Welcome everyone to Issue 58 of TechCom Manager! Where did Summer go? Last issue, we Ohioans were basking in the sweltering sun and enjoying ourselves poolside. Now it’s barely 50 degrees, predominately cloudy most of the time, and the breath of Winter is slowly creeping in. My how time goes by.

By next issue, it will be nearly year-end. I look forward to working with many of you in 2010, so feel free to contact me anytime about writing for us. As always, it is through your participation and expertise that makes TechCom Manager successful.

2009 TechCom Manager Survey Results Available

Last issue, we announced how we were conducting the 2009 Technical Communications Manager Survey. Since then, we received a great response rate (up more than 30% over the 2007 survey), and we’re delighted to share the results with you.

Many thanks to all who participated. To see the results, click here.

This Month’s Themes

For this issue, we’re addressing two themes.

Our first feature article, 3D Lifelike Experiences: Improved Communication for Improved Margin, comes to us from Garth Coleman. Garth is the Director of Product Marketing for 3DVIA at Dassault Systèmes where he manages all aspects of product marketing for 3DVIA Composer, manages the North American pre-sales support team, and is responsible for maintaining 3DVIA’s market leadership in innovative, interactive 3D Applications which demonstrate lifelike experiences.

In all my years of working in techcom and marcom, I can honestly say I’ve never really worked with 3D, so I found this piece particularly interesting and enticing. This is definitely an opportunity to consider, especially if it could boost your deliverables to a higher state of visibility and usability.

Our second feature article, Successfully Moving to DITA, comes to us from Ann Rockley. Ann is President of The Rockley Group, Inc and well known internationally for developing intelligent content management strategies and underlying information architecture. She has been instrumental in establishing the field in online documentation, single sourcing (content reuse), unified content strategies, and content-management best practices.

I feel that Ann’s article this month serves as a great introduction and primer for anyone considering a DITA implementation. Over the years, we’ve heard a lot about DITA, but this piece takes the mystique out of the standard and lays the groundwork for those of us who might still be skeptical. 

Please join me in welcoming both Garth Coleman and Ann Rockley to TechCom Manager!