• Published as a postscript file or (more frequently) a Microsoft Visio file.
• Given a standardized name / file number that appears in the bottom right corner of the graphic.
• Stored in Documentum in a special graphics archive.
• Pasted into an anchored frame within FrameMaker.

The SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) who created these files are expected to conform only to the first rule, and the documentation team is supposed to finish the job. Unfortunately, most of the SMEs are either unaware of the process or choose to ignore it (there is evidence of both on a case-by-case basis). This means that the graphics the SMEs put into the FrameMaker documents can come from anywhere. In practice, however, most improperly created graphics come from one of three applications, Microsoft Word (the most painful to transfer), Microsoft PowerPoint (bad, but not as bad as Word) and FrameMaker’s own drawing tool (least painful). My job is to go through each document, transfer any non-conforming files into Visio, fix the graphics problems, set the file name, save and store the base graphic files in the appropriate Documentum archive, then paste the revised graphic back into FrameMaker.

Visio is a surprisingly useful product, despite the fact that it is sold by Microsoft. The reason it is not as terrible as Word or PowerPoint is that this program did not originally come from Microsoft, but came instead from a company called . . . Visio. Microsoft bought Visio out in the year 2000, and as of this point Microsoft still has not managed to ruin the tool. Visio actually works.

Visio has some of the features of draw and paint programs, but it has a much different emphasis. Visio is used to quickly create flowcharts, graphs, charts, schematics and other technical or process-based images. Visio accomplishes this by providing the user with icons, charts, and line tools that can quickly be placed and connected on the page. Each icon is also set to allow the input of short descriptive text. The learning curve for this application is twofold. Not only does the user need to learn how to use the tools of the program, but they also need a firm grasp of the theories behind the creation technical images and how they are used to present information.

Of course, SMEs generally have very little training in either technical graphic creation or Visio. This means that many of the graphics accompanying these documents are in bad shape. The worst of the files are the ones created in Microsoft Word. If you have access to the original Word document that contains the graphics, you can make a painless transfer from Word to Visio. Unfortunately, if you do not have the original file (I usually do not) and have to rely on the image as it is pasted into FrameMaker, the transfer is so poor you will often find yourself redrawing the graphic from scratch.

The FrameMaker drawing tool, on the other hand, pastes into Visio with a minimum of fuss. The most common problem I encounter with it is that the text in the graphics will sometimes crowd together. When this happens, I can generally fix the problem by selecting the image and stretching it slightly. The ratios of the graphic elements stay the same, but the text gets the room it needs and the image looks the way it was meant to.

Many aspiring technical writers do not understand how important graphic and design skills are in technical writing. When people hear the term technical writing, the word writing has too great an influence on their thinking. The term technical communication is actually more accurate, but has little chance of becoming the widespread term for what we do. The truth is that charts, graphs, drawings and screen captures are often more useful that a well-written sentence when you are trying to instruct or inform a person. In most cases, the images will be the starting point for readers.

In addition to graphics, the visual design of a page can either help the reader or hinder them. When a document is poorly designed visually, it erodes the reader’s confidence in the material and hinders their ability to digest information quickly. Every aspiring technical writer should take a visual design class.

Here are two valuable books on the subject of visual design:

Robin Williams. The Non-Designer’s Design Book. isbn 1-56609-159-4. Amazon

This book is an excellent introduction to the ideas behind effective visual design. It is not particularly long or detailed. It simply shows and tells you why certain ideas work better when designing anything from a business card to a brochure to a manual. I have never seen a more straightforward presentation of visual design.

Charles Kosterlnick & David D. Roberts. Designing Visual Language: Strategies for Professional Communicators. isbn 0-205-20022-2. Amazon

This is a formal textbook on visual design with an emphasis on technical communication. It discusses both high-level concepts and low-level details. This book is far from quick read, but if you stick with it, you will gain an excellent knowledge of visual design from a technical communicator’s standpoint.

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On this project, I provided formatting and editing support for a group of subject matter experts (SMEs) who were putting out a new product. There were several difficulties involved with the project. To begin with, the subject matter experts were not particularly interested in the project. While the product would be new to the market, it had been in development for several years, and most of the experts were now working on a newer revision of the product. In other words, the version that was going to market would immediately be obsolete, and most of the work now focused on the next step rather than the current piece.

Another challenge was that no one was willing to step up and be the document owner. This problem was deeply frustrating for my supervisor, who has been dealing with these documents much longer than I have. The document consisted of three volumes containing ten chapters apiece. While the individual chapters had SMEs who were responsible for them, the overall document had no leader to take charge of putting the book together and making sure that the SMEs, who viewed the document team as a nuisance and said so, to provide the required support.

Boilerplate

My task was to go through each of the chapters and make sure they conformed to the boilerplate. The boilerplate was a set list of sections and section content that each SME had to match to their piece of the product. I had nothing to do with the development of the boilerplate, and I did not have a particularly high opinion of the way it had been set up, but I had to enforce it.

The other difficulty with my part of the project was that this was my first exposure to this product. It was a highly technical piece of hardware, and there was no time for me to devote to learning about it. My job was to go through each document, fix what I could, and put notes by anything I did not know enough about to fix on my own.

Another challenge was that the SMEs had frequently strayed from the boilerplate. The boilerplate had 21 different sections, only one of which was optional. In almost every chapter, the document had both missing sections and sections that were not part of the boilerplate. I would insert any missing sections (with notes about adding content) and flag any non-boilerplate sections. I would also give my best guess to the SMEs about where the information belonged. Finally, I made sure everything was in the correct order.

After I dealt with the section issues, I focused on the content issues. For example, one section in consisted of sets of tables. The SMEs had a choice between two sets of tables they could use to input key product data. If their part of the project used items from the A list, they were supposed to use table A. If their part of the product used items from the B list, they were supposed to use table B. In almost every case, the SMEs used the wrong table, leaving gaps where their information did not conform to the columns of the tables. In each case, I had to reformat the data to fit the proper table. This process was complicated because each item table linked to a summary table through a series of FrameMaker cross references that were dependent on paragraph types. Each paragraph had to change when the tables changed, and so I had to recreate all of the cross-references.

Conditional Text

Finally, there was the issue of conditional text. Conditional text is a Framemaker feature that allows writers to designate text to be hidden or displayed under specific circumstances. By doing this, you can use the same files to print out documents for different sets of audiences. In this case, we used conditional text to set levels of security. For example, highly sensitive information could be set to internal. Information that would go out to our corporate partners, but not to the public, could be set to secure. Publicly viewable information would be unconditional. This is just an example. In our case, we could apply about fifteen different conditions we could apply to text. According to the boilerplate, each section required at least one of four different conditions. I had to go through the document and reassign conditions until the documents conformed to the boilerplate rules.

Because the SMEs were neither eager to work with me nor compelled to work with me by someone on their side of the document, getting them to give me information was often difficult. It was even harder because, as a contractor, I have almost no authority. This meant that if I did not get a response I had to then escalate to my supervisor, who had to call the SMEs or their manager or their manager’s manager until we finally got a response.

As you can see, this was far from an ideal documentation project, although it is closer to the norm that most of us would like to think. As a contractor though, poorly planned, managed or executed projects rarely upset me. I have no stake in the outcome of the project. When I was a regular employee, watching a project go wrong would make me worry about my job and about the company as a whole. As a contractor, I only care about doing the best job I can for the client, no matter how misguided or mismanaged the project. If the client wants me to take ten weeks to accomplish something that should take a week, I can take ten weeks. After all, they pay me by the hour. Such is the life of a contractor.

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