Writing is Design

Writing is Design

Mugdha Kulkarni

© Copyright 2000-2015 TIBCO Software Inc.

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Agenda

- Writing as the essential skill

- Visualization of content (not layout)

- Seven samples of bad designs

- Plan for better writing


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What Not to Expect from this Workshop?

Neither about document layout Nor about information structure

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What to Expect from this Workshop?

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Why Teach Writing?

How many technical writers are actually writers?

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Writing – The Fundamental Skill

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Reviews – Not an answer to bad writing!

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Example Paragraph

Read and critique the content given to you.

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Writing Sample I

An automotive braking system is a group of mechanical, electronic and hydraulically activated components which use friction / heat to stop a moving vehicle. Brakes translate a push of a pedal to slowing down your car. One major factor that acts on a car to help it come to a complete stop is friction. Friction is resistance between two objects when they come into contact. The hydraulic system is the other main principle used in the brake system. The way it works is that the pressure applied on a closed fluid is transmitted undiminished to every part of the fluid as well as to the walls of the container. The major components of the brake system include the brake pedal, made up of a support axis, a push rod and a pad for the foot to press. When the brake pedal is pressed, it applies a force to the push rod, which transfers the force to the master cylinders. This creates hydraulic pressure inside the cylinders. There are two cylinders in a braking system - the master cylinder, and the slave cylinder. The third component of the brake system is the brake caliper and the disc assembly. As the slave cylinder applies pressure to the brake pad, the pad transfers air pressure to the rotor, and friction occurs.

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Example Paragraph

How do you imagine the writer will take the reviews?

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What happens on giving feedback?

The less said the better!

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The Solution

Establish the program.

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The Bad DesignsCreate and use the stamps of design to give feedback.

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Sample I – Crowded Content

Control user’s learning.

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Writing Sample I

An automotive braking system is a group of mechanical, electronic and hydraulically activated components which use friction / heat to stop a moving vehicle. Brakes translate a push of a pedal to slowing down your car. One major factor that acts on a car to help it come to a complete stop is friction. Friction is resistance between two objects when they come into contact. The hydraulic system is the other main principle used in the brake system. The way it works is that the pressure applied on a closed fluid is transmitted undiminished to every part of the fluid as well as to the walls of the container. The major components of the brake system include the brake pedal, made up of a support axis, a push rod and a pad for the foot to press. When the brake pedal is pressed, it applies a force to the push rod, which transfers the force to the master cylinders. This creates hydraulic pressure inside the cylinders. There are two cylinders in a braking system - the master cylinder, and the slave cylinder. The third component of the brake system is the brake caliper and the disc assembly. As the slave cylinder applies pressure to the brake pad, the pad transfers air pressure to the rotor, and friction occurs.

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Choose a visual.

The stamp

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Sample II - Complexity

Do you expect the users to jot down notes from your content?

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Writing Sample II

According to Marx, he read utilitarianism and he disagreed with it. He feels humans are alienated from the following nature, body, others, and one’s own intellectual ability.Marx believes that people are alienated from nature or comes to hate the object he or she creates. In some cases you can say this is true although people are at times happy and pleased with the product of his or her .Alienation of the body strength, agility are all controlled by the capitalist for hid benefit. Alienation of others says workers see other workers simply as competitors for the rewards they are offered.Finally intellectual alienation is faced with contradictions. In Marxist terminology a contidiction is a notion that is correct by everyone around you but clearly false if thought about in any length of time by yourself.

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Create an interesting stamp.

The stamp

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Sample III – Content Length

…Not too less

Not too much…

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Writing Sample III

The average amount of commercials a thirty minute program airs is something like eight minutes long. That leaves 22 minutes of programming, shorter if there are more commercials to air. The reality is that without commercials there would be no program. That includes your local news station as well. Advertisers pay big bucks to air their commercials, their money is what allows you to view the day’s important events on your television. They control how much news will be given on any given day. That however is not the only thing they control. They also control what goes on the news. News stations are careful as not to offend their advertisers with any of their stories in fear that they may revoke their commercials and with it take a huge sum of money.Commercial television regulates what we watch more than we think. It is nearly impossible to believe what we see on the news. First, the news is edited beyond belief. How are we supposed to form opinions off of a two and a half minute (the average amount of minutes) story? Take the presidential campaigns for example, we are given only ten seconds of each of the candidate’s debate speech.

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Stamps can be fun!

The stamp

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Sample IV – Lack of Visuals

Who wants to read it?

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Writing Sample IV

The hydraulic system is the other main principle used in the brake system. The way it works is that the pressure applied on a closed fluid is transmitted undiminished to every part of the fluid as well as to the walls of the container. With the space getting compressed in the cylinder, the fluid gets restricted in a smaller area. When this happens, the pressure inside the cylinder becomes greater. To make things easier to understand, imagine two pistons connected with each other. If you apply a small force to a small area of one piston, the same force is transmitted to the other piston of the same size. You will see that the piston on one side moves the same distance as the piston on the other side because the areas of the cylinders are exactly the same.

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Stamps add color to our work.

The stamp

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Sample V – Fragmented Content

Evvvverything in there!

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Writing Sample V

The moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. The moon orbits the Earth from 384400 km and has an average speed of 3700 km per hour. To date, only some astronauts have been to the moon. A moon is also known as natural satellite. However, here the term moon is used for the Earth’s moon. The moon is nearest to the earth. It has no light of its own. It shines with the reflected light of the sun. There is no air on the moon. The force of gravity on the surface of the moon is about one-sixth of that on the surface of the earth.

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Stamps start speaking more than a comment.

The stamp

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Sample VI - Lack of Examples

From what users know…

…To what they need to learn.

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Writing Sample VI

Probability is the measure of the likeliness that an event will occur. Probability is quantified as a number between 0 and 1 (where 0 indicates impossibility and 1 indicates certainty). The higher the probability of an event, the more certain we are that the event will occur.


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One stamp – one message

The stamp

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Sample VII - Inconsistent User Experience

I always find the answer!

I never fail if I see Help!!!The Empowered User

I always understand it!!

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Writing Sample I

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Choose your visuals carefully!

The stamp

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StampsHow? When? And other details!

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Creating Stamps

Live Demo!

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The PlanDecide what works for you, and act on it.

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Taking the Bull Head On

Don’t wait up. Start already!

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Coming back to Writing – THE Fundamental Skill

Balance your time in silos and in collaboration.

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Writing – THE Fundamental Skill

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Writing – THE Fundamental Skill

Write with Joy and Pride!

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Thank you!

Mugdha Kulkarni

[email protected]

[email protected]

Images credit : Google images