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Five Steps for Setting Manageable Goals

January 22, 2018 · Business, Content, Project Plan, Writing

Work on New Goals

Work on new goals—that’s task number two in my Task Summary (see December’s post). I figured that should be straight-forward task. Yet writing the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual goals, stumped me. I wrote elaborate goals that seemed impossible to achieve. I wanted manageable goals. What does that term really mean? So first, let’s define terms.

According to Merriam-Webster:

Manageable: capable of being managed; easy to control or deal with. Synonyms are controllable and adaptable.
Goal: the end toward which effort is directed; something that one hopes or intends to accomplish. Synonyms are aim or target.

My Definition

A manageable goal is a target that is easy to control. It’s something I intend to do within a controllable deadline.

What’s needed to obtain manageable goals?

Pick your goal.
Decide on the project due date.
Write down the actions you’ll take to achieve the goal.
Add due dates for each action step.
Track your progress.

Some of my real-world goals:

proofread six articles
beta test a client’s online course
update three policies
analyze four procedures

Guiding questions for picking the project due date:

How many hours will it take to reach the goal?
Is the date realistic?
When can I work on these action steps to get to this goal?

Tips for tracking progress:

Use an electronic or hard copy checklist.
Add the due dates to your calendar.

Visualize Success! Visualize what reaching your manageable goal looks like!

Year-End Writing and Editing Business Roll Call

December 30, 2017 · Business, Editing, Proofreading, Writer, Writing

It’s the end of the calendar year. Time for a writing and editing business roll call.

I write down the goals. Make a list of the tasks. Cross off and re-write. Proofreading and editing the list helps, yet I realize have competing priorities. Maybe if I take a roll call, like we did at summer camp, I can organize this list!

Background

At summer camp, we had roll call each morning; all bunks had to be around the flagpole before breakfast. The bugle sounded, and the head counselor called out each bunk’s name. The idea was to make sure everyone was awake, dressed, and ready for the day’s activities. Some mornings, it was a challenge to get my teenage campers out on time. But if we were going on a day trip, the girls jumped up, dressed, and were out in a jiffy, without any coaxing.

As I think of my business tasks, part of me feels like the girls who moved slowly. Those girls took their time to dress and leave the bunk. I’d often have to cajole them to get up. I want to organize the files for the new year, but my desk—and my laptop—are piled with files. I need to toss, delete, or file so I can make room for the new year’s files and folders.

Then there’s the energized part of me, just like the girls who jumped up at the sound of reveille, dressed, and bounded out of the bunk. I’ve written down my new goals and am ready to tackle them!

Most of my campers, though, dressed at a normal pace, and were outside on time. I’m like those girls who didn’t rush or dawdle. I have business goals to meet, daily client work, and the hum-drum personal tasks. I wonder, though, how I can organize these competing activities for the new year.

Roll Call

“Business Goals, are you ready?”

“Us Long-Range ones are.”

“Well, what about the Short-Term ones? Are you ready?”

“Just polishing the final points and we’ll be right out!”

“What about Client Work?”

“Well, only Today’s Client Work is ready.”

“Fine! I don’t need everyone; just Today.”

“Personal Tasks?” No answer. Uh-oh, are they still sleeping?

“Personal Tasks, where are you?” I sing out.

“Coming, coming…there’s a lot of us to get out the door!”

“OK, let’s try this roll call again! Business Goals?”

“Here, all of us.”

“Client Work.”

“Client Work, here!”

Hesitantly, I call out, “Personal Tasks?”

“Here!”

Yay! They’re all present and accounted for!

Task Summary

Clean desk
Work on new goals
Proofread client’s article
Write assessment report
Edit client’s policies
Focus on one task at a time

Year-end writing and editing business roll call complete!

What’s on your year-end roll call? If it’s writing new instructions, proofreading content, or editing, check out my Services page and let’s connect!

SoCal UX Camp 2017 Highlights

August 30, 2017 · Editing, Technical Communicator, User Experience, UX, Writing

SoCal UX Camp! I finally had a chance to go back to summer camp! The SoCal UX Camp leaders taught us cheers; we played games, and got to check out the interesting sights on UC Irvine’s campus. Anteater Statue at UC Irvine

What is SoCal UX Camp?

“SoCal UX Camp is a free, user-driven, collaborative “unconference” for User Experience Designers, Research Analysts, and students alike from Southern California. A one-day gathering of User Experience folks to share, present, network, learn and discuss.” (https://socaluxcamp.com/

Why did I go? The title grabbed me! Camp? I’m in! Usability studies and design research interest me. What better way to learn than at camp?

UX—An Editor’s Role

I learned more about one of my favorite editor roles. In My Top 3 Editor Roles, I described testing some of the processes on live websites.

As an editor, I want to:

explore the design
possibly research why the designers/developers selected the format they did
perform the tests
write up a full report

During SoCal UX Camp, I learned from leaders in the field about the art of user design and the and process of user experience testing.

Keynote: Jared Spool

After the rousing cheers and camp rules, Jared kicked off the day with “Insecure & Unintuitive: How We Need to Fix the UX of Security.” Through humor (cats are the hackers) and serious research studies, Jared showed us that the log-on dialog box is the most expensive section of the website. Users can’t recall passwords and recalling the credentials results in lost productivity and could result in security breaches.

As UX professionals, we need to fix this process.

“If it’s not usable, it’s not secure.”
Place the burden on the system, and not on the user.
Create a sophisticated threat model.
Use security perimeters.

Pointers from the Pros

Carol Rossi–Getting Started with UX research

Carol’s 5-Step Research Study Process: Prepare; Run; Synthesize; Share, and Reflect.
Develop a test plan template during the Prepare phrase.
Use Reflect instead of the usual Post-mortem: Review what went well and what needs improvement.

Rhett Kuseski–Back to Basics

Rhett’s 5-Step Design Process: Research/Discover (requirements gathering; scenarios); Define the Problem & Users (create personas); Solution/Brainstorm; Design a prototype, and Test the Prototype/Provide Feedback.
Why does UX matter? Users’ experience will make or break our products!
Different types of testing, depending on the project:
- Usability testing.
- Guerilla testing.
- Accessibility testing.
- Benchmarking.

Wendy Eichenbaum–Mapping the Customer Journey

Wendy’s Customer Journey Process: Discover Need > Research > Assess > Decide > Purchase > Order Fulfilled > Use/Return.
Define the user’s journey.
Develop maps for each scenario.

SoCal UX Camp Take-aways

• To maximize the design effort, use multi-functional collaborative teams
• Design a detailed project plan
• Use personas for the customer journey
• Conduct interviews during the research phase
• Assign task ownership
• Create a report that highlights the findings

Above all, Jared reminds us: “We don’t have to keep doing what we’ve always done.”

Ready to launch your website? Have your target users tested the site? I can help you! Let’s connect!

Three Simple Tips to Conquer a Policy Analysis

August 2, 2017 · Documentation, Editing, Policy, Policy Analysis, Technical Writer, Writing

I used this policy analysis method for healthcare policies.

News Item!

New regulation passes; organizations must have updated HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) policies that comply with the regulation by January 1 of next year.

You look at the item and think, “I’ve got 12 months. Nothing to do right now. I’ll calendar six months from now to look at this. How much could this new regulation impact the policies in my company?”

A lot! Think major legal ramifications. Or possibly privacy and security risks to the company. Depending on the regulation and the scope, there could be a substantial impact.

When do you start? In this scenario, it’s probably best to start within a month of reading the news item.

How? With a policy analysis.

The Policy Analysis Setting

My healthcare client brought me in as the consultant to conduct a policy analysis. Although I start projects with a needs analysis, the client had already performed that task internally. The client identified the key players for the project, had determined that the policies were out-of-date, and pinpointed the projected location of the policies (a shared library). Since the client operated in the United States, regulations included HIPAA, the HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health), and state privacy laws.

Approval, training, and publication responsibilities rested with the client.

Step 1: Inventory the Policies

I made sure I had received all the policies for the project. To do that, I repeated my question a few times to the project manager/client contact. The repetition yielded fruit: Although most of the policies were in the shared library, there were a few “homegrown” policies related to the project in department shared drives.

Along with the client, we identified the regulations that impacted these policies. In this scenario, we looked at HIPAA, the HITECH Act, and the state privacy requirements for this client. Example: California has some requirements that differ from the federal regulations; state law takes precedence.

Step 2: Map the Existing Policies to the Regulations

Once we identified the regulations, I created an Excel spreadsheet with columns for the regulations and for the client’s policy. The purposes for the spreadsheet: 1) Create an inventory and 2) Provide the client with a visual of the state of their policies relative to the regulations.

The spreadsheet included this data: HIPAA Standard and/or Implementation Specification; client’s policy title; client’s policy number; effective date; date approved; last date updated, and the approver’s name/title. To map the client’s information, I read through each policy. In some cases, policy text that the client had mapped to one Standard mapped to a different Standard, and I recorded those differences.

Part of the analysis included highlighting the missing policies. That way we could easily identify the deficiencies.

Step 3: Create a Complete Set of Policies

Once I had the map, I developed a full set of policies. Where the client had no policies, I provided a template version that matched the regulation, including references that matched their organizational structure/nomenclature (example: Medical Records instead of Health Information Management). For policies that needed updating, I edited the client’s existing policies, including the latest regulatory language.

I sent the full set of policies to the client’s project manager for review. After their review, the project manager sent me changes related to specific processes/department names/approver information. I revised the policies and sent the client the final version.

What I Learned About Policy Analysis

Have an approved project plan, using the organization’s standard process. Minimally include these stages: Analysis, Develop, Review, Approve, Publish, Implement, and Evaluate.
Identify the federal and state regulations. While the project focused on HIPAA, some of the payment policies might have been impacted by PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). I pointed that fact out to the client, explaining that a consultant certified in PCI DSS process review those policies for compliance.
Mapping is tedious, yet produces a clear picture of the status of the policies.
Compare the last date documentation was reviewed with the latest version of the regulations.
Help the client streamline their approval process by identifying the individuals best qualified to review and approve the policies.
Include this information either on the individual policies or in a summary policy: Approver, Date Approved, Date Reviewed, Review Cycle/Next Review Date (annual, biennial or an exact month and year).
I could—and did—use this method to map procedures, SOPs, and policies related to other regulations.

policy analysis

When to Hire a Professional Proofreader

July 4, 2017 · Content, Documentation, Proofreading

(Updated February 2021)

When do you hire a professional Proofreader? In Five Basic Tips to Proofread Your Content, I focused on proofing our own content, or self-proofing. We proofread to make sure our work is free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. So why hire a professional proofreader?

Consider this: What happens if you aren’t confident in your proofing skills? Or this: Perhaps the proofing tools might miss something; how would I know?

To self-proof or hire a professional proofreader, that is the question!

And the related questions:

What precisely is proofreading?
When should I partner with a professional proofreader?

What is Proofreading?

The National Association of Independent Writers and Editors tells us that “Proofreading literally means ‘the reading and checking of proofs’ against the original.” Why? The purpose of this stage is “…to eliminate grammar problems, typos, spelling errors, and usage mistakes.” (Technical Communication Today, p. 8).

My colleague, Yocheved Frischman, provides additional detail. “Proofreading is the stage of editing an article, book, website or other piece of written text, to ensure that it is as error-free as possible and basically all the proverbial “I”s are dotted and “T”s crossed.”

What’s involved in Proofreading?

The proofreader focuses on grammar, spelling, and usage. This step comes after all the content and organizational edits are complete; by this point, the style format is set (Technical Communication Today, p. 499). In addition to spelling and grammar, a proofreader will also look at format. From proofreading; photo credit Gamma-Ray Productions/PhotoPin Yocheved’s experience, “[a] proofreader is … the last eye on the work before it is published, and therefore may catch factual errors and inconsistencies.”

Being the “last eye” on the written word, the proofreader makes sure the entire piece has consistent format and style. Proofreaders have lots of experience with various style guides.

NAIWE defines two levels of proofreading:

Basic: check for typos, repetitive words, and incorrect styles and checking “word-for-word against a marked-up draft and identify errors…”
Editorial Proofreading: “…errors in word usage (for instance, the use of to instead of too), hyphenation, and subject-verb agreement. If asked, editorial proofreaders can look for grammar problems (using which instead of that). They can also recommend changes in word choice or inappropriate punctuation. Editorial proofreading is usually done on material that has already been edited or reformatted.”

Proofreading activity…*

goes beyond the spell/grammar check tools. The manual proofreader catches errors that a tool may have missed: proofreader marks; photo credit volkspider/PhotoPin

Correct use of punctuation, such as use of semi-colons v. colons
Spelling and typos
Word usage: there are words that sound the same, yet have different meanings. Example: accept (receive or agree to) v. except (leave out); correct idiom usage (Technical Communication Today p. 508)
Extra small words, such as “the,” “a,” “or”
Missing words—perhaps missing a definite article or noun
Numerical data, to make sure the data matches the source documentation
Graphics: placement (Does the picture match the text?); correct captions
Text in diagrams and flowcharts: make sure the text matches the source files, which might be in PowerPoint, Excel, or other formats
Check text and numbers in headers and footers, tables of content, indexes, cross-references; update the publication/copyright year

Why hire a Proofreader?

“A writer has seen their work over and over and has become desensitized to double words, to misspellings, and other errors. In addition, most writers and editors focus on a bigger picture and the proofreader focuses on the picayune details,” Yocheved offers. As writers, we make sure the article flows well and that our language choices enhance our work. We’re engrossed in the writing process. We may not think about quotation mark usage; when to use a semi-colon, or the number of spaces after a punctuation mark.

Additionally, “…when writers proofread their own work, their eyes skim over errors because their mind gets in the way and makes the eyes miss what is actually there. … writers know what they intend to convey, their eyes read one thing, but their brains translate it into what it should be. Hence, even experienced columnists and journalists are prone to such errors.” (See Why Writers Need Proofreaders.)

Professional proofreaders, educated in specific areas, search for these details.

And the details not only enhance our work; they make the publishing run smoothly. Yocheved reminds us that “these things [punctuation, grammar, spelling errors] can cause a lot of work when the material is sent to a typesetter.”

We want our content to look polished, as free of errors as possible. When thinking through whether or not to hire a professional proofreader, ask yourself these questions:

Do I really understand the style guide criteria?
Is attention to detail my strong suit?
Am I objective enough to look at this article and see its flaws?
Do the tools I use catch everything, even idioms?

The best way to help ourselves is to hire a professional proofreader.

Partner with a Proofreader

Think of a proofreader as your partner. You write compelling content. You want that content to look polished, and as free of errors as possible. The proofreader provides that service. Additionally, the proofreader provides the objective review for your article.

Yocheved suggests that “[s]ome writers hire a proofreader when they’ve finished the piece and they are ready to send it to a publisher. This should be after sending it to an editor, who will take a more global look at the work.”

If you’re the editor, generally you would bring in a proofreader as the last review before publication.

The Last Eyes

“You always get a proofreader for the very final copy of the document that goes to the printer. Always.” Rebecca Klempner (Oh My Word! podcast #44.5, January 14, 2021).

Yocheved supports Rebecca’s assessment:

One of the big principles in content creation is to have lots of eyes on the work. “The more eyes that there are on a work, the better chance there won’t be a mistake.”
And the corollary: “The more eyes you have, the better quality you’re going to produce.”

Yocheved offered this anecdote to emphasize the need for professional proofreaders. Before publishing a multi-volume legal work, the author wanted as many eyes on the content as possible; he wanted more than one proofreader, more than one editor. One of the copyeditors discovered a factual error that the author had inadvertently overlooked. Because of the diligent “last eyes,” the publisher could correct the error before printing.

—

Can errors still happen even with professional proofreaders? Yes. Just ask any major publication. We lessen the chance of that happening when we ask objective and specifically-trained professionals to partner with us.

To self-proof or hire a professional proofreader?

What would you do?

—

*I culled information for this section from:

Technical Communication Today, 5th Ed., Chapter 19, specifically pp. 505–508
STC’s Technical Communication 101, Leah Guren; rebranded as TechComm Fundamentals Bootcamp

Photo Credits

Proofreader Marks: Gamma-Ray Productions <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/29143375@N05/4575806708″>Manuscript</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a>
Brown Fox: volkspider <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/14543400@N04/14765101649″>Proofreading marks example</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>(license)</a>