Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
October/November 2009
| Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter October/November 2009 |
Hello,
Election time is almost here. Each of you (San Francisco Chapter members only) will soon receive an e-mail containing a hyperlink to SurveyMonkey.com. We will use SurveyMonkey to host our voting process for the 2010 chapter leadership. Please take the time to vote after you receive the e-mail from our listserv.
As you will see, many of the positions have only one candidate. I wish we had more member interest in participating in the chapter leadership, but it's an incremental process. I have been working to get members more involved in chapter activities during my tenure as chapter president. I think that my efforts have paid off. We now have more active members in the leadership committee than when I started.
So, you might ask, "What does that mean to me?" An increased number of STC members involved in the chapter leadership translates into more potential for creating events that add value to your professional development. These events might include competitions, weekend seminars, and special workshops.
I will not run for another term as chapter president. I will be there, however, as immediate past president to support the new chapter president. I will also help the new leadership to implement our 16-month chapter plan. This plan will include a couple of special events, so keep an eye out for them in our e-mails.
At our October meeting, Jeff Boudier and Fabrice Talbot will present the topic, "Documentation Review: Get It Done!" This meeting will contain an interactive session in which attendees are arranged in workgroups and engage in short, practical, fun case-studies at three points in the session. They gather attendees’ documentation review experiences, identify where time and efficiency are lost, and provide tips and tricks for improving communication between team members. Jeff and Fabrice will then present practical methods and tools that significantly improve the documentation review process. They show how they implemented those principles in the LiveTechDocs application, applying them to XML technical documentation.
At our November meeting, Megan Leney will present the topic, "Today's Agile Documentation." You should attend this presentation to learn tips, tricks, current trends, and best practices that can enhance your experience as a technical communicator working with Agile development teams. Megan will also share the results of her survey of agile documentation team members at this meeting.
In December, we will host our annual holiday party. That will be the time to dress up, mingle, network, and enjoy the company of your fellow technical communicators.
I hope to see you at our upcoming meetings.
Sincerely, Gilbert Gonzalez President, STC San Francisco Chapter