case study writing

Document-Based Cases for Technical Communication Second Edition

Roger Munger Boise State University

Bedford/St. Martin’s Boston • New York

For Bedford/St. Martin’s Senior Executive Editor: Leasa Burton Developmental Editor: Regina Tavani Senior Production Editor: Gregory Erb Production Supervisor: Samuel Jones Senior Marketing Manager: Molly Parke Copy Editor: Judith Riotto, Ganymede Editorial Services Permissions Manager: Kalina K. Ingham Senior Art Director: Anna Palchik Text Design and Composition: Books By Design, Inc. Cover Design: Marine Miller

President, Bedford/St. Martin’s: Denise B. Wydra Presidents, Macmillan Higher Education: Joan E. Feinberg and Tom Scotty Editor in Chief: Karen S. Henry Director of Marketing: Karen R. Soeltz Production Director: Susan W. Brown Associate Production Director: Elise S. Kaiser Managing Editor: Elizabeth M. Schaaf

Copyright © 2013, 2005 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher. 7 6 5 4 3 2

f e d c b a

For information, write: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 (617-399- 4000)

ISBN 978-1-319-15617-6 (EPUB)

Acknowledgments Photo in Document 2.5: Transverse Ladybeetle. Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University,

Bugwood.org. The illustrations in Document 4.6 are from

http://dps.sd.gov/enforcement/highway_safety/pedestrian_and_bikesafety.aspx and www.monroecounty.gov/safety-faq.php.

The information in Document 5.12 was obtained from www.eia.gov/renewable/annual/trends/pdf/trends.pdf.

Preface for Instructors

Sample documents are at the heart of the technical communication course, embodying the many ways that writers respond to complex writing situations. Document-Based Cases for Technical Communication aims to provide students with an even richer understanding of rhetorical situations by presenting clusters of related documents, along with realistic tasks, in the context of workplace scenarios. This book provides seven cases that ask students to analyze and produce common workplace documents, such as business graphics, definitions, memos, e-mails, proposals, technical reports, instructions, and presentation graphics.

The documents in this book are not meant to serve as models of the “perfect” memo, proposal, or email. Instead, these documents represent the kinds of raw materials that students are likely to encounter and be asked to work with in real writing situations: examples and templates from a particular workplace, documents that need to be revised, directions from supervisors, and informal questions and advice from colleagues. With significant background information and guidance about how to address the challenges, each case offers students multiple opportunities to make decisions about audience and purpose, to see how their decisions affect the documents they develop, and ultimately to imagine how they might apply course principles and concepts to their chosen career.

New to This Edition

We’ve reimagined the second edition for the digital age, integrating online communication, social media, and multimodal writing at every opportunity. Four of the seven cases are new, giving students the chance to immerse themselves in rhetorical situations that best mirror the kinds of workplaces they will enter in the twenty-first century. And in both new and updated cases, 20 new tasks give students the opportunity to create and improve

documents in a variety of new genres, including blogs and microblogs, online training modules, and press releases. We’ve placed greater emphasis on document design in the second edition as well, offering fresh opportunities for students to develop their own documents, many of which must be designed specifically for the Web. A new, more Web-oriented text design reflects and reinforces these updates in content. For instructors, new scoring guides are available on the book’s companion Web site to help you evaluate students’ performance on each case.

Key Features

Each of the seven cases includes the following features:

Four realistic workplace tasks require students to analyze sample documents, use information to solve a problem, and create common documents. Background information provides a rhetorically rich context in which to work with the sample documents and materials. Advice for meeting the presented challenges helps students focus on the best ways to begin and complete the tasks. Concluding activities ask students to reflect on the case scenarios and to apply what they have learned to other workplace situations. Full color electronic copies of case documents are available for students to download and work with. Grading rubrics for instructors offer criteria for evaluating student responses to each of the case tasks.

Advice for Using This Book

Although this book could serve as a stand-alone text, it is best used in combination with a full-length technical or business communication text. Document-Based Cases for Technical Communication is also available as an e-book within TechCommClass, a unique online course space for technical communication. Visit yourtechcommclass.com to learn more.

Because each case provides multiple sample documents and several opportunities for students to interact with the materials, you can adapt the

cases to meet your course’s objectives and your students’ needs. You might wish to consider the following strategies for using this casebook in your course:

Build a one- to two-week unit around a particular case, or build an entire course around the seven workplace genres featured in the cases. Use case documents as discussion starters. Ask students to respond to one of the shorter tasks as an in-class or take- home quiz. Assign selected tasks as homework to reinforce in-class learning. Use one or more of a case’s tasks as a major assignment in your course. Create variations of the cases by changing the audience, purpose, or context for a task. Overall, this casebook provides you with flexible ways to easily

supplement your regular text with in-depth discussions of realistic workplace situations and documents.

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank those instructors who took the time to review the first edition of this text and suggest a multitude of changes and improvements for the second: Michael Dittman, Butler County Community College; Kristin Johnson, Metropolitan State University; Mark Ristroph, Augusta Technical College; Sherry Robertson, Arizona State University; Patricia Scharf, Metropolitan State University; Bruce Wehler, Pennsylvania College of Technology; and Stephanie Zerkel-Humbert, Maple Woods Community College.

Many thanks also to the reviewers who thoughtfully responded to early drafts and contributed good ideas to the first edition of this book: Bruce Brandt, South Dakota State University; William FitzGerald, University of Maryland, College Park; William Garcia, University of Maryland, College Park; David Gaskill, Saginaw Valley State University; Anne Lehman, Milwaukee Area Technical College; and Lisa DuPree McNair, Georgia Institute of Technology.

Thanks to Joan Feinberg, Denise Wydra, and Karen Henry for their encouragement and support. Thanks to Leasa Burton for asking me to take

on this project and for working with me to develop the ideas and content for the first edition. Thanks to Regina Tavani for her editorial support and advice. I am grateful to Janis Owen for a remarkable text design that brings the content of the project to life in black and white. Thanks also to Anna Palchik for her design direction and to Gregory Erb for his meticulous attention during production.

I am also grateful to my wife, Lisa, who supported and encouraged me throughout the project. Lisa provided specific details, documents, and technical advice for the Definitions and Descriptions and Instructions cases. She also made valuable suggestions for improving the other cases.

Roger Munger

Introduction for Students

New graduates making the transition from college to the workplace are often surprised by the amount of writing they are asked to do—especially those graduates who did not major in disciplines typically associated with writing. New hires also report that their supervisors expect them to already have the writing skills necessary to communicate complex information in a clear and understandable manner to a variety of readers. Not surprisingly, new hires also need to quickly learn the preferred form and style of an organization’s documents. This book provides you with a head start on refining the writing skills that will help you adapt to different expectations in the workplace.

Anatomy of a Case

A case is a detailed story of a workplace communication problem, complete with characters, dialogue, and props in the form of sample documents. Based on an actual problem solved by practicing technical communicators, each case in this book provides a realistic workplace situation, a series of documents related to the situation, and several tasks for you to complete. Together, these elements offer snapshots of what it is like to create documents that solve problems for readers in the workplace.

Effective technical communication addresses particular readers and helps them solve problems. That is, the decisions you make when creating a technical document depend on the intended audience and purpose. Cases give you opportunities to explore how the complexities of specific workplace situations shape technical documents.

The elements of each case in this book work together to present a complex writing situation.

The situation section provides details about the workplace scenario and writing situation. Use these details to help make decisions about the

audience and purpose for your writing. For some cases, the situation includes model documents and additional examples. The challenge describes the difficult issues that you will need to consider as you solve the case’s communication problems. Your job describes your general role in the workplace scenario and lists the activities you will need to perform to complete the case. Four tasks present your writing assignments, each with a set of related documents. Each task begins with an introduction that explains the communication problem, describes your audience and purpose, and specifies the type of document you must create. The documents you will need for each task appear in the shaded section that begins below the task introduction and may continue across several pages. When you’re finished with one or more tasks in a case, your instructor may ask you to reflect on the skills you have learned or use those skills to solve similar problems.

Advice on Getting Started

Just like the communication challenges you will likely face in your chosen career, the solutions to the problems raised in these cases might not be readily apparent, and there is often not a single “correct” answer. When responding to tasks, consider the following advice:

If you do not understand a particular word or concept, carry out some research before continuing with the task. An important skill for you to develop is the ability to locate relevant resources, learn about a subject quickly, and explain it to someone else. Read the sample documents carefully and more than once. Unfamiliar content will make seemingly simple documents a challenge. Consider several possible approaches to the problem before deciding on a course of action. Often, your first idea is not the most effective solution. When faced with a decision, use your understanding of the document’s audience and your purpose as a guide. These two basic elements of the writing situation will determine your document’s design, content, and tone.

For each decision you make, be able to explain what you did and why you did it. Being able to articulate your choices allows you to demonstrate that your documents are based on sound technical communication principles. Be creative in your problem solving, and have fun with these cases.

Finally, think of these cases as a way to practice in a nonthreatening environment the single greatest determining factor of success in the workplace: your communication skills. Launching your career with a firm command of these skills in place will ensure you are well prepared to face the unique challenges of today’s workplace.

Contents Preface for Instructors

Introduction for Students

Case 1 Graphics: Selecting and Presenting Data The Situation

Figure 1.1 Sample APR Calculations for a Women’s Golf Team The Challenge

Your Job When You’re Finished

Task 1 Evaluate the Effectiveness of Graphics Document 1.2 Line Graph of Academic Achievement Trends

Document 1.3 Bar Graph of Academic Achievement for All Women’s Sports Task 2 Assess and Improve Communication Strategies

Document 1.4 APR Statistics for Women’s Sports, 2009–2010 Document 1.5 APR Statistics for Men’s Sports, 2009–2010

Document 1.6 APR Snapshot Task 3 Create Effective Graphics and Speaker’s Notes

Document 1.7 Average Multi-year APR Scores, 2009–2010 Task 4 Write a Press Release, and Integrate Text and Graphics

Document 1.8 Press Release Outline

Case 2 Definitions and Descriptions: Helping Your Readers Understand The Situation

Figure 2.1 Bayside’s Community Garden Figure 2.2 Model Parenthetical and Sentence Definitions

The Challenge Your Job

When You’re Finished Task 1 Analyze Parenthetical and Sentence Definitions

Document 2.3 Parenthetical Definitions Document 2.4 Sentence Definitions

Task 2 Evaluate and Revise Descriptions

Document 2.5 Object Description of Beneficial Insects

Document 2.6 Mechanism Description of Garden Tiller Document 2.7 Process Description of Erosion Control

Document 2.8 Object Description of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8b Task 3 Clarify Definitions with Graphics

Task 4 Write Definitions Document 2.9 E-mail with Gardening Terms to Be Defined

Case 3 Correspondence: Considering Your Reader’s Point of View

The Situation Figure 3.1 Axel Geirsson

The Challenge Your Job

When You’re Finished Task 1 Evaluate and Revise an Internal Memo

Document 3.2 Memo on H2O Pro-TechT Features

Task 2 Evaluate and Revise a Response to a Customer

Document 3.3 Customer Claim Letter Document 3.4 Response to Customer Claim Letter

Task 3 Respond to Customer Claims Document 3.5 Customer Claim E-mail 1

Document 3.6 Customer Claim E-mail 2 Task 4 Write Microblogs and a Blog Post

Document 3.7 Microblog Posts Critical of Company Document 3.8 Blog Post Critical of Company

Case 4 Proposals: Seeing Proposals through Reviewers’ Eyes

The Situation Figure 4.1 Sample Funded Proposal

The Challenge Your Job

When You’re Finished Task 1 Evaluate Proposals

Document 4.2 Skyview Coalition Proposal Document 4.3 Gameday Brigade Proposal

Document 4.4 Teen Initiative Plan Proposal

Document 4.5 Defensive Driving Course Proposal

Task 2 Reflect on the Review Process Task 3 Respond to Proposals

Task 4 Write a Proposal Document 4.6 E-mail with Notes on Bicycle Helmet Program

Case 5 Reports: Learning to Write in an Organization

The Situation The Challenge

Figure 5.1 Cover of the EIA’s Web Editorial Style Guide Your Job

When You’re Finished Task 1 Learn about an Organization’s Reports

Figure 5.2 “About EIA” Page of the EIA Web Site Figure 5.3 “Mission and Overview” Page of the EIA Web Site

Figure 5.4 “EIA Offices” Page of the EIA Web Site Document 5.5 Preface from International Energy Outlook 2010

Task 2 Compare and Evaluate Report Designs Document 5.6 Web Page of Most Recent International Energy Outlook Report

Document 5.7 Web Page of Archived International Energy Outlook 2010 56 Document 5.8 Highlights Page from Printed Version of Archived International Energy Outlook 2010

Task 3 Learn about Appropriate Report Content Document 5.9 Page from Greenhouse Emissions Report

Document 5.10 Excerpt on Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Greenhouse Emissions Report Document 5.11 Excerpt on Residential-Sector Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Greenhouse Emissions Report

Task 4 Use an Organization’s Style Guide Document 5.12 E-mail Query on How to Develop a Preface

Document 5.13 E-mail Query on How to Format a Table

Case 6 Instructions: Guiding Readers in Performing a Task The Situation

Figure 6.1 Engineer’s Sketch of ECG Lead II Waveform Display The Challenge

Your Job

When You’re Finished

Task 1 Plan an Interview with a Subject-Matter Expert Document 6.2 E-mail Requesting Information on the Priti4.3 Monitor

Task 2 Evaluate Instructions Figure 6.3 Engineer’s Sketch of Monitor User Interface

Document 6.4 Basic Instructions for Operating Priti5 Monitor Task 3 Write Instructions

Document 6.5 Notes for Operating Priti5 Monitor Task 4 Develop an Online Training Module

Case 7 Presentation Graphics: Highlighting Important Information

The Situation Figure 7.1 Sample E-mail Announcing Open Enrollment Meeting

The Challenge Your Job

When You’re Finished Task 1 Design Presentation Slides

Document 7.2 Opening Slide for Presentation Document 7.3 Presentation Slide with Agenda

Document 7.4 Presentation Slide on the Paper Application Task 2 Present Information Visually

Document 7.5 Presentation Slide with Pie Chart Document 7.6 Presentation Slide on Survey Results

Document 7.7 Presentation Slide on Benefits Task 3 Create an Online Presentation

Document 7.8 Presentation Notes Task 4 Prepare a Handout

Document 7.9 E-mail with Information for Presentation Handout

Case 1 Graphics: Selecting and Presenting Data

Chapter Outline The Situation The Challenge Your Job Task 1 Evaluate the Effectiveness of Graphics Task 2 Assess and Improve Communication Strategies Task 3 Create Effective Graphics and Speaker’s Notes Task 4 Write a Press Release, and Integrate Text and Graphics

The Situation

The Gulls Department of Athletics at Bayside State College fields 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate teams: five women’s sports (volleyball, tennis, golf, soccer, and basketball) and five men’s sports (tennis, golf, soccer, basketball, and water polo). The teams compete in the Metro Sports Conference. In addition to tracking the graduation rates and grade point averages of their student-athletes, the staff at the Department of Athletics uses academic progress rates (APRs) developed by the NCAA to measure the academic achievement of student- athletes at Bayside.

A team’s APR score reflects how successful its student-athletes are at maintaining their academic eligibility and whether they remain enrolled in school. To be academically eligible to compete, student-athletes must meet a certain grade point average and make steady progress toward their degree by passing a specific number of degree-applicable courses each semester. Because turnover of nonscholarship players on a team roster can be high and because these student-athletes have not signed an agreement to stay on the team or at the school, coaches have less influence over them. Consequently, the NCAA includes only students receiving athletically related financial aid when calculating APR scores.

Recently, Bayside calculated two APR scores for each team: a multi-year APR score that reflects academic performance and progress over four years and a single-year score that focuses on just one academic year. Although a multi-year score includes data from the past four academic years, it is referred to by the most recent academic year included. Similarly, a single- year score is labeled by the academic year from which the data was drawn. For example, a multi-year score for 2009–2010 includes data from fall 2009, spring 2010, and the three previous years, going back to fall 2006. A single- year score for 2009–2010 includes data only from fall 2009 and spring 2010.

The APR measures the academic achievement of teams each fall and spring using a point system (Figure 1.1). Each student-athlete on scholarship earns one point if he or she stays in school and one point for being eligible to compete each term. Thus, a scholarship student-athlete can earn up to four points each year: two in the fall and two in the spring. A team’s single- and

multi-year scores are calculated by dividing the total points earned (over one year or the past four years) by the total points possible and then multiplying the result by 1,000. For example, a team earns 34 points for the year out of a possible 36. The single-year APR score for the team is 944 (34 divided by 36 = .944, which is then multiplied by 1,000). A perfect score for the year is 1,000. Teams with low APR scores face penalties, such as scholarship losses and restrictions on practice and competition.

FIGURE 1.1 Sample APR Calculations for a Women’s Golf Team

Because of your current position as an intern with the Bayside State College Sports Information Office and your expertise as a technical communicator, the athletic director, Cheryl Mueller, has enlisted your help in preparing materials to communicate the recently released APR scores. In particular, she seeks your assistance in explaining APR scores, selecting relevant APR data, and presenting the information in ways that coaches, faculty, and community members will understand. Because APR scores track each team’s classroom performance, the scores can be used to gauge the commitment of the student-athletes and their coaches to academics, to measure a team’s academic improvement, and to compare a team’s academic

performance to that of conference rivals. An athletic department with consistently high APR scores demonstrates that its teams are competitive in the classroom as well as on the field.

The Challenge

Organizations often collect a wide variety of data on organizational performance, and they manipulate these data in numerous ways. This results in a mass of information that must be organized and transformed before the data can be used for a specific purpose. The data-collection process may seem foreign at first, and you may need to do further research at the organization or on the Internet to understand the numbers. Your challenge is to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the amount of data you must analyze and to instead discover ways to identify, manage, and present the data that are applicable to your task while ignoring what is irrelevant.

Your Job

Download

Download the documents in this chapter.

The data that Department of Athletics staff members have collected can be confusing. Your job is to help organize and present the data to show the faculty and larger community that the department is focused on the academic success of its student-athletes as well as to help coaches and athletic administrators track academic performance and, if necessary, identify teams struggling in the classroom. This case asks you to analyze data on the academic achievement of several intercollegiate teams at a state college. You may be asked to do the following:

Evaluate the effectiveness of graphics to be used in a report published by the Department of Athletics. Revise documents the department currently uses to communicate academic achievement scores to coaches. Create graphics that highlight various teams’ academic achievement to the faculty senate. Create graphics and text for a press release that communicates the Department of Athletics’ recent academic achievement to various stakeholders, such as campus administrators, faculty, and fans.

Your instructor will tell you which of the tasks you are to complete. You can view case documents at the bottom of each task below.

When You’re Finished

Reflecting on This Case In a 250- to 500-word response to your instructor, discuss (a) what you learned from this case, (b) how you could relate this case to work situations you will face in your chosen career, and, if applicable, (c) the ways in which this case compares to similar situations you have already faced at work. Your instructor will tell you whether your response should be submitted as a memo, an email, or a journal entry, or in a different format.

Moving beyond This Case Collect data for two different products within a specific category. For example, you might choose to research the nutritional values of two different energy bars, or you might investigate the features of two different video game consoles, the cost of living in two different towns, or the value of two different stocks. Using the data you collect, create the following:

A graphic effectively showing that option 1 is the best choice. A graphic effectively showing that option 2 is the best choice. An unbiased graphic comparing the two options.

Be prepared to explain the choices you made when selecting and presenting data as well as the rhetorical situations in which each of your graphics would be appropriate.

Task 1 Evaluate the Effectiveness of Graphics

Cheryl Mueller, the athletic director, shows you two graphics (Documents 1.2 and 1.3) she plans to use in the department’s next annual report. “I haven’t had a chance to ask anyone about these graphics,” she tells you. “I’d like to use these graphics in our next report. What do you think?” Write Cheryl a brief memo evaluating the effectiveness of the two graphics and suggesting how she should revise them. You may wish to annotate the graphics with comments and include them with your memo.

DOCUMENT 1.2 Line Graph of Academic Achievement Trends

DOCUMENT 1.3 Bar Graph of Academic Achievement for All Women’s Sports

Task 2 Assess and Improve Communication Strategies

At the fall coaches’ meeting, attendees receive the latest APR statistics (Documents 1.4 and 1.5) as well as a sheet briefly explaining APR scores (Document 1.6). An athletics staff member sitting next to you points to the sheets and asks, “You know something about graphics and design, don’t you? Do you think we could improve the way we communicate this information? To be honest, I’m not convinced that some of the coaches understand these sheets. I’m sure the athletic director would appreciate some help communicating this information.” Study which aspects of the design are effective and which can be improved. Consider the graphics, the text, and the overall design of each document. Then revise the documents so that they work together to better communicate the information.

DOCUMENT 1.4 APR Statistics for Women’s Sports, 2009–2010

DOCUMENT 1.5 APR Statistics for Men’s Sports, 2009–2010

DOCUMENT 1.6 APR Snapshot

Task 3 Create Effective Graphics and Speaker’s Notes

“Given some of the high-profile scandals at other institutions and recent news reports critical of intercollegiate sports in general, the faculty has become increasingly interested in how our student-athletes are performing in the classroom,” Cheryl explains. “I’m going to address our institution’s faculty senate next month. I have our most recent APR scores to illustrate the academic achievement of our student-athletes, but if I start going over a pile of statistics and using a bunch of acronyms, their eyes will glaze over and we’ll likely not make a good impression. I think the scores provide strong evidence that the entire Department of Athletics makes academics a priority. Having the support of our faculty is critical to our continued success, both in the classroom and on the field or court. Can you help me create some graphics that effectively communicate the academic success of our student-athletes?”

Cheryl would like to make the following two arguments in her appearance before the faculty senate: (1) based on APR scores, many Bayside student-athletes are above average academically compared to other Division I schools, and (2) based on the most recent APR scores, Bayside teams do better academically than many teams in their conference.

Cheryl hands you the APR statistics for both women’s sports (Document 1.4) and men’s sports (Document 1.5) in 2009–2010, the APR scores for conference schools in 2009–2010 (Document 1.6), and the APR scores for Division I schools in 2009–2010 (Document 1.7) and asks you to create one or more graphics for each argument. “It would be a huge help,” she adds, “if you also suggested some speaking notes that I could use to introduce and explain each graphic to the faculty senate.” Based on the two points Cheryl wants to make, determine the data and type of graphics that will best help her persuade her audience. Then write speaker’s notes that will help Cheryl explain the graphics to her audience. When writing the speaker’s notes, consider whether Cheryl will need to provide some background information to senate members before they can understand the graphics of the institution’s APR scores.

DOCUMENT 1.7 Average Multi-year APR Scores, 2009–2010

Task 4 Write a Press Release, and Integrate Text and Graphics

Each year, after APR scores are ready, the athletic director posts a press release on the department’s Web site highlighting the academic success of Bayside teams compared to other teams in the Metro Conference. This year, she asks for your help in creating the press release. “I want to call attention to the teams that are outperforming their conference foes in the classroom,” Cheryl explains. “I also want to help our fans understand how we are measuring academic success. Most people understand grade point averages, or GPAs. But few people outside of athletics understand APR scores.” She hands you an outline for a press release (Document 1.8) that is missing the important data for this year. “This is just a start. Because this will be posted on our Web site, you may use color graphics, but keep the paragraphs short for easy reading. Keep the release under 750 words, and include the Bayside logo and at least one other graphic.” Complete the press release, revising and reorganizing as necessary. You will need to consult Documents 1.4 and 1.5 to gather any missing data. For more information on the development of APR scores, you may want to visit www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/academics and read “How Academic Reform Is Measured.”

DOCUMENT 1.8 Press Release Outline

Case 2 Definitions and Descriptions: Helping Your Readers Understand

Chapter Outline The Situation The Challenge Your Job Task 1 Analyze Parenthetical and Sentence Definitions Task 2 Evaluate and Revise Descriptions Task 3 Clarify Definitions with Graphics Task 4 Write Definitions

The Situation

When Mary Ann Petit, a neighbor of yours and the founder of Bayside United Green Squad (BUGS), learned of your technical communication background, she asked you to help with her community group. BUGS is a nonprofit volunteer group that offers environmental programs designed to teach young people ages 10 to 16 about the connections between environmental issues and food. Using a community garden as a learning lab, BUGS volunteers provide local youth with hands-on science education on environmental issues affecting the local food they eat. To better reach their target audience, the board of directors has decided to enhance the BUGS Web site by including a blog.

Mary Ann explains that the success of BUGS has created not only a desire among program graduates to stay in touch, but also a demand for information on how young people can grow, harvest, prepare, and eat vegetables from their own backyard gardens. To address these demands, Mary Ann would like you to help start a blog to facilitate communication among young gardeners. By providing a mechanism for instructors and program graduates to comment on posts, Mary Ann hopes to build an online community.

FIGURE 2.1 Bayside’s Community Garden

Although another volunteer will provide the technical skills to design the blog, Jenny Ukaegbu, the BUGS blogger, asks for your help writing some of the content for the initial blog posts, especially definitions and descriptions of gardening and blogging terms to help the group members understand how to effectively use and contribute to the blog. “In our first couple of blog posts,” Jenny explains, “we need to teach the young gardeners a little about blogging and get them excited about reading our blog and posting comments—and we also need to start teaching them about backyard gardening.”

Depending on the context, the blog posts will use parenthetical and sentence definitions as well as descriptions to help youth understand and succeed at blogging and gardening. Parenthetical definitions are placed directly in the text. When a simple word or phrase is not enough, the blog posts will feature pop-up sentence definitions for more formal clarification. Jenny shows you an example of two parenthetical definitions, one for post and one for blogroll, as well as a sentence definition for phytoremediation (Figure 2.2).

FIGURE 2.2 Model Parenthetical and Sentence Definitions

The Challenge

Being able to learn new material quickly is an important job skill for technical communicators, who often work on new product lines or on projects involving the contributions of a variety of experts. Like many nonprofits, BUGS recruits volunteers with a variety of interests, including people with writing and technology skills to support the educational programs. Most BUGS volunteers commit to working at least 10 hours per month as program instructors or in the BUGS garden. As the first volunteer with a strong background in writing, you will spend most of your time helping improve the program materials and writing content for the Web site. Because you might not have much experience with gardening or blogging, your challenge is to research and learn new terminology and then clearly explain these terms to the young gardeners.

Your Job

Download

Download the documents in this chapter.

The success of this new interactive blog depends on the young gardeners’ understanding the definitions and descriptions. If they cannot understand a gardening term or a blog feature, they may give up on their backyard gardens or fail to make use of the blog. Your job is to analyze the site’s audience and purpose and then help the BUGS blogger explain backyard gardening and blogs. To prepare the blog for its launch, you may be asked to do the following:

Analyze parenthetical and sentence definitions. Evaluate and revise descriptions. Identify where a graphic would help clarify and complement a written definition or description. Write several definitions and descriptions for gardening terms that young people might not know.

Your instructor will tell you which of the tasks you are to complete. You can view case documents at the bottom of each task below.

When You’re Finished

Reflecting on This Case In a 250- to 500-word response to your instructor, discuss (a) what you learned from this case, (b) how you could relate this case to work situations you will face in your chosen career, and, if applicable, (c) the ways in which this case compares to similar situations you have already faced at work. Your instructor will

tell you whether your response should be submitted as a memo, an email, or a journal entry, or in a different format.

Moving beyond This Case Write a 500- to 1,000-word description of a piece of equipment or a process used in your field. Include appropriate graphics. On a separate sheet, briefly describe your audience and the purpose of the document in which your description would likely appear.

Task 1 Analyze Parenthetical and Sentence Definitions

During a call, Jenny tells you, “Yesterday, I brainstormed a list of terms I think I will use in my early blog posts. I just sent you two emails with several definitions I wrote (Documents 2.3 and 2.4). I would like your feedback on whether the definitions are effectively written and appropriate for our BUGS audience before I use them in a post.” She adds, “Don’t be afraid to use the Internet to learn about any unfamiliar terms.” She then asks you to write an email in which you identify by letter the effective definitions, include revised versions of those that are flawed, and identify any terms that are not appropriate for the blog’s intended audience.

DOCUMENT 2.3 Parenthetical Definitions

DOCUMENT 2.4 Sentence Definitions

Task 2 Evaluate and Revise Descriptions

“I think some of the longer descriptions I plan to include miss their mark,” Jenny tells you, “but I’m unsure how to revise them. Could you take a look at four passages I’m having trouble with, identify the techniques I use, and then evaluate the effectiveness of these techniques? Please include revised passages.” She says she will attach the passages and her annotations to an email message (Documents 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8), and she would like you to respond by email. When you evaluate the passages, Jenny wants you to consider carefully the blog’s audience and the organization’s purpose for posting the information on the blog.

DOCUMENT 2.5 Object Description of Beneficial Insects

DOCUMENT 2.6 Mechanism Description of Garden Tiller

DOCUMENT 2.7 Process Description of Erosion Control

DOCUMENT 2.8 Object Description of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8b

Task 3 Clarify Definitions with Graphics

While discussing some of the organization’s printed educational materials and planned blog posts with you, Jenny remarks, “I’m a little concerned about how wordy our blog might appear. Our young gardeners just won’t read dense text. I’m sure we could add some visual interest and reduce the text-heavy feel, but I’m just not sure where to do it.”

Because BUGS participants are just beginning to learn gardening terminology, Jenny explains that she would like to use graphics as well as text in some of the posts. She asks you to review Documents 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8 and evaluate whether the proposed graphics would clarify and complement the text. If you decide that the proposed graphics are not suitable, or you determine that additional graphics would help, suggest alternatives. In an email to Jenny, describe how one or more graphics would help, and describe how to best integrate the graphics with the text. Remember that these graphics will be displayed online in a blog post.

Finally, Jenny would like to convert some of her blog posts to handouts for use with various BUGS programs. Select one of the descriptions in Documents 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8, and design a one-page color handout suitable for printing and distribution at BUGS educational programs. You will likely need to further develop the description and locate suitable graphics.

Task 4 Write Definitions

A BUGS instructor, Terra Hughes, has identified several objects, mechanisms, and processes that young gardeners have asked to be defined. She has sent you an email (Document 2.9) asking you to write several sentence definitions and a few extended descriptions.

DOCUMENT 2.9 Email with Gardening Terms to Be Defined

Case 3 Correspondence: Considering Your Reader’s Point of View

Chapter Outline The Situation The Challenge Your Job Task 1 Evaluate and Revise an Internal Memo Task 2 Evaluate and Revise a Response to a Customer Task 3 Respond to Customer Claims Task 4 Write Microblogs and a Blog Post

The Situation

Axel Geirsson, (Figure 3.1), an accomplished adventurer who has twice reached the summit of Mount Everest, recently moved to the United States and opened a small climbing and outdoor specialty shop in Boulder, Colorado. Onward & Upward Outfitters is focused on providing climbing enthusiasts with high-quality outdoor gear and apparel. It boasts an extensive selection of climbing hardware, harnesses, ropes, slings, helmets, and footwear. The store is staffed by an extremely knowledgeable team, yet Axel has noticed that his staff has some difficulty explaining technical concepts to customers who do not have extensive outdoor or climbing experience. “My staff from time to time gets caught up in the enthusiasm of helping customers prepare for outdoor adventures and assumes that customers already know the basics when, in fact, many do not,” Axel says. Consequently, some customers leave the store believing they know how to use their new equipment properly, only to be stranded miles from a mobile-phone signal, sometimes in the middle of the night or during a thunderstorm.

Figure 3.1 Axel Geirsson

The staff’s occasional misjudgment of their customers’ background knowledge has generated a few complaints. The staff can successfully address the concerns of those customers who return to the store or call to report a problem. However, customers who email or send a letter do not always get an effective response. Some disgruntled customers have begun posting critical comments on popular outdoor blogs and on microblogging sites like Facebook and Twitter. Rather than resolving customer problems, the store’s correspondence merely generates more problems. As a result, Axel has hired a public relations firm, which has assigned you, a communications consultant at the firm, to help Axel improve his store’s correspondence.

The Challenge

This case requires that you put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Consider how a reader would respond to the content, design, and tone of the correspondence. Likewise, this case requires you to think about the purpose of each piece of correspondence: what does the writer want his or her reader to know, do, or believe as a result of reading the response? You must then find the best strategy for achieving the writer’s purpose.

Your Job

Download

Download the documents in this chapter.

Although the staff at Onward & Upward Outfitters are expert climbers, they need your assistance improving their company’s correspondence so they can provide better customer service. You are asked to use your background in communication to analyze correspondence surrounding a particular rain gear product sold by Onward & Upward Outfitters. You may be asked to do the following:

Evaluate and revise the company’s internal memo. Examine a customer’s claim letter, and revise the corresponding adjustment letter. Respond to two claim letters. Write one to three microblog posts and a blog post addressing a common customer complaint.

Your instructor will tell you which of the tasks you are to complete. You can view case documents at the bottom of each task below.

When You’re Finished

Reflecting on This Case In a 250- to 500-word response to your instructor, discuss (a) what you learned from this case, (b) how you could relate this case to work situations you will face in your chosen career, and, if applicable, (c) the ways in which this case compares to similar situations you have already faced at work. Your instructor will

tell you whether your response should be submitted as a memo, an email, or a journal entry, or in a different format.

Moving beyond This Case In small groups, brainstorm a list of instances in which group members purchased a defective product or received poor service. Then choose one of these instances and work together to write either a polite, reasonable claim letter or a blog post designed to attract the attention of a company representative and get the problem resolved.

Task 1 Evaluate and Revise an Internal Memo

A few months ago, Onward & Upward Outfitters began selling lightweight rain gear featuring a new thin, waterproof, breathable layer of fabric called H2O Pro-TechT. A few customers have complained that the rain gear seems to leak. “I really don’t think the fabric is defective. It’s just that our customers are not being properly educated about what they can expect from H2O Pro-TechT or how to care for the fabric,” Axel explains. He has addressed the situation by drafting a memo to store personnel (Document 3.2) stating the store’s policy regarding H2O Pro-TechT apparel. Evaluate the effectiveness of Axel’s draft, and then revise it. Write Axel an email in which you justify your revisions, and attach your revised memo for his review. Axel also encourages you to improve the design of his draft.

DOCUMENT 3.2 Memo on H2O Pro-TechT Features

Task 2 Evaluate and Revise a Response to a Customer

Onward & Upward Outfitters recently received a complaint (Document 3.3) from a customer who had purchased H2O Pro-TechT rain gear. The sales specialist who originally helped the customer volunteered to write a response (Document 3.4). Before mailing the response, Axel has asked you to examine the correspondence and report to him on the effectiveness of his staff member’s response. Study the claim and adjustment letters. Does the claim letter seem polite, reasonable, and specific? Is the response fair and reasonable? Revise the response letter. Write Axel an email in which you justify your revisions, and attach your revised response for his review.

DOCUMENT 3.3 Customer Claim Letter

DOCUMENT 3.4 Response to Customer Claim Letter

Task 3 Respond to Customer Claims

Axel received two emails over a holiday weekend regarding H2O Pro-TechT apparel sold at his store. Write an email denying the request made in the first message (Document 3.5), and write another granting the request in the second message (Document 3.6).

DOCUMENT 3.5 Customer Claim Email 1

DOCUMENT 3.6 Customer Claim Email 2

Task 4 Write Microblogs and a Blog Post

Axel shows you his internal memo on the H2O Pro-TechT product line (Document 3.2) as well as recent customer complaints (Documents 3.3, 3.5, and 3.6). He also shows you copies of a few microblog comments from customers (Document 3.7) and a blog post (Document 3.8) from a local climber critical of the store and the product. Axel sighs. Recently, the store has established an online presence with a blog and a microblogging site, and Axel would like your help addressing this customer issue using these Web 2.0 tools. “I’d like you to draft one to three microblog posts, no more than 140 characters each, and a longer blog post of about 300 to 500 words. Although I want these to respond specifically to the concerns raised about our H2O Pro-TechT line of clothing, I also want to make a strong statement about our overall commitment to our customers. We need to build relationships with customers and establish a positive presence in the blogosphere.”

DOCUMENT 3.7 Microblog Posts Critical of Company

DOCUMENT 3.8 Blog Post Critical of Company

Case 4 Proposals: Seeing Proposals through Reviewers’ Eyes

Chapter Outline The Situation The Challenge Your Job Task 1 Evaluate Proposals Task 2 Reflect on the Review Process Task 3 Respond to Proposals Task 4 Write a Proposal

The Situation

The Heathcot-Lynn Foundation is a charitable organization established in 2008 with assistance from the estate of Drs. Heathcot and Lynn Turner. Its mission is to provide a pool of philanthropic capital to fund a variety of wellness and prevention programs in Idaho. In 2011, the foundation awarded a total of $14,000 to seven nonprofit projects in Boise, McCall, Caldwell, and Weiser. Foundation recipients in 2011 included community-sponsored clinics, a domestic violence crisis line, a school-based childhood obesity program, and a tobacco-cessation program for hospitalized patients.

As a new social media intern, you are responsible for developing content for the foundation’s Web site, blog, microblog, and other social-networking sites. To familiarize yourself with the foundation’s work, you have been asked by the board of directors to review proposals submitted to the foundation. The vast majority of the foundation’s awards address four goals:

To encourage innovative health and safety programs To improve the way health and safety services are provided to at-risk groups To foster collaboration among health and safety providers To support the teaching of healthy lifestyles To help you evaluate each submission, the board of directors has given

you the following evaluation criteria:

Need for the project. Does the proposal describe specific gaps or weaknesses in health or safety services? Goal. Does the proposal clearly describe what the project will accomplish? Project approach. Does the proposal describe an effective method for accomplishing the goal? Cost. Can the project be accomplished with the proposed budget? Are all budget items justified in the proposal? Impact. If successful, who will benefit, and to what extent?

The board has also provided you with an example (Figure 4.1) of a winning proposal from last quarter. Included are brief comments from the reviewers.

FIGURE 4.1 Sample Funded Proposal

“Unfortunately, we can’t fund all the deserving proposals we receive,” explains Jessica Bureau, the president of the foundation’s board. “The recent economic downturn has resulted in a tenfold increase in requests for funding. However, the board has allocated no more than $3,000 for awards this quarter. We want you to recommend which projects should be funded. When making award decisions, you may decide to fund a project fully, partially, or not at all.”

The Challenge

After proposals are submitted and distributed to reviewers, they must be quickly read and evaluated. Then a consensus must be reached on which proposals should be funded and which should be rejected. This can be a daunting process when dozens of proposals, each hundreds of pages in length, must be reviewed. Consequently, clear, concise, and easy-to-read proposals—in other words, reviewer-friendly proposals—improve an organization’s chances of being funded. Your challenge, the same one all reviewers face, is to identify the proposals that have the best chances of furthering the funding source’s goals.

Your Job

Download

Download the documents in this chapter.

The Heathcot-Lynn Foundation needs your help evaluating the most recent proposal submissions. You may be asked to do the following while working within the financial constraints outlined by the foundation:

Evaluate proposals using the criteria established by the foundation, and recommend which, if any, projects should be funded. Reach a consensus with other reviewers, reflect on your review process, and provide online advice to proposal writers. Write email messages to each organization whose proposal you recommended be rejected or only partially funded. Develop a brief proposal.

Your instructor will tell you which of the tasks you are to complete. You can view case documents at the bottom of each task below.

When You’re Finished

Reflecting on This Case In a 250- to 500-word response to your instructor, discuss (a) what you learned from this case, (b) how you could relate this case to work situations you will face in your chosen career, and, if applicable, (c) the ways in which this case compares to similar situations you have already faced at work. Your instructor will tell you whether your response should be submitted as a memo, an email, or a journal entry, or in a different format.

Moving beyond This Case Identify a health or safety issue affecting your community that interests you. Research this issue, and write a proposal suitable for submission to the Heathcot-Lynn Foundation.

Task 1 Evaluate Proposals

Jessica hands you four proposals (Documents 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5) to evaluate. “Before you start,” Jessica says, “review the foundation’s goals and evaluation criteria as well as a winning proposal from last quarter” (Figure 4.1). She asks you to write the foundation’s board a memo in which you rank the submissions from best to worst, list monetary awards, and provide a concise justification for your recommendations.

DOCUMENT 4.2 Skyview Coalition Proposal

DOCUMENT 4.3 Gameday Brigade Proposal

DOCUMENT 4.4 Teen Initiative Plan Proposal

DOCUMENT 4.5 Defensive Driving Course Proposal

Task 2 Reflect on the Review Process

After you have evaluated the proposals (Documents 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5), meet with three or four other reviewers. Discuss the proposals, and reach a consensus on each proposal: whether it should be funded and, if so, what monetary award should be given. Jessica is also interested in the effectiveness of the proposal-review process. After reaching a consensus, hold a short debriefing session in which you consider the following questions:

How did you read each proposal? Did you read in a linear fashion from top to bottom, or did you skip around and read sections out of order? Did you skim or skip any parts? In what ways did each reviewer’s background, personal beliefs, and interpretation of the evaluation criteria affect funding decisions? What aspects of the content, organization, and design of the proposals made reviewing them difficult? What made the task easier? Jessica would like to offer proposal writers some advice on the

Heathcot-Lynn Web site. Based on your discussion and experience as a reviewer, provide advice on how to write a successful proposal. “Don’t worry about building a Web page. Just email me a document with the content designed the way you want it to look online, and include notes to our Web designer regarding any additional online features you want included, such as links.”

Task 3 Respond to Proposals

The foundation’s board of directors asks you to write an email to each organization for whose proposal you recommended reduced or no funding (Documents 4.2 to 4.5). Jessica explains, “We don’t want to discourage these groups. Many of our best proposals come from groups who were first rejected and who then resubmitted revised proposals.” In your messages, remember to thank the individual for submitting a proposal, explain why the proposal received reduced or no funding, suggest ways of improving the proposal, and, if appropriate, encourage the organization to resubmit the proposal during the next quarter.

Task 4 Write a Proposal

After serving as a social media intern at the foundation for a semester, you resign and accept a job as a technical writer for King County Public Safety Department. You learn that the department wants to start a program to supply safety helmets to children under the age of 16 who cannot afford them. You mention that the Heathcot-Lynn Foundation might be a good funding source and volunteer to develop a proposal. Your supervisor, Rene Johnson, takes you up on your offer and sends you an email with the information she has collected (Document 4.6). Using her notes and other sources, write a proposal suitable for submission. Also, in a reply message to Rene, briefly justify your rationale for including or omitting visuals.

DOCUMENT 4.6 Email with Notes on Bicycle Helmet Program

Case 5 Report: Learning to Write in an Oraganization

Chapter Outline The Situation The Challenge Your Job Task 1 Learn about an Organization’s Reports Task 2 Compare and Evaluate Report Designs Task 3 Learn about Appropriate Report Content Task 4 Use an Organization’s Style Guide

The Situation

You have accepted a technical-communication internship at the Washington, DC headquarters of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA, the statistical and analytical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, provides data and information on energy sources. The EIA publishes reports, Web products, press releases, databases, and maps. Publications are issued weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, and as needed or upon request.

As an intern, you will work closely with Merilee Summerfield, a technical publications editor. “Our Web site is the primary communication channel for the EIA,” Merilee explains. “We’ve just launched the first phase of a comprehensive site redesign that will affect the way we write Web content. Using a uniform style throughout our site tells users that the EIA has high standards for our content and our data.” She has asked you to develop Web content and to help scientists as they write various EIA documents.

When writing Web content, EIA writers follow recommendations from The Energy Information Administration’s Web Editorial Style Guide (Figure 5.1). The guide specifies details of the writing style required by the EIA, including rules for punctuation, word usage, tone, and hypertext links. The guide also contains direction on matters related to EIA work specifically, such as editorial voice, capitalization of frequently used words and terms, abbreviation of units of measure, and notes.

FIGURE 5.1 Cover of the EIA’s Web Editorial Style Guide

The Challenge

Learning to write in a new organization involves a learning curve. You will experience part of this learning curve when you are asked to quickly learn about the EIA and what represents consistent, correct, readable Web content within that organization. You will also have to grapple with unfamiliar content. As you study model documents, consider their audience and purpose, become knowledgeable about their contents, and familiarize yourself with the EIA’s Web Editorial Style Guide, you will learn how to adapt your writing to meet the specific needs of an organization.

Your Job

Download

Download the documents in this chapter.

During your first week as an EIA intern, you will need to learn about EIA publications and Web editorial guidelines. As a new intern, you may be asked to do the following:

Study a preface to a technical report to learn the characteristics of the organization’s reports. Contrast a printed report to a report designed for online use, and evaluate their features. Learn about appropriate content and level of detail for an energy report. Use the organization’s style guide to answer writing-related questions posed by analysts.

Your instructor will tell you which of the tasks you are to complete. You can view case documents at the bottom of each task below.

Get started on your job.

When You’re Finished

Reflecting on This Case In a 250- to 500-word response to your instructor, discuss (a) what you learned from this case, (b) how you could relate this case to work situations you will face in your chosen career, and, if applicable, (c) the ways in which this case compares to similar situations you have already faced at work. Your instructor will tell you whether your response should be submitted as a memo, an email, or a journal entry, or in a different format.

Moving beyond This Case Locate a professional who spends a significant amount of his or her time writing at work and is willing to be interviewed. You may choose to interview someone from your chosen field or a different profession. Investigate how this professional learned about writing for his or her particular organization. You might ask the following:

What types of documents do you regularly write for your employer? How did writing in college differ from writing in your organization? What did you need to learn about writing in your organization? How did you go about learning it? Did anyone within the organization help you? If so, who, and in what ways did they help? What advice do you have for new employees learning to write?

Present your findings in a report to your instructor.

Task 1 Learn about an Organization’s Reports

First, Merilee would like you to learn about EIA, and, in particular, what EIA writers want to accomplish with their energy publications. She suggests that you start by reading “Our Work” under the heading “About EIA” on the EIA site at www.eia.gov/about/eia_explained.cfm (Figure 5.2) and explore other links on the site such as “Mission and Overview” (Figures 5.3 and 5.4). To introduce you to EIA publications, Merilee asks you to study a preface (Document 5.5) and write a two-page memo in which you do the following: (a) describe the preface’s audience and purpose; (b) evaluate how well the preface explains the subject, purpose, background, and scope of the report; (c) describe and evaluate the preface’s organizational structure; and (d) discuss the preface’s level of formality and voice (active or passive). To get you started, Merilee has provided brief marginal notes.

FIGURE 5.2 “About EIA” Page of the EIA Web Site

FIGURE 5.3 Mission and Overview” Page of the EIA Web Site

FIGURE 5.4 “EIA Offices” Page of the EIA Web Site

DOCUMENT 5.5 Preface from International Energy Outlook 2010

Task 2 Compare and Evaluate Report Designs

To help you better understand how the communication medium will affect the way the content is presented, Merilee asks you to take a closer look at three different designs for the organization’s annual International Energy Outlook (IEO) report Documents 5.6, 5.7, and 5.8). In the margins, she has posed questions to help you focus on the different designs. Respond to her questions in a brief memo.

DOCUMENT 5.6 Web Page of Most Recent International Energy Outlook Report

DOCUMENT 5.7 Web Page of Archived International Energy Outlook 2010

DOCUMENT 5.8 Highlights Page from Printed Version of Archived International Energy Outlook 2010

Task 3 Learn about Appropriate Report Content

To help you gain a better understanding of appropriate content and level of detail when reporting energy information, Merilee asks you to take a closer look at three excerpts focusing on carbon dioxide emissions Documents 5.9, 5.10, and 5.11) from a report on emissions of greenhouse gases in the United States. In the margins, she has posed questions to help you focus on the characteristics of the selections. Respond to her questions in a brief memo.

DOCUMENT 5.9 Page from Greenhouse Emissions Report

DOCUMENT 5.10 Excerpt on Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Greenhouse Emissions Report

DOCUMENT 5.11 Excerpt on Residential-Sector Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Greenhouse Emissions Report

Task 4 Use an Organization’s Style Guide

Merilee would like your help responding to two emails (Documents 5.12 and 5.13) from EIA analysts. Because the analysts follow the EIA’s Web Editorial Style Guide when writing reports, she wants you to consult relevant sections of the guide when responding to their queries. In both forwarded messages, she directs you to the appropriate sections of the guide. The Web Editorial Style Guide is available online at http://www.eia.gov/about/eiawritingstyleguide.pdf. Write Merilee an email with your responses to each message.

DOCUMENT 5.12 E-mail Query on How to Develop a Preface

DOCUMENT 5.13 E-mail Query on How to Format a Table

Case 6 Instructions: Guiding Reader in Performing a Task

Chapter Outline The Situation The Challenge Your Job Task 1 Plan an Interview with a Subject-Matter Expert Task 2 Evaluate Instructions Task 3 Write Instructions Task 4 Develop an Online Training Module

The Situation

Turnertronics Biomedical Systems (TBS) offers a line of anesthesia machines and monitoring devices for use in surgery and critical care. Anesthesia machines deliver medical gases to patients at a preselected mixture, pressure, and flow rate. Widely used in a variety of clinical settings, TBS’s monitoring devices capture and display patients’ vital measurements such as heart rhythm, blood pressure, and level of oxygen in blood (Figure 6.1).

FIGURE 6.1 Engineer’s Sketch of ECG Lead II Waveform Display

The mission of TBS is to provide the most cost-effective and innovative biomedical equipment to the medical community. Key to achieving this mission is the company’s Priti all-in-one monitoring systems. Used by anesthesia providers to both interpret patients’ conditions and implement various treatments during care, the Priti monitors offer rapid measurements of all vital signs along with an easy-to-use touch screen.

TBS engineers are currently developing the next generation of Priti monitoring devices: the Turnertronics Priti5 All-in-One Anesthesia Monitoring System. Currently, the Priti5 exists as an early-stage prototype — so early, in fact, that the user interface design is still under development. For now, the engineers have provided you with a “best-guess” sketch of how the interface might look. Later, engineers will develop a touch-screen interface for the Priti5. As the company’s documentation specialist, you are responsible for producing the documentation for the Priti5.

The Challenge

Often, documentation is developed at the same time as the product. In the early stages of product development, information is often scarce and product features are documented or revised as they are developed. Your challenge is to use available resources to document how the prototype works for now, knowing that you will have gaps in your understanding and that the prototype (and your initial documentation) will likely be different from the final product.

Your Job

Download

Download the documents in this chapter.

As the documentation specialist on the project, you will need to analyze your audience and devise a way to show them how to use the new monitor correctly. Using the engineers’ notes, you will start writing the step-by-step instructions for the Priti5 prototype. After being introduced to the project, you may be asked to do the following:

Plan an interview with a subject-matter expert (SME). Analyze an engineer’s notes, and evaluate a set of instructions. Use an engineer’s notes to write step-by-step instructions. Develop an online training module for the monitor.

Your instructor will tell you which of the tasks you are to complete. You can view case documents at the bottom of each task below.

When You’re Finished

Reflecting on This Case In a 250- to 500-word response to your instructor, discuss (a) what you learned from this case, (b) how you could relate this case to work situations you will face in your chosen career, and, if applicable, (c) the ways in which this case compares to similar situations you have already faced at work. Your instructor will tell you whether your response should be submitted as a memo, an email, or a journal entry, or in a different format.

Moving beyond This Case Locate a flawed set of instructions for a step-by-step procedure, and revise them so that the directions are more

effectively communicated. Or write instructions for a procedure that does not have any but needs them. Shareware programs and free software often feature imperfect instructions or no instructions at all. Shareware sites (such as www.shareware.com) might provide you with a good sample for this task.

Task 1 Plan an Interview with a Subject-Matter Expert

The Priti5 project manager, Miranda Gutierrez, wants you to learn about the potential users of the monitor and its features by interviewing various subject- matter experts — the engineers, sales representatives, and consulting anesthetists who best know the prototype and how it will be used. Miranda explains that these folks are busy and often do not recognize the importance of documentation. “You’ll need to convince them to take time away from product development, sales, or patient care to talk with you. You will also need to ask appropriate questions that won’t be seen as a waste of their time,” she explains. As an example of what not to do, Miranda hands you an annotated copy of an email (Document 6.2) that she received from a person in another division whom she was not inclined to help. Consequently, she asks you to send her a draft of the email you will send to the SMEs to schedule an interview as well as the list of questions you plan to ask about audience, features, and medical terms. Working with two to three other students, brainstorm a list of questions about the Priti5 to ask each of the three different types of SMEs listed above, and then write the emails.

DOCUMENT 6.2 E-mail Requesting Information on the Priti4.3 Monitor

Task 2 Evaluate Instructions

Miranda shows you the engineer’s sketch of the touch-screen interface (Figure 6.3) and a set of basic instructions for using the Priti5 (Document 6.4). The final version of the Priti5 will have a touch-screen control panel rather than mechanical buttons and switches. The only exception is the on/off button. “I drafted instructions for when the machine is started. I think we should have these ‘start-up’ instructions printed on the side of the monitor as well as in the user guide. What do you think?” Write Miranda an email evaluating the instructions and suggesting improvements.

FIGURE 6.3 Engineer’s Sketch of Monitor User Interface

DOCUMENT 6.4 Basic Instructions for Operating Priti5 Monitor

Task 3 Write Instructions

A project engineer would like you to start documenting how to monitor several different vitals as well as how to analyze the anesthetic gas. She has given you her notes (Document 6.5), which Miranda has annotated for you. Using the engineer’s notes and Miranda’s comments, write the user guide instructions for the five features described in the notes.

DOCUMENT 6.5 Notes for Operating Priti5 Monitor

Task 4 Develop an Online Training Module

One of the project engineers, Terry Saussol, stops you in the hall and suggests that online training would be more effective than a user guide alone. “Anesthetists could watch a brief ‘how-to’ video to support the information in the user guide.” After a brief conversation, you tell Terry that you will create a mock-up of the online training. E-mail Terry your plan for the online training for the instructions you wrote in Task 3. Include thumbnail sketches of the visuals, as well as a script of the audio component of the training. In your script, remember to include notes indicating when each visual should appear, when animated elements should start and stop (e.g., new text appearing, an arrow pointing to a waveform, etc.), directions to the speaker (e.g., when the speaker should emphasize specific content, pause, etc.), and any other notes that will help the technicians and speaker produce this training.

Case 7 Presentation Graphics: Highlighting Important Information

Chapter Outline The Situation The Challenge Your Job Task 1 Design Presentation Slides Task 2 Present Information Visually Task 3 Create an Online Presentation Task 4 Prepare a Handout

The Situation

You have recently been hired as a documentation and training specialist for the Virginia Office of Group Insurance, a government office that manages state employees’ medical, dental, life, and disability insurance needs. The office’s mission is to provide for the negotiation, purchase, and delivery of the most competitive and cost-effective group-insurance programs for state employees and their eligible dependents. For one of your first assignments, you are asked to help the office inform state employees about recent changes to their health insurance and to provide information that will help them make informed decisions regarding their health coverage. Because Virginia is switching insurance carriers for the next fiscal year (FY), the office has been busy communicating to employees about the features and options the new insurance plans offer and how to best use the benefits.

To enroll with the new carrier, employees must complete a new enrollment form, which asks them to choose between a traditional plan and a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan and select an appropriate enrollment category (employee, employee plus spouse, etc.). They must also decide whether to enroll in a flexible spending account (FSA) for dependent- care and unreimbursed medical expenses. To best help employees make knowledgeable enrollment decisions, the Virginia Office of Group Insurance must clearly and effectively provide the information they need.

Open enrollment, the only time of the year employees may make changes to their health coverage, is approaching, and the office needs your help preparing a presentation. Open enrollment meetings will be held at several locations around the state during the month preceding the plan’s open enrollment period. State employees will receive an e-mail with details regarding the meeting at their specific job location (Figure 7.1). These meetings will begin with an oral presentation and will conclude with a question-and-answer session.

FIGURE 7.1 Sample E-mail Announcing Open Enrollment Meeting

The Challenge

Experienced speakers, trainers, and salespeople know that presentation graphics improve their audience’s learning, retention, and perception of the presenter. These graphics also reduce the time needed to explain complex subjects. Your challenge is to support a presentation on complicated information with effective graphics so that state employees with diverse needs and concerns can make effective health coverage decisions.

Your Job

Download

Download the documents in this chapter.

With your background in technical communication, the Virginia Office of Group Insurance is relying on you to help create presentation graphics that clarify and highlight important features of the new insurance plan. You may be asked to do the following:

Design presentation slides. Simplify concepts and visual representations on presentation slides. Create a presentation suitable for online viewing. Prepare a handout to accompany a presentation.

Your instructor will tell you which of the tasks you are to complete.

When You’re Finished

Reflecting on This Case In a 250- to 500-word response to your instructor, discuss (a) what you learned from this case, (b) how you could relate this case to work situations you will face in your chosen career, and, if applicable, (c) the ways in which this case compares to similar situations you have already faced at work. Your instructor will tell you whether your response should be submitted as a memo, an e- mail, or a journal entry, or in a different format.

Moving beyond This Case In small groups, brainstorm a list of instances in which group members purchased a defective product or received poor service. Then choose one of these instances and work together to write either a polite, reasonable claim letter or a blog post

designed to attract the attention of a company representative and get the problem resolved.

You can view case documents at the bottom of each task below.

Task 1 Design Presentation Slides

Burt Krebs, Virginia State Insurance Manager, has created a few slides (Documents 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4) for the open enrollment meeting presentation using a popular presentation-graphics application. “I didn’t want to use one of the templates because most didn’t seem to offer a design that would best suit our information, but now I’m not sure how to design my slides from scratch,” he explains. Burt hands you printouts of the slides with notes on them and says, “Take a look at these and come up with an effective design. The notes explain some of my concerns and suggest some options for design.” Decide on an overall design for Burt’s presentation, and apply this design to the slides Burt showed you. Then, in a brief e-mail to Burt, justify your design decisions.

DOCUMENT 7.2 Opening Slide for Presentation

DOCUMENT 7.3 Presentation Slide with Agenda

DOCUMENT 7.4 Presentation Slide on the Paper Application

Task 2 Present Information Visually

Burt shows you printouts of three slides (Documents 7.5 to 7.7) used during an earlier in-house presentation to the Office of Group Insurance staff. “I threw these together for a quick staff meeting earlier this year. I’d like to use these in the Open Enrollment presentation, but I don’t think the slides are clear enough for a general audience. Now that I look at them again, I’d be embarrassed if people outside this office saw them,” Burt confides. He then asks you to evaluate the effectiveness of the slides. Using presentation-graphics software, revise these slides so that Virginia state employees can quickly and easily understand the presented information.

DOCUMENT 7.5 Presentation Slide with Pie Chart

DOCUMENT 7.6 Presentation Slide on Survey Results

DOCUMENT 7.7 Presentation Slide on Benefits

Task 3 Create an Online Presentation

One important decision state employees must make during the open enrollment period is whether to choose a traditional or PPO health plan design. Because the state has never offered a PPO plan, Burt wants to answer the questions, “What is a PPO plan, and how does it work?” Consequently, he has decided not only to discuss this at the meetings but also to create a brief online presentation with audio to accompany the slides. “Although we will discuss this topic at the open enrollment meetings, I want an online resource available to state employees who either can’t make the meeting or need a refresher before they select a plan next month,” Burt explains. “I don’t want a bunch of text-heavy slides for viewers to read. Instead, I want the presentation graphics and audio component to work together to provide a clear explanation.”

Burt has e-mailed you his notes (Document 7.8) describing what the presentation should cover. Create four to six slides, and write the script for the audio portion of the presentation. In your script, remember to include notes indicating when each slide should appear, when animated elements should start and stop (e.g., new text appearing, an arrow pointing to important content, etc.), directions to the speaker (e.g., when the speaker should emphasize specific content, pause, etc.), and any other notes that will help the technicians and speaker produce this presentation.

DOCUMENT 7.8 Presentation Notes

Task 4 Prepare a Handout

The presenters for the open enrollment meetings will be Abbey McLean and Liana Anderson. They have decided that they would like to supply attendees with a handout. “We don’t want to merely print our presentation slides. We’d like a brief handout that focuses on our 2011 enrollment numbers, the difference between the new PPO and our traditional plans, benefit provisions, plan costs, and our contact information.” From her smartphone, Abbey e-mails you the plan costs and their contact information (Document 7.9). Create a handout that can be printed on a single sheet of standard paper.

DOCUMENT 7.9 E-mail with Information for Presentation Handout