Back to technical writing

After working for 2,5 years as Information Advisor and ICT Architect, I had the opportunity to return to the things that I do best: writing, structuring information (modelling) and designing knowledge solutions. Within a few weeks I will start as Knowledge Analyst / Technical Writer at Be Informed in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.

Be Informed and Technical Communication
Be Informed is an internationally operating, independent software vendor. I have worked with them from early 2006 until the end of 2008, as an external contractor. The Be Informed business process platform supports administrative processes, that are becoming increasingly knowledge-intensive. The role of technical documentation in this process should not be underestimated. What if we could provide our users with exactly the information they need to perform their task at exactly the right moment. The information could come from various sources (manuals, websites, on-line help) and could involve combinations of software documentation, process descriptions and other types of instructions.

I am excited to return in the world of technical communication and semantic technology after 2,5 years of absence. As mentioned back in 2008 (in this blog series) our users are facing an overload of information. The use of semantic technology could well be the next step in the evolution of technical communication.

Not just technology
However, the technology alone is not enough to improve the effectiveness of our documentation. We need a goal-driven, user-centric approach to get the most out off this technology. One of the first projects I will do at Be Informed is documenting scenarios for the optimal usage of their own product. This should lead to a fully task-based knowledge bank, providing different audiences with exactly the information they need to get the most out of the Be Informed business process platform. I will use this blog to document my approach and results.

Related articles
* How Information becomes Knowledge
* How Knowledge becomes Usable

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