Solved by verified expert:Please read Chapter 12 in Technical Communication Today and respond to the following prompt:Please identify and discuss 4-5 takeaways from the chapter. More specifically, in what ways will better understanding primary, secondary, and tertiary reader-users allow you to tailor your proposal for this project?More than 400 words
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12
CHAPTER
Strategic
Planning, Being
Creative
Using Strategic Planning 330
Help: Planning with Online
Calendars 333
Generating New Ideas 334
What You Need to Know 339
In this chapter, you will learn:
• To plan a project in an organized way.
• Strategies for identifying your objectives and “top-rank objective.”
• To develop a list of tasks and a timeline for your project.
• How to use the technical writing process as a planning tool.
• How to generate new ideas in the technical workplace.
• Strategies for being creative and trusting your instincts.
• Five techniques for generating new ideas.
Exercises and Projects 340
Case Study: Getting
Back to Crazy 342
T
he writing process for any technical document should begin with a “planning
phase” in which you think about how you are going to best inform and persuade
your readers. Good planning will save you time while helping you write more efficiently and effectively.
Using Strategic Planning
Effective strategic planning will save you time, while helping you produce higherquality documents and presentations that are informative and persuasive to your
readers. A time-tested method for strategic planning includes three steps: (1) setting
objectives, (2) creating a list of tasks or “task list,” and (3) setting a timeline (Figure 12.1).
Step 1: Set Your Objectives
To begin the planning process, you first need to figure out what you want your project
to achieve.
List Project Objectives On your computer or a sheet of paper, make a brain-
storming list of the objectives of your project. For a smaller project, you may list only
a few objectives. For a larger project, your list of objectives will probably include many
items that vary in importance. At this point, as you brainstorm, you should list any
objectives that come to mind. You can prioritize and condense the list later.
Identify The Top-Rank Objective When your list is complete, rank your objec-
tives from the most important to the least important. Identify your “top-rank objective” (or what a marketing guru would call your “TRO”). That’s the main goal that
your project will strive to reach. More than likely, your top-rank objective is going to
be almost identical to the purpose of your project.
Steps of Strategic Planning
Figure 12.1:
Good project
planning
involves identifying your
objective and
then breaking
the project
down into
tasks that
are set on a
timeline.
Set Objectives
Create a List of Tasks
Set a Timeline
330
Chapter 12 Strategic Planning, Being Creative
Then express your project’s top-rank objective in one sentence:
Our main objective is to persuade the university’s vice president of information technology to upgrade the wireless network on campus.
The primary goal of this project is to develop a solar car that will be competitive in the American Solar Challenge race.
If you are having trouble expressing your top-rank objective or purpose in one sentence, you probably need to narrow the scope of your project. A top-rank objective
that requires more than one sentence is probably too complicated to guide your strategic planning.
Link
For more
help with
identifying
your purpose go to
Chapter 1,
page 5.
Step 2: Create a List of Tasks (or Task List)
Once you have identified your top-rank objective, you should then convert the remainder of your objectives into tasks that you will need to perform. Logical mapping and
developing a “task list” are helpful ways to make this conversion from objectives to tasks.
Map Out The Project Tasks Put your top-rank objective (purpose) in the middle
of your screen or a piece of paper, and ask yourself, “What are the two to five major
steps necessary to achieve this goal?” Once you have identified your major steps, then
identify the two to five minor steps that will help you achieve each major step.
You shouldn’t reinvent the wheel with every new project. For example, if your project involves writing a document, you can use the “technical writing process” described
in Chapter 1 to help you figure out the major steps of your project (Figure 12.2). Here
are the stages of the writing process again:
Planning and researching
Organizing and drafting
Improving style
Designing
Revising and editing
Link
For more
tips on using logical
maps, go to
Chapter 14,
page 367.
Link
For more
information
about the
technical
writing process, go to
Chapter 1,
page 2.
Once you have identified the major and minor steps of your project, put each of
these steps on your calendar along with the other tasks that you need to accomplish
to finish the project.
Create A Task List When your logical map is finished, you can transform it into
a list of tasks, or a task list (Figure 12.2). The major steps in your map will become the
larger stages of the project. Meanwhile, the minor steps will become individual tasks
that you need to complete at each stage.
Using Strategic Planning
331
Mapping Out a Plan
Project Task List
Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
Organizing
and Drafting
Researching
Task
Task
Task
Researching
Task
Task
Task
Task
Purpose or
Top-Rank Objective
Improving
the Style
Task
Editing and
Proofreading
Designing
Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
Task
Organizing and Drafting
Task
Task
Task
Improving the Style
Task
Task
Designing
Task
Task
Task
Editing and Proofreading
Task
Task
Task
Step 3: Set a Timeline
In technical workplaces, setting timelines is essential. A timeline allows you to keep
track of your progress toward completing the project. If you are working alone, the
timeline will help you avoid procrastination (and a mad rush to the finish). If you are
working with a team, the timeline will help everyone work together to reach the same
milestones and deadlines.
Assign A Date to Each Task Working backward from your project’s deadline,
identify how much time each part of the project will require. Then, on your task list,
write down specific dates when each part of the project should be completed. Online
calendars and project planning software are available to help you fill out your timeline
(see the Help box). These calendaring programs are widely used in technical workplaces, because they allow team members to check each other’s calendars and the
project calendar.
Link
For more
information
on creating
a project
calendar, go
to Chapter
3, page 42.
332
Schedule Meetings or Checkpoints At regular intervals on your timeline
(each week, every two weeks, or each month), schedule meetings with your team.
Meetings can be boring, but people tend to use them as deadlines to get their tasks
completed. If you are working alone, you can use the major steps in your project as
“checkpoints” to ensure that you are making steady progress toward finishing the
project.
Chapter 12 Strategic Planning, Being Creative
Figure 12.2:
To create a
project plan,
map out the
two to five
major steps.
Then add two
to five minor
tasks for
each major
step. Your
plan can then
be converted
into a task
list.
Planning with Online Calendars
Help
An online calendar is a helpful tool for planning your project and coordinating with
team members. Until recently, the best online calendars have been tied to large software suites like Microsoft Outlook, Corel Office, and IBM Lotus. These calendar programs are closely linked to the e-mail services included with these software suites.
When search engines like Google and Yahoo! jumped into the e-mail game, online
calendars took an interesting leap forward. Now, your calendar (like your e-mail) can
be accessed through any computer, mobile phone, or tablet that gives you access to
Google or Yahoo! portals (Figure A). So, your calendar is no longer tied to your personal computer. You can access it anywhere. That’s a significant advantage.
Online calendars are helpful because you can easily schedule events, including any
deadlines and meetings (and social activities). Then, you can set up your preferences,
and the calendar will send you reminder messages through your e-mail. That way, you
won’t miss an important meeting, and you will be fully aware when you blow past the
deadline for a project—even if there’s nothing you can do about it.
You can set up your calendar to let others check your schedule to find times when
they can meet with you. If you scheduled a meeting or an after-work gathering, your
calendar program can remind people with e-mail messages (“Hey, don’t forget we’re
meeting at Cy’s Roost on Thursday at 5:30”).
Scheduling with an Online Calendar
Figure A:
Online calendars are
widely used
in technical
workplaces.
They are usually linked
to e-mail
programs.
The screen
shown here
is Mozilla
Thunderbird
with the
Lightning
add-on for
calendaring.
Source: Mozilla.
Using Strategic Planning
333
Online calendars are especially useful for project planning. Once you have created
your list of project tasks, you should enter the items into your calendar. Work backward from the project deadline, as shown in Figure A. Put something like “Proposal
Due” on the day of the deadline. From last to first, start entering the other tasks into
the calendar. Once all the tasks are entered, you can move them around to create a
project timeline.
Finally, set up your preferences so your online calendar sends you reminders about
when parts of the project need to be completed. The reminders should keep you on
schedule.
Online calendaring is easy, and it’s a great way to stay organized. Give it a try.
Generating New Ideas
In today’s technical workplace, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of innovation and creative thinking. The ability to “think outside the box” has become a tiresome cliché, but this overused phrase highlights the importance of being creative in
the high-tech community. Your company’s new products and services will only have a
short lead time before competitors have answered with their own versions. So, the
ability to generate new ideas and solutions is highly valued.
When you finish strategic planning, it’s time to start being creative and “inventing”
new ideas that will become the content of your technical documents.
Tips for Being More Creative
Being creative is the ability to come up with new ideas or alternatives for solving
problems. Everyone values creativity, but creativity can also be threatening. After all,
when you develop something completely new or you do something differently, you’re
shifting the power balance (MacLoed, 2009). More often than not, the people around
you will react with skepticism to new ideas or new ways of doing things. People rarely
embrace new ideas right away.
Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind as you begin inventing the content of
your document.
Creativity Is Hard Work Breakthrough ideas are usually the result of hard work
and tough thinking. So, get to work and stop waiting for inspiration to arrive. You will
usually figure out what you are doing while you are working, not while you are waiting
to get to work.
Pay Attention To Change When you start a project, focus on the people, processes, and trends that are changing and evolving. Change is usually where you will
find new opportunities. Be ready for failure, but don’t worry about being wrong. Any
entrepreneur or business leader will tell you that failure is common and expected. If
you are afraid of being wrong, you won’t create anything new.
334
Chapter 12 Strategic Planning, Being Creative
Be Passionate About What You Are Doing Whether the task is interesting or
boring, find a way to be passionate about doing it. A positive outlook will help you
stay focused and find new ways to succeed. Above all, do it for yourself, not just for
someone else.
Hear Naysayers, But Don’t Always Listen To Them People are going to tell
you “it won’t work” or “it’s been tried before.” But if you think something will work,
follow your instincts and try it out. You might be seeing the problem in a new way, or
maybe your good idea’s time has arrived. Let your intuitions guide you.
Inventing Ideas
All right, let’s put that creativity to work. Sometimes the hardest part about starting a
new project is just putting ideas and words on the screen. Fortunately, several invention
techniques can help you get your ideas out there. Five of the best techniques for technical communication are logical mapping, brainstorming, freewriting, outlining/boxing,
and using the journalist’s questions. Try them all to see which one works best for you.
Logical Mapping Logical mapping is a visual way to invent your ideas, helping
you to discover their logical relationships.
To map the content of your document, start by putting your subject in the middle
of the screen or a piece of blank paper. Put a circle or box around it. Then, start typing or writing your other ideas around the subject, and put circles or boxes around
them (Figure 12.3).
Logical Mapping Software
Figure 12.3:
A variety of
software
packages,
some of
them free,
are available
for doing logical mapping.
The program
shown here,
Inspiration,
will help you
map out your
ideas. Then,
it will turn
them into an
outline.
Source: Diagram created in Inspiration® by Inspiration Software®, Inc.
Generating New Ideas
335
Now, fill the screen or page with words and phrases related to the subject. Start
connecting related ideas by drawing lines among them. As you draw lines, you will begin to identify the major topics, concepts, or themes that will be important parts of the
document you are writing. These major issues can be found in the clusters of your map.
Software programs such as Inspiration (shown in Figure 12.3), Visio, MindManager, and IHMC Concept Mapping Software can help you do logical mapping on
screen. Otherwise, you can use the Draw function of your word processor to create
“text boxes” and draw lines among them. With a little practice, you will find that you
can create logical maps on the screen with little effort.
Brainstorming Or Listing Some people like to make lists of their ideas rather
than drawing concept maps. Make a quick list of everything you know or believe
about your topic. One page or one screen is probably enough. Just write down any
words or phrases that come to mind. You’re brainstorming.
Then, pick out the best two or three ideas from your list. Make a second list in
which you concentrate on these key ideas. Again, write down all the words and
phrases that you can think up. Making two lists will force you to think more deeply
about your subject while narrowing the scope of your project.
You can continue this brainstorming process indefinitely with a third or fourth list,
but eventually you will find it difficult to come up with new ideas. At that point, you
should be able to sort your lists into clusters of ideas. These clusters can then be
mined for the major topics that will become the content of your text.
Freewriting
Reasons for Flooding in Ohio
Why is there all this flooding in Ohio every other year?
Flooding seems to happen along the Ohio River much more than it used to. Could it be
the effects of global warming? Not sure. Maybe people have moved into the river basin
more. Or, the build up of barriers (dikes? dams?) to natural water flow has made it
impossible for the surrounding land to soak up the water.
So what’s the problem?
I think there’s a real tension between the needs of humans and the needs of nature in
this area. Nature simply must drain the water. At some point, there’s nothing humans
can do about this. But humans need places to live also. Is the solution a matter of
legislation? Can we set off these flood plains, so people won’t live in them? Is it a matter
of building smarter homes in these areas? Can we build houses that resist flooding?
Stilts? Houses that lift up automatically? Walls around houses? I’ll check this out.
Or is this an even bigger issue?
Is global warming finally catching up to us? For the near future, do we need to simply
move people to higher ground? In one website, I noticed that whole towns in Iowa have
moved to avoid the increasing number of floods. Is this the solution in the short term?
I’ll need to check that out.
336
Chapter 12 Strategic Planning, Being Creative
Figure 12.4:
While freewriting, just
get your
ideas on
the screen.
Simply writing
ideas down
will help
you locate
important
ideas and
directions for
research.
Freewriting Freewriting is easy. Simply put your fingers on the keyboard and
start typing into a document file in your word processor. Type for 5 to 10 minutes
before you stop to look over your work. Don’t worry about the usual constraints of
writing such as sentences, paragraphs, grammatical correctness, or citations. Just keep
typing. Eventually, you will find that you have filled one or more screens with words,
sentences, and fragments of sentences (Figure 12.4).
You may or may not end up using many of the words and sentences in your freewriting draft, but the purpose of freewriting is to put your ideas on the screen. It helps
you fight through writer’s block.
When you’re done freewriting, identify the two to five major items in your text that
seem most important. Then, spend 5 to 10 minutes freewriting about each of these
items separately. Like magic, within half an hour to an hour, your freewriting will
probably give you the material you need to write your text.
Outline Or Boxing Outlines can be used throughout the drafting process. Most
word-processing programs will allow you to draft in Outline mode or Document Map
mode (Figure 12.5). Sometimes it helps to sketch an outline before you start drafting.
That way, you can see how the document will be structured.
Boxing is less formal. As you plan your document, draw boxes on the screen or a
piece of paper that show the major ideas or topics in your document (Figure 12.6).
Then, type or write your ideas into the boxes. If you want to make multiple levels in
your text, simply create boxes within boxes. You can use the Table function in your
word-processing software to make boxes. When using the Table function, start out
with a few boxes. Then, add cells to the table as you need more boxes.
Outlining or Document Mapping
Figure 12.5:
In Document
Map mode,
the computer
automatically
outlines your
document on
the left. This
feature allows
you to keep
the whole
structure of
the document
in mind as
you work on
individual
parts.
Outline of
document
Text of
document
Generating New Ideas
337
Boxing
Introduction: Report on Flooding in Ohio
Purpose Statement: This report will provide strategies for managing
flooding in the Ohio River Valley.
Main Point: Solving flooding means restoring wetlands and slowing
development.
Importance of Subject: If we don’t do something now, it will only
become worse as the effects of global warming are felt.
Figure 12.6:
Boxing is like
outlining.
Each of the
cells can be
filled with
your ideas.
Then, you organize these
ideas into a
more structured document.
Section One: The Problem
Development in Ohio River Valley
Increased water due to global warming
Additional dams and retaining walls
Section Two: The Plan
Restore wetlands
Limit development along rivers
Create holding reservoirs for water
Remove some retaining walls
Conclusions: We’re Running Out of Time
We need to restore wetlands and lessen development on rivers
Advantages of these recommendations
The future
The Journalist’s Questions The journalist’s questions focus on the who, what,
where, when, why, and how of an issue. They are also called the “Five-W and How
questions.” Separately, for each question, write down any words, phrases, and sentences that come to mind about your topic. These six questions will help you view your
subject from a variety of viewpoints and perspectives.
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Chapter 12 Strategic Planning, Being Creative
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