lavacon preso-2015-miranda-meyers
TRANSCRIPT
From Startup to the Big Leagues: Enjoying the Journey Cisco Data Virtualization2016
Everyone present in this room Everyone in our virtual audience
WELCOME
Speaker Bios
Meg Miranda • 22 years of technical publications experience gathered from Oracle, HP,
IBM, Cisco, and countless startups in Silicon Valley. • https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id
=AAMAAAAb8BEBAofIT-p1tu_K3C2ppEfcca-RSQc&trk=hp-identity-name
Joe Meyers
• More than 40 years of technical publications experience as an editor, writer and contributing manager at startups and at large companies such as CDC, Ampex, Reuters, Apple and Cisco.
• Claim to fame: I was a beta tester for FrameMaker 0.6 and 0.98.
Summary
• The stresses of being acquired can be overwhelming.
• We offer tips to ease such a transition, based on what we did well and on what we learned from our mistakes.
• We focus on small changes that you can make with each iteration of the doc set.
• With many such changes we have achieved amazing results. You can, too.
Questions to the Crowd
At a startup
?Single
-
writer
“team
”?
Alreadyat abig
company?
Been through a transition like this already?
Big changes start with small steps
By picking small, incremental changes in each release cycle,
you can achieve great things.
Content Changes
BeforeNow
More task oriented
Content Changes
Before
Now
Things to Consider While You Are Still Smallish
Why these tips can help you now
• Flex-agile-ity to meet changing demands:
• Volatile management at small company • Demanding big customers • OEM potential for your company• Doc today – training materials tomorrow – professional services content the next day
• Look professional, like the big players, to help get big-player funding.
• Be careful with words. Multiple meanings increase big-player risk.
Standardize
Remov
e Uniq
uene
ss • Across Chapters• Across Books• Across Product Line Content
We used to have three Framemaker templates for the same doc set.
Now we do not.
Example
Simplify
Minimal will make yo
u AGILE
• Minimal font types • Minimal paragraph/character styles• Minimal cross-reference types• Minimal use of conditional text and variables
ExampleWe had “custom everything” in different chapters of the same book.
Now we do not.
More
Before Now
Cisco’s Simplified Template – a look ahead
• One cross-reference style
• Two table styles
• No TOC
• No Index
• Two template files:
• Cover pages
• Chapter pages
Types of Agility
• Ability to hire and train
• Ability to localize
• Flexibility with the documentation
• Willingness to change and adapt
Word Choice Globalization
• Pay attention to word choice• Standardize cross-reference wording• Remove extra words• Add words that can help translators• Be careful about names, action words, idioms
• Foster consistent usage between docs and:• Development group (error messages, etc.)• UI group (terms, usage, capitalization)• Marketing group (coordinated messages)• Training and customer support
[ribbit or rivet?]
Globalization Guidelines—Text
• Concise prose
• Short, grammatically simple sentences
• Unimpressive page counts (!)
• Controlled and consistent use of terms
• Single descriptions
• Insets
• Cross-references to one presentation
… and if you can:
• Changes flagged from release to release
“Cicero excuses himself for having written a long letter, by saying he had not time to make it shorter.”
1824 August, The Harmonicon: A Journal of Music, Number 20
“Say something once. Why say it again?”
Talking Heads
Consolidate
• Identify similar content – put it in one place.• Remove unnecessary detail.• Trim or divide long, block paragraphs.• Create task topics.• Avoid repeating long phrases when a short one
(or even a well placed pronoun) will do.• Make intelligent assumptions about the user.
We have one copyright file that is used in all 23 guides.
We omit most standard instructions like how to copy/paste.
Examples
Accelerating Transitions – Get Tool-Neutral
STRENGTH and WEAKNESS
Help you do Localization Readiness
People Experience
User Experience & ExpectationsCosts
Tools You Have Now
FrameMaker Word
Mobility/Video
Source Control
RobohelpWebWorks
DITA/XMLWiki
Consider DITA
Concept Task Reference
Unstructured Frame Tips:
lots of explanatory paragraphs
1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8
alphabetical lists;code
From your current TOC headings, can you tell me if a topic is concept, reference, or task?
• Use topic heading patterns • Pattern each topic type using DITA guidelines
So you just got bought?
Panic a Little
You deserve to be paranoid
Try to not do it too much around your co-workers
It will all work out.
Just because you’re PARANOID
It doesn’t mean they’re not out to
get you
Figure Out a Way to Have Fun
Play mental games
Take bets on the next change
Find a person to vent to
(outside of the workplace)
Bad News First
New company might • Not want the human collateral
• Have bought your company to remove competition from the marketplace
• Change the management hierarchy
• Think you are inexperienced
Any number of factors are out of our control
Example: acquiring company may assume that you have never had to think about big-company problems like part numbers, localization, managing red tape….
Good News
• You are flexible
• You are open to change
• You are able to rapidly assimilate new ideas and procedures
• You have been thinking about these things
• Maybe you just made enough off your stock to take some time off…
Change is Coming
Do You Have Tolerance for Change?
• Tolerance for ambiguity can be a differentiator for a specific job in interviews. It becomes a differentiator for your whole organization when you are acquired.
• The changes that bother you might be nonissues to someone else. Meanwhile, changes that you find trivial can be overwhelming for other people.
• Try to anticipate what you think might be your biggest areas of discomfort.
• Be ready for surprises.
• Cultivate self-awareness. It will reduce your bewilderment.
The Joy (or Sorrow) of Sects
One change that can be nettlesome for technical communicators when their startup is acquired is a shift in writing standards.
You might be required to switch from open to closed punctuation.
Pick your battles carefully.
You may have to choose between:• going to war over your pet peeves• keeping your cool (or your job)
Example
The Big Changes
• New templates• New processes• New target formats and delivery modes• A transition from familiar tools to “new” tools
• Word• FrameMaker• Structured FrameMaker• Interleaf• . . .• RoboHelp• WebWorks
• You might feel as though you’re going backward
• Word• FrameMaker• Structured FrameMaker• Notepad• . . .• RoboHelp• WebWorks
Conversion Path at Cisco
CompositeSW Frame
Template
Convert and Scrub:Paragraphs Characters
TablesCross-References
VariablesMaster and Reference Pages
Convert and Scrub:Paragraphs Characters
TablesCross-References
VariablesMaster and Reference Pages
Cisco Frame Template
Convert and Scrub:Paragraphs Characters
TablesCross-References
VariablesMaster and Reference Pages
Simplified Cisco Frame Template
Cisco-developed scriptsWebWorks reports to help identify inconsistencies
Pre-
Acqu
isitio
nPo
st-A
cqui
sitio
n
Hard work by writers devoted to working clean.
The People Changes
• Possibly new managers
• New management chain
• Added coworkers
• Subtracted coworkers
• New roles
• Design and create my own graphics?
• Cross-edit with my pals?
• Who am I here?
• New network of SMEs
• New contacts, alliances, rapport to establish
Big Company, Big Reach. Globalization.
• I18n
• L10n
• G11n
• Globalization has many facets:
• Software
• User interface
• Physical devices
• Electrical and electronic hardware
• Documentation
Typical Challenge Areas
• Page layout• Conditional text• Fonts• Variables • Part numbers• Text insets• Graphics (keep the originals!)
• Complex graphics• Content conversion• Large-scale template changes• Numbering• Heading levels• Treatment of blank pages (for example,
“This page intentionally left blank.”)
Typical Challenge Areas
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Conclusion
• Panic plus prudence is advisable.• One of these will happen:
• Acquisition• Go public
• Preparation helps
• Leverage your connections and the support of others.
Questions?
Thank You