Technical Writing Management A Practical Guide eBook Steven Schwarzman
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A practical guide to managing technical writing projects and tech writing departments, covering hiring, evaluation, management, internal and external customer relations, estimating and tracking tech writing projects, running a tech writing business as a solo contractor or as a manager, selling writing services, contracts and work orders, outsourcing, technical training development & delivery, and more.
From the Introduction
"There are many books available on the techniques of technical writing, primarily for beginners and practitioners of tech writing. But there are very few books on how to manage the technical writing group in a company or how to manage a technical writing business (whether you're on your own as a freelancer or you have writers working for you). If you are a tech writer who manages other writers, or if you are a non-writer who manages writers, this book is for you.
The sections on managing tech writing projects show a methodology specific to technical documentation.... What this book aims for is to provide you as a manager of technical writing with the specifics that you won't easily find elsewhere.
Secondarily, this book aims to give new managers, and future managers, a leg up on how to actually run a technical publications group, based on some 20 years of experience in the field.
There are different situations in which someone becomes a manager of a technical publications group. Sometimes a writer grows into the role within a company as the department grows, sometimes tech writers are subsumed under some other group - I've seen writers belonging to support, testing, marketing, and infrastructure groups - and the person in charge of technical writing in the company isn't actually a writer and may never have been one.
Tech writers who set up their own freelance business have their own specific needs not only are they the managers, they're also the writers. Finally, owners or managers of tech writing agencies, whether or not they are writers themselves, have business issues specific to a tech writing business to consider."
Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
-A guide for technical writing managers
-Writers who become managers
-Managers who are not tech writers
-Freelance tech writers
-Tech writing agency owners
-What's in this book
Chapter 2 - Tech writing for managers
-A quick intro to technical writing
-Technical editing
-Technical writing and product management
-Tech writing and debugging
-What skills do technical writers need?
Chapter 3 - How to hire tech writers
-Establish the requirements
-Evaluate the resumes
-Interview the writers
-Review the samples
-Give a test
-Tech writers with non-tech writing experience
Chapter 4 - Managing a tech writing group
-The role of tech writers in a corporate environment
-The documentation team
-Define standards
-Distribute the work in your team
-Involve the writers
-Build teams
-Monitor the work and communications
-Evaluate the writers
-Client relations
-Communicating with other groups in your organization
-Corporate tech writing
-Re-use, repurposing, and content management systems
Chapter 5 - Estimating, tracking, and managing tech writing projects
-Determine the project scope
-Estimates and schedules
-Assemble the team
-Provide resources and leadership
-Working with outsourced writers or outsourced SMEs
-Track and report
-Deliver the project
-Evaluate the project
Chapter 6 - Running a tech writing business
-Finding jobs
-Marketing yourself as a freelance tech writer
-Other marketing avenues
-Managing your clients
Chapter 7 - Managing technical training
-How to do tech training
-Training program components
-Training needs analysis
-Training development
-Training delivery
-Training delivery management
-Training program communication
-Training budget
-Set the tone fun exploration
-Training evaluation
Technical Writing Management A Practical Guide eBook Steven Schwarzman
The products of the technical writing profession are ubiquitous, from user manuals, to online help, to package inserts. Steven A. Schwarzman, in Technical Writing Management: A Practical Guide, addresses several distinct audiences involved in the creation of these products, and he provides benefit to each of them using clear explanations and real-world examples.The title of this book would suggest that it's only useful for persons who might need to manage a team of technical writers. In fact, Steven presents technical writing from several perspectives, and the insights he provides for each individual group should be equally useful for all of them. Managers, members of a writing team, a single individual who is manager, writer and editor, and those who set up shop to provide technical writing services, are all represented in this book. They are treated to advice that will help them not only to perform their own roles, but to better understand the needs and goals of all the others. Technical Writing Management is a useful addition to any technical writer's library, and it's a good read for anyone at all curious about the profession. It's written in a conversational style and exudes confidence that comes from having been in the trenches.
I give this book five stars, primarily because I found it so useful in figuring out how to reenter the technical writing field after many years in other pursuits, but also because I connected with Steve in the online community of technical writers and found him to be incredibly generous in sharing his advice and wit.
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Technical Writing Management A Practical Guide eBook Steven Schwarzman Reviews
While reviewing Managing Writers by Richard Hamilton, I lamented about the lack of good documentation management mentoring in our industry. I'm still lamenting, but I am excited to see another author stepping forward in an attempt to fill that void. Technical Writing Management by Steven A. Schwarzman offers a very comprehensive list of best practices for every aspect of documentation management, and even spills over to adjacent topics.
The first point worth noting is the writing style; this is a conversation between Schwarzman and you. I have been fortunate to have had management mentors at various times in my career, and understand the importance of absorbing their experiences. Many conversations over a beer or sandwich have been as valuable, if not more so, than classroom lectures. Technical Writing Management is an extension of these interactions; the text is accessible, practical, and frank. There is a theme of "I have done this...and this is what has worked for me" contained in each section.
And what Schwarzman has experienced is exhaustive. The breadth and scope of topics is wide. He covers all the basics, including how to hire writers, the day-today activities of managing a writing team, evaluating performance, managing projects, and much more. Beyond the typical management tasks, he delves into running a technical writing business and managing a technical training department. As an example, Schwarzman provides in-depth information on estimating project effort, including factoring individual attributes of writers. I have attempted to treat writers as equals - any writer can jump in at any project at any time. He provides excellent reasoning as to why this hurts effort estimation.
One particular section I would like to highlight describes building relationships with other departments. As a writer, you may be oblivious to the need for improving the perception of your department within your company. A manager, however, needs to be keenly aware of any opportunities that arise here. Technical writers need to be seen as valued members of each project/product team. Schwarzman is not saying "act like a peer and you'll be treated like a peer" - he provides specific guidance on proactively establishing and maintaining a positive team identity.
My personal experiences overlap and validate much of the content in Technical Writing Management. But I was still excited to fill in many of my knowledge gaps, identify areas where I can improve our team environment, and prepare for events that I have not yet experienced in my professional career. While reading, I flagged a number of pages for further review.
This is an easy book to recommend.
Not very intelligent
I've read many books that give an overview of the technical writing process. This is a good one that will serve anyone well.
The technical writing profession needs more books like this one. It's practical and written from the author's experience and provides some good information for new technical writers entering the profession and experienced technical writers entering a management role.
The products of the technical writing profession are ubiquitous, from user manuals, to online help, to package inserts. Steven A. Schwarzman, in Technical Writing Management A Practical Guide, addresses several distinct audiences involved in the creation of these products, and he provides benefit to each of them using clear explanations and real-world examples.
The title of this book would suggest that it's only useful for persons who might need to manage a team of technical writers. In fact, Steven presents technical writing from several perspectives, and the insights he provides for each individual group should be equally useful for all of them. Managers, members of a writing team, a single individual who is manager, writer and editor, and those who set up shop to provide technical writing services, are all represented in this book. They are treated to advice that will help them not only to perform their own roles, but to better understand the needs and goals of all the others. Technical Writing Management is a useful addition to any technical writer's library, and it's a good read for anyone at all curious about the profession. It's written in a conversational style and exudes confidence that comes from having been in the trenches.
I give this book five stars, primarily because I found it so useful in figuring out how to reenter the technical writing field after many years in other pursuits, but also because I connected with Steve in the online community of technical writers and found him to be incredibly generous in sharing his advice and wit.
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