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Why you need a Tech Comm Mission Statement and How To Get One A mission statement is a central cornerstone of a successful content strategy. It gives documentation direction, describes its purpose and benefits and helps to set goals and standards. The presentation encourages technical communicators and their managers to draft a mission statement to "future-proof" their documentation and to gain support for it. Attendees will learn - What a mission statement is - How to draft one for technical communication - How to derive other strategic goalposts from it - How to benefit from it in daily work
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WHY YOU NEED A
TECH COMM MISSION STATEMENT
Kai Weber
@techwriterkai
#tcworld13 - 7 November 2013
PROGRAM
My mission:
“To empower you to improve standing, effectiveness and
value as tech comm‟ers by use of a mission statement.”
Intro: Who am I and what do I know?
1. What is a mission statement?
2. Why should you care?
3. Draft a mission statement
4. Derive strategic goalposts
5. Benefit every day
Senior Technical Writer
Documentation strategy
Policies & procedures
Topic-based authoring
Content modeling
WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
“A written declaration of
an organization's core purpose and focus
that normally remains unchanged over time.”
Why are we here? Unique purpose and value
What do we do? Products and services
Who do we do it for? Markets and audience
How do we do it? Principles and values
From BusinessDictionary.com and Radtke
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
“To refresh the world...
To inspire moments of optimism and happiness...
To create value and make a difference.”
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
“Our mission and values are to help people and businesses
throughout the world realize their full potential.”
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
“Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in
the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and
professional software. Apple leads the digital music
revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store.
Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its
revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining
the future of mobile media and computing devices
with iPad.”
See Blodget.
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
“Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many
people. Our business idea supports this vision by offering a
wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing
products at prices so low that as many people as possible
will be able to afford them.”
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
From BusinessDictionary.com and Business News Daily.
Mission statement Vision statement
Describes your (ideal) present Describes your future goal
“Why do you exist?” “Where do you want to go?”
You accomplish the mission… … because you pursue vision
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
Mission statement
Strategic goals
Tactical initiatives
Policies & procedures, standards
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
“… an organization's core purpose and focus…”
Mission
Strategy & Tactics
Policies & procedures, standards
Why are we here? Unique purpose and value
What do we do? Products and services
Who do we do it for? Markets and audience
How do we do it? Principles and values
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
A mission statement helps
To “talk business”
Add value (not costs)
Measure value (not pages)
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
A mission statement helps
To “talk business”
To overcome silos
Serve corporate goals (not style guide)
Collaborate with other teams (not only editors)
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
A mission statement helps
To “talk business”
To overcome silos
To add transparency
Define services & processes (not artisan products)
Give direction & focus (not ad-hoc improv)
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
A mission statement helps
To “talk business”
To overcome silos
To add transparency
Everybody: Tech comm, company, customers!
DRAFT A MISSION STATEMENT
“Customers find relevant product information
quickly and in their context.”
Why are we here?
What do we do?
Who do we do it for?
How do we do it?
DRAFT A MISSION STATEMENT
“We put clear, up-to-date usage instructions
at users‟ fingertips.”
Why are we here?
What do we do?
Who do we do it for?
How do we do it?
DRAFT A MISSION STATEMENT
“Your mission statement here!”
Enable strategy don‟t foreclose it.
Guide tactical initiatives don‟t prescribe them.
Motivate tasks don‟t regulate them.
Involve stakeholders; brainstorm and iterate.
Why are we here?
What do we do?
Who do we do it for?
How do we do it?
DERIVE STRATEGIC GOALPOSTS
Audiences
Consider “Who do we do it for?”
User research and user needs
User roles vs. personas
DERIVE STRATEGIC GOALPOSTS
Audiences
Deliverable formats
Consider “What do we do?” and “How do we do it?”
Embedded/context-sensitive vs. web-based vs. print
Text vs. images vs. videos
Single-sourcing?
DERIVE STRATEGIC GOALPOSTS
Audiences
Deliverable formats
Content model
Consider “Who do we do it for?” and “What do we do?”
Types and structure of content
Metadata for exchange of “intelligent content”
Task-oriented topic-based authoring?
Standards? DITA vs. DocBook
(Component) content management system?
DERIVE STRATEGIC GOALPOSTS
Audiences
Deliverable formats
Content model
Policies and procedures
Consider “What do we do?” and “How do we do it?”
Standard process and stages?
Specification? (Peer) editing? Translation?
Style guide?
BENEFIT EVERY DAY
Audiences
Deliverable formats
Content model
Policies and procedures
Customers
Management
Other teams, subject matter experts (SMEs)
Fellow tech communicators
Other possible benefits?
FURTHER READING AND SOURCES
1. Baker, Mark: “Why content jobs are never well defined”
2. Blodget, Henry: “Apple‟s „Mission Statement‟ Is Making People Worry…”
3. BusinessDictionary.com: “Mission Statement”
4. Economist.com: “Mission statement”
5. Radtke, Janel: “How to Write a Mission Statement”
6. Strategic Management Insight (SMI):
I. Mission Statement for Success (definition and benefits)
II. Mission statements (examples and analyses)
THANK YOU! KEEP IN TOUCH!
kaiweber.wordpress.com
@techwriterkai
