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Technical Writing
Overview of Experience and Education
- 8 years of solid experience as a technical writer for software companies in various domains, including facilities management, health care, government, and graphic design.
- Advanced user of the following documentation tools: AuthorIT, FrameMaker, WebWorks Publisher, MS Word and Office, Help & Manual, RoboHelp, Acrobat, Visio, SnagIt, and Adobe CS3.
- Dynamic participant in software development cycle who can assist in UI design, quality assurance, and training initiatives as a user's advocate.
- B. A. in English, with a concentration in Professional Writing and Technical Communication (here).
- Member of STC Boston (here).
Technical Writing Samples
The following table contains technical writing samples. Click the thumbnail to view the PDF.
Each sample showcases a particular area of experience (click a link to jump to the sample):
Documentation for System Administrators |
In my most recent position, I documented complex installation and administration processes for non-technical personnel to use within secure off-site locations.
This project required me to interact with numerous subject matter experts in order to establish the process that I then documented.
This sample was created in MS Word.
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PDF, 196KB |
Documentation for End-users (Complex) |
From 2002 until 2007, I was a lone technical writer at a software company with a complex facilities management and capital planning web-based application.
This sample explains to end-users how to use a software business object called a System (as in the physical building "systems," such as heating or flooring).
This sample was created in AuthorIT, output to MS Word, and distributed as a PDF. |
PDF, 80KB
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| Documentation for End-users (Simple) |
I've documented simpler applications, too. This sample explains to an end-user how to get started using a web-based application and includes a "feature breakdown" graphic to introduce the user to the screen.
This sample was created in MS Word. The graphic on page 3 was created in Visio. |
PDF, 289 KB
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| New Features Guide |
This sample is a new features guide that explains the changes and new features in a major new software release.
This sample was created in MS Word. |
PDF, 580 KB
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| Documentation Design and Production |
I have a wealth of experience creating and managing templates for printed and online materials to ensure organizational consistency and ease-of-use.
I also have experience single-sourcing the production of DHTML help and printed manuals for one-click publishing.
These samples depict an online help system (top) and printed material (bottom) that were single-sourced from the same content using AuthorIT. |
PDF, 380KB and 182KB
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| Localization |
In 2006, I managed a project to localize the documentation for French and German-speaking users.
I worked with a 3rd-party translation vendor to establish a scalable process to be sustained over multiple product lifecycles. I also ensured that the translation met the needs of an international user base by addressing product features such as currency, units of measure, date/time, and by overseeing the translation of key product terminology.
These samples are the German (top), French (middle), and English (bottom) output of identical pages and screens from the documentation. |
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| Team-Writing |
In 2001, I worked at a large medical IS company on a team of writers. We authored in FrameMaker and used Web Works Publisher to create the online help.
This sample explains tasks and task concepts to hospital representatives, who used the system to review patient visits.
This sample was created in FrameMaker. |
PDF, 60KB
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