HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY to all the trainers and trainees of TWB.

Today while reading a book,I have gone through few quotes which I think will motivate us in our daily activities.
These are the following quotes:

• “That some achieve great Success,is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.”…Abraham Lincoln
• “The first and most important Step toward success is the feeling that we can succeed.”..Nelson Boswell
• “To accomplish great things,we must not only act,but also Dream,not only plan,but also believe.”..Anatole France
• “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all.”..Dale Carnegie

I wanted to learn structured Framemaker and started looking for online tutorials or PDFs that I could learn from. I found a good pdf tutorial at http://www.fortunetsolutions.com/portfolio/XML-Structured-FrameMaker-7-tutorial.pdf.
Hope you all find it helpful.

Mamtha Nayak completed the TWB Fundamental Certification Program in 2011. Her educational background includes a Masters in Microbiology. She is currently working as a technical writer in Ixia Technologies Pvt. Ltd in the Technical Publication department.

Do you think Online Training is effective?

I feel Online Training is effective if there is some kind of interaction with the mentors. This is necessary, so that the mentors can point out the mistakes and the errors in the documentation of the students and the students get to learn from them.

What are the books you reference the most?

I refer the following the most:

• Company’s style guide
• MSTP

What is your advice for fresher and other aspirants?

• Certification: A certified technical writer always has an edge over others.
• Grammar: Have a firm grip on grammar.
• Effective communication: Helps in writing effectively and also helps in cracking interviews.
• Tools: Knowing different tools is always a plus point.

How do you interact with subject matter experts to determine necessary content updates?

• Keep regular meetings for software feature demos.
• Send an e-mail message asking for any specific information.

What all do you consider as a check list before submitting a final copy/deliverable

I consider the following list:

• Purpose of content stated clearly?
• Is the information accurate and complete?
• Do the ideas flow logically?
• Would a chart, image, table, or graph be more effective for certain information?
• Are the words used simple, specific, and straightforward?
• Have I used active voice or passive voice?
• Is there consistency throughout the document?
• Are Grammar, spelling, and punctuation accurate?
• Typographical errors corrected?

In what type of documentation are graphics/images not required?

Generally, in online help we avoid using graphics/images. As the user is already using the application, images are not required.

What are your expectations from new/fresh technical communicators?

• Good information gathering skill
• Eye for details
• Good time management
• Proofread documents before sending out for review

Is this field giving opportunity to work aboard also?

Yes, this field does give opportunity to work aboard, though this depends on company and the location of the product development team.

Can you share the most memorable moment in your professional life?

It is when I received appreciation mails for successfully documenting a product.

This is the one “eternal” question I keep asking myself since I started learning and working on FrameMaker.
Here is a small snapshot of what I understood.
When it comes to creating long technical documents with multiple indentation levels and a 3, 4 even 5-tier paragraph numbering system, there’s no contest FrameMaker wins hands down.
The reason is simple; Framemaker was designed for long, complex technical documents, and is very cumbersome for short documents. If you have a good template, things almost never go wrong with FrameMaker.
On the other hand, MS Word was designed to be a simple word processor to create short documents. But Microsoft has gradually evolved MS Word to have much more sophisticated features. Now, MS Word can support for longer and more complex documents. But sometimes lists or headers and footers, or something else do go wrong unannounced.
Still, MS Word is on almost every office computer across the world. It’s everywhere. And it’s much easier to learn than FrameMaker, though not easier to master. Moreover, MS Word is more affordable, which often influences buying decisions of the organizations.
If a department’s documentation needs are preparing for 4-page software/hardware installation guide, then MS Word will do just fine.
But in case the organization has to generate a 1,000 page User and Configuration Guide for particular instrument or industrial plant, then FrameMaker is the right choice.
I will continue to update this blog regularly and bring up more distinguishing features between Adobe FrameMaker and MS Word.