STC-Arkansas Home

The STC HQ in Washington D.C. changed our fiscal year from July 1-June 31 to January 1-December 31. Our elections correspond with our fiscal year. That means that we are now in the middle of a short (six-month) 'year.' Our current slate of officers will be finished serving their terms on December 31. Please visit our election site for details and to submit your nomination electronically.

The current office holders are:

President: Fredie Smith
Vice Pres.: Bill Smith
Secretary: Anna Smith
Treasurer: Pat Moore
Nominating Committee: Tommy Trussell and Pat Moore

The Arkansas chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) invites you to attend its May workshop about using metrics to estimate documentation projects. In addition, our speaker will talk about the future of STC and its strategic plan.

The workshop will be on Saturday, May 3, from 11:00 to 1:00 p.m. in Meeting Room D inside the Donaghey Student Center on the UALR campus.

This workshop is free and the general public is welcome. You do not have to be a member of STC to attend. Below is a description of the presentation and its presenter:

Using Metrics to Estimate Documentation Projects

Paul Mueller, UserAid

Everyone needs a reliable method for estimating documentation projects. As our delivery methods change, we need to develop and customize our metrics to ensure our estimates are accurate. This workshop reviews common issues we face when estimating documentation projects and identifies ways to resolve these issues. During this session, we will walk thru a comprehensive, flexible estimation process and discuss several examples that demonstrate ways to customize this process.

During the session, you will learn:
• How you can use metrics and Excel to estimate documentation projects.
• What benefits this metrics-based approach provides.
• How you can customize the metrics and processes to meet your specific needs.
• What issues you should consider, such as review cycles and release coordination.

Bio: Paul Mueller

Paul is President of UserAid, which designs and implements innovative communication solutions. UserAid focuses on delivering information when and where users need it. Paul received a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.S. in Mathematics from Pennsylvania State University and has been involved in technical communication for more than 20 years. Paul has experience managing information development, usability, and graphic design teams across the United States, Bolivia, and India. Paul speaks frequently at conferences and events, including WritersUA and Society for Technical Communication (STC) conferences. Paul is currently serving as STC Region 5 Director and he has held many leadership positions in his local STC chapter.

Thank you to everyone who voted to show your support for the volunteers who will serve as officers in the Arkansas Chapter of the STC beginning July 2008. They are:

President: Fredie Smith
Vice President: Bill Smith
Secretary: Anna Smith
Treasurer: Patrick Moore
Nominating Committee: Patrick Moore & Tommy Trussell

The Arkansas chapter of the Society for Technical Communication invites you to attend its April workshop featuring the above topic. The workshop will be on Saturday, April 12, from 11:00 to 1:00 p.m. in Meeting Room D inside the Donaghey Student Center on the UALR campus. This workshop is offered free of cost and the general public is welcome. You do not have to be a member of STC in order to attend.

Our virtual electronic presenter will be R.J. Jaquez of Adobe.

The following topics will be addressed and demonstrated during the workshop:

• An overview of all four components of the Adobe Technical Communication Suite
• Leveraging 3D CAD assets in FrameMaker documents and RoboHelp projects using Acrobat 3D
• Enriching technical documents and Help systems with show-me
• movies and software simulations using Adobe Captivate, FrameMaker and
• RoboHelp
• Extending the publishing capabilities of FrameMaker beyond Print, PDF and XML using RoboHelp, by linking the FrameMaker documents live in RoboHelp
• Initiating email-based reviews from FrameMaker and RoboHelp for enabling people with the free Adobe Reader to participate in the Review process
• Using RoboHelp as a Web delivery mechanism for 3D workflows, Knowledge Bases and Performance Support Systems
  

For more information about this or other STC events, contact Arkansas STC President Keith Dover at kdover@spp.org

UALR Donaghey Student Center, Conference Room D
(click to enlarge)