and standards that help to use products more safely and more effectively.”
The European Association for Technical Communication defines it as “the process of defining, creating and delivering information products for the safe, efficient and effective use of products (technical systems, software, services)”. The job of a technical communicator is to make complex information accessible to a unique audience and to help users understand the product information provided in the documentation.
