Summary - Opinions from Information Mapping (R) Seminar Participants

[Charmaine Brandon <CBRANDON -at- HIBERNIABANK -dot- COM>]

Hello all,

A big THANK YOU to everyone who responded to my request for feedback from past Information Mapping (R) seminar participants.  The responses helped me convince my manager to add the seminar to my 1999 training (I love this list!!).

The consensus among respondents is the seminar is definitely worthwhile. For further testimonial, read on:

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I took that seminar five years ago, and it was very worthwhile. I was able to come back and map previously-written procedures into coherent processes that people actually understood. Draft/revision time really did go down. I worked for a utility, and we were able to standardize the practices so the guys in the field knew what to do - and that went a long way toward reducing overtime costs.

The really important part is that Information Mapping is really just a concept, and as I have become an expert, I have tailored it to fit the needs of the customer. I no longer could tell you the names of the IM maps, (in fact, I don't use the name Information Mapping at all; I use "structured documentation") but I sure know what concepts work best for my customers.

Cathy Christian
mailto:cathy -dot- christian -at- boeing -dot- com

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I've taken the seminar and, because I was a newbie to tech writing, I thought it was worth the price.  It seems to have helped me to think a little more clearly i.e., one thought per "block," etc.

Marsha G. Kamish
mkamish -at- stewart -dot- com

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I do not come from a writing background and I was introduced to information mapping when I started my career as a technical writer.  I didn't attend the seminar, but I was walked through IM by someone who did attend.  I also read the manual that went along with the seminar.

I must say that I did find many concepts that are very helpful.  I think that ideas that they present are too concrete, however (i.e. they thought there was no other acceptable way to write).  By using some of IM's concepts along with how I wanted the finished product to look, our department has created a terrific looking user manual.

Jason Watson
JasonWatson -at- Cybertek -dot- com
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I attended the Developing Procedures, Policies, & Documentation class in October 1997.  The class was GREAT and helped me tremendously as a technical writer.

The knowledge and skills I gained have definitely improved my job performance and my confidence that I can take a pile of information and create a usable, helpful document.  I have sat in training meetings with business analysts and been able to "see" a document take shape as I took notes.  I am able to organize and develop a document much more efficiently and effectively than before.  I have used the knowledge and tools to create user guides, training materials, troubleshooting guides, web pages, etc. for work.  I have developed my handouts and tests in this format for the English classes I teach at the community college.  I have taken on a telecommuting job writing weekly medical summary reports for a residential facility and have Info-Mapped those.  I've gotten terrific feedback from people who have worked in these facilities for 25+ years.  I feel I have learned a great deal and continue to learn and use the method in new ways.

I use the skills and tools daily, and I feel it is the most valuable thing I have learned as a technical writer.

Nancy Avery
(719) 595-2582
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I took the Developing Policies and Procedures  class several years ago. I found the seminar useful in that it helped to give my "instincts" a solid base.  Before, I did what seemed right. Afterwards, I had a better understanding of the "why" with the
seminar documentation to show my managers what's up.  It also gave me a few more ideas/tools to add to my grab bag.

Information Mapping TM does not decrease page count.  In my experience, it increases a document by 32%.  This is going from an old Word format to the Infor format in Frame.  Remember, all those white spaces and headers and footers take up room....

As for whether you should go, I say yes.  Not all of the class will apply to you, but you will gain a better understanding of the rules.  And you must understand the rules if you are going to break/alter them.   A case in point:  we hired another writer after a group of us went to the seminar. She read the manual we got from Information Mapping TM and saw how we applied the style.  About 3 months later, she decided that even though she grasped the concept of it, she would benefit from going to the seminar.  So we sent her.  She was right, she did benefit from it and now has a more
concrete understanding of it and the decisions/alterations we made.

I can always tell if someone maps a manual without any training in it.  I am currently redoing a manual from someone who had no training.  There *is* a big difference!

Melissa
mconniff -at- csc -dot- com

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I took the course with everyone from our doc dept.  (4 of us) and I can't tell you how much it helped us.  3 of the people in the dept. had never taken any courses in technical writing and were looking for some formal "rules of writing".   Although IM did not teach them how to write per se, it did teach them how to organize information and how to present it in a way that was user-friendly.

After the IM course, we were all in sync and writing in the same way.  This, in itself was a big relief to all of us, because we felt we were all on the same wave length.  It improved our documentation enormously and we found out that planning a document before writing a single word was the most important part of our documentation process.

We are all enthusiastic about this method, although we do not consider it a religion and allow ourselves to take some liberties with the rules.  In any case, it is worth the price of the course.

I am not saying that IM is original or revolutionary as a concept, but it is, in my opinion, one of the most helpful methods around for learning how to present information in a clear and usable way.  If I only had one course to take as a technical writer, this would definitely be my choice.

Angela Gibrat
Documentation Mgr
Wincap Software
*****************************************************************************Thanks again to all who responded!





Charmaine
cbrandon -at- hiberniabank -dot- com
www.hiberniabank.com

My opinions are my own, and do not reflect the opinions of Hibernia Corporation.


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