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Solving Problems in Technical Communication I Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart A Solving Problems in Technical Communication Edited by Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart A. Selber Submitted to University of Chicago Press Full Draft August 2010 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION: SOLVING PROBLEMS IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION I JOHNDAN JOHNSON-EILOLA AND STUART A. SELBER SECTION ONE: MAPPING THE FIELD 1 INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES, OBJECTS OF STUDY, AND IDENTITIES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION? 1 RICHARD J. SELFE AND CYNTHIA L. SELFE CHAPTER 2: WHAT ARE THE WORK PROCESSES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION? 38 BILL HART-DAVIDSON CHAPTER 3: HOW CAN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS FIT INTO MODERN ORGANIZATIONS? 75 JIM HENRY CHAPTER 4: HOW CAN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS DEVELOP AS BOTH STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS? 109 KELLI CARGILE COOK WITH EMILY COOK, BEN MINSON, AND STEPHANIE WILSON SECTION TWO: SITUATING THE FIELD 141 INTRODUCTION 142 CHAPTER 5: HOW CAN RHETORIC THEORY INFORM THE PRACTICE OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION? 145 JAMES E. PORTER CHAPTER 6: HOW CAN WORK TOOLS SHAPE AND ORGANIZE TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION? 193 JASON SWARTS CHAPTER 7: WHAT CAN HISTORY TEACH US ABOUT TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION? 220 BERNADETTE LONGO AND T. KENNY FOUNTAIN CHAPTER 8: WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION? 258 BRAD MEHLENBACHER PART THREE: UNDERSTANDING FIELD APPROACHES 289 INTRODUCTION 290 CHAPTER 9: HOW CAN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS WORK IN AN ETHICAL AND LEGAL MANNER? 293 J. BLAKE SCOTT CHAPTER 10: HOW CAN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS STUDY CONTEXTS? 327 CLAY SPINUZZI CHAPTER 11: HOW CAN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS EVALUATE ARTIFACTS? 355 BARBARA MIREL CHAPTER 12: HOW CAN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS MANAGE PROJECTS? 395 R. STANLEY DICKS SECTION FOUR: DEVELOPING FIELD KNOWLEDGE 426 INTRODUCTION 427 CHAPTER 13: WHAT DO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GENRE? 431 BRENT HENZE CHAPTER 14: WHAT DO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING? 463 ANN M. BLAKESLEE AND GERALD J. SAVAGE CHAPTER 15: WHAT DO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INFORMATION DESIGN? 495 KAREN SCHRIVER CHAPTER 16: WHAT DO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NEW MEDIA? 529 ANNE FRANCES WYSOCKI CHAPTER 17: WHAT DO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COLLABORATION? 576 REBECCA E. BURNETT, L. ANDREW COOPER, AND CANDICE A. WELHAUSEN CHAPTER 18: WHAT DO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WORKING IN INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS? 611 BY KIRK ST. AMANT Introduction Introduction: Solving Problems in Technical Communication Edited by Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart A. Selber This book is for students who are learning about the field of technical communication. For both newcomers and people with some experience, it provides a coherent approach to understanding and solving problems and developing strategies that work across different types of communication situations. Because problems in this field are complex, multifaceted, and rooted in local settings, they do not tend to lend themselves to “one-size-fits-all” solutions. But there are heuristic frameworks (more on this key phrase later) that can help you address communication tasks in a systematic and thoughtful manner. This book offers original heuristics for problem contexts that are common to the field. Together, they constitute a broad-based perspective for both education and work that is sensitive to the nature of technical communication. Although technical communication has a long and rich past—researchers have documented cases of technical communication in ancient Roman culture, for instance—the field began to mature as an organized profession in the mid-twentieth century. This ongoing process, modern historians tell us, continues to parallel in close ways the development of complex technical systems (e.g., manufacturing systems, bureaucratic procedures) and consumer markets for all things scientific and technological (e.g., small appliances, electronic devices). More than ever, the inventions and processes of contemporary society call for a great deal of explanation, instruction, and careful design, in large part because their audiences have expanded to include not only technical specialists but also lay audiences. ii Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart A. Selber Computers provide an excellent case in point. Early systems were built by and for technical professionals, and were used in highly specialized settings such as scientific labs and research and development sites. Communication about and in these systems, understandably, occurred in relatively stable work cultures and involved limited groups of workers. Nowadays, of course, computers assume many different forms, and are used in a wide variety of settings and by a wide variety of people. This diversity requires more and different approaches to technical communication: Not only does computer documentation need to be written for a range of user abilities and goals, but computer programs themselves need to be adapted to support different types of activities. As computer program design has matured, technical communicators have increasingly been asked to help create systems to support very complex, specific types of tasks, taking into account not only the particular functions of the program (“Select ‘Print…’ from the File menu”) but also very broad, social concerns (“What about users who want to save some paper? Can we let them print to PDF files instead?”) and complex workplace issues (“Rather than just invite users to read the FAQ file, can we provide a way for them to suggest changes? Or even just make changes themselves?”). Technical communication is no longer simply communication about technology; it is also often communication as and in technology. As technologies become ubiquitous and complicated and more central to all aspects of work, the discipline of technical communication responds in increasingly complex ways. This increased complexity carries over to the process of learning how to be a technical communicator. Although many technical communicators still write traditional, print user manuals, many more develop wildly divergent types of computer support materials: online help systems, self-paced tutorials, in-person training guides, automated wizards and templates, tool tips, multimedia demonstrations, and more. How does one person learn to develop not only Introduction iii excellent writing skills but also expertise in task analysis, document design, HTML/CSS, Flash, video and audio production, single sourcing, usability, and more? For that matter, computer-user support materials are only a small fraction of what is involved in the ever-expanding world of technical communication. Professionals serve in nearly any area that involves technology, which is just about every field today. Technical communicators work in medical industries designing interfaces for patient health records; in aviation settings testing the usability of cockpit controls; in corporations writing annual reports that explain profits, losses, and trends to shareholders; in social service agencies preparing grant applications and proposals to support community outreach programs; in government agencies writing safety guidelines for field researchers; in publishing houses editing technical specifications for outdoor power and agricultural equipment; in mining companies creating warnings and risk bulletins for the public. This list is more suggestive than exhaustive: Technical communicators can now be found in nearly any and all work locations, handling a vast array of projects and responsibilities. Can one become an expert in all of these areas? The short answer is no. Nobody does all of these things, and certainly not at the same time. Some technical communicators start in one field, such as computing, and work in it for several years, building up their experience first in a specific area (e.g., reference manuals) before moving on to more complicated roles (e.g., participatory design). Others move from one industry to another, applying the skills they have learned to new contexts and challenges. The career paths and future skill sets of technical communicators are anything if unpredictable: Technologies develop and change, industries go up and down, and current events, especially crises and disasters, shape cultural expectations for communication and documentation. To use a clichéd expression, the only constant in the field is iv Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart A. Selber change. You can confirm this fact by talking to people who have practiced technical communication for more than a year or two. You will undoubtedly hear stories about how their jobs evolved and grew in scope over time. Adaptability is therefore key to what it means to be successful in the field. Technical communicators do not merely learn skills; they must also learn how to learn new skills, upgrading and augmenting their abilities as they go along, analyzing the matches and mismatches between what they currently know and what a situation demands. In other words, technical communicators must learn to become reflective problem solvers. This book will help you with that critical professional enterprise. Technical Communication as a Problem-Solving Activity We continue with three scenarios that depict important aspects of trained activity in the field: interpreting data and resources, supporting use contexts, and structuring work practices. These scenarios help to illustrate the nature of problem solving in technical communication. Scenario #1: Interpreting Data and Resources Kathleen is a technical communicator for a local township office, writing and editing a wide range of documents
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