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Using Personas to Access Information in the TCBOKAbout Personas
From Wikipedia.com: Personas are fictitious characters that are created to represent the different user types within a targeted demographic that might use a site or product. more We have created 14 personas that represent some of the people who might use the BOK portal. Our community is so diverse that we have had to be selective, but we have aimed to represent a wide cross-section of different needs. For example, we have a persona representing an actively working technical writers wanting to keep his/her skills current. That persona alone might represent a majority of people visiting the site. You will see that each story includes very specific examples of how the person might use the portal. For example, the person in the “actively working technical writer wanting to keep his kills current” persona comes to the site to learn more about DITA. We hope you find these entry points useful. The PersonasClick on a persona to find out about our personas and how they might use the Portal. Follow their information search, with links to the pages they would read. Alicia Madison College Dean Learning about Technical Communication and Technical Communication Programs Anu Patel: Academic Program Director Preparing for Institutional Program Review Caroline Landry: Lead Writer in a Company Moving into International Markets Carrie Watson: Academic Practitioner Designing a Curriculum Consuela Roehl: Technical Communicator Whose Responsibilities are Being Outsourced Eric Hernandez: High School Student Planning Technical Communication Career James Ventura: IT Project Manager Wanting Effective Communication Practices for Team Jimmy Chin: College Student Planning Technical Communication Career Kate Watkins: Information Development Manager Creating a Technical Communication Department for the Company Linda Etesh: IT Practicioner Wanting to Change to a Technical Writer Career Maarten van Gelten: Translation Manager who Wants Less English Text Marcia Houston: Practitioner Wanting to Do More Web and Usability Work Margy Statler: Technical Communicator with Accessibility Needs Randy Green: Technical Writer Wanting to Stay Current Robert Haines: Engineering Supervisor Wanting Information About Mentoring and Technical Communication Sudha Gupta: Human Resources Manager Needing to Hire Technical Communicators The Persona Matrix: Comparing Information NeedsA recent graduate level class of the Mercer University MSTCO program under the direction of Dr. Marjorie Davis created a matrix of the personas created by the STC BoK Committee and personas created by the class. In this matrix, the needs of the various users of the STC BoK are identified using a card-sorting approach and result in links between the needs of the user and the information available on the STC BoK. Suggestions for more personasWe have had some suggestions for more personas, and will be thinking about their needs as well: From Lea Galanter: The Technical Editor. The technical editor role is quite a unique one and should not be lumped in with other roles. Please consider adding that persona. |
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Last modified November 22, 2011
Comments
I think it would be good to include two types of Lone Writers, both of whom are responsible for all the technical documentation needs of their employer:
Both of these people are generalists. Specialization is for consultants and for writers in big departments. Single-sourcing is key for them. Once they work out a bullet-proof workflow they lack the time to research changes to it because there's no back-up when you're a Lone Writer.
Lone Writers also need STC for a social component. They often feel isolated and not understood. This is especially so for the Beleaguered Lone Writer, but the phenomenon is real for the Respected Lone Writer as well.
Where is the technical editor persona? The technical editor role is quite a unique one and should not be lumped in with other roles. Please consider adding that persona.