HCi Articles

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	This material relates to issues that we routinely get involved with. If you wish to reproduce any of this information (as many visitors to our site have already done) then contact us for copyright terms and conditions. Click to jump down the page to: Compliance management Documentation Quality management Six Sigma tools Knowledge management Management
Compliance management	Compliance management Compliance management: a general approach From $5 bn to zero in four months: a cautionary tale Legislation Privacy Act: The changes to the Privacy Act affect every organisation in Australia outside Government Privacy Act training materials Quality standards ISO9001:2000 Internal audit procedure and training materials
Documentation	User documentation Technical writing course - complete materials free online Content: Drowning between the tags Convergence: where should the application end and the documentation begin? Simple metrics for documentation: just how good is your documentation? Subject matter interview techniques for technical writers Feng Shui your stale documentation: in eight easy steps you can be rid of documentation clutter and enhance your corporate well-being. The polish sausage syndrome, or if all else fails read the manual: a primer on how to write good user manuals. Does your ERP documentation look like this?: a 'before' and 'after' look at a sample of support documentation for an ERP system (in PDF format) Don't lose control of your product manuals: a cautionary tale Software maintenance documentation Java documentation analysis tool Estimating a data dictionary: how do you estimate how long it will take to reverse-engineer a data dictionary? Avoiding software development failure: why some major projects fail, and what you can do to avoid it. How to get a budget for code documentation: speaks for itself What to put in software maintenance documentation: using audience and task analysis System documentation explained: the Data Dictionary Neglecting systems documentation courts disaster: there is much more to disaster recovery than just keeping backups. Document control and distribution Classes of software for intranet implementations: what's the best approach? List of document management software: a useful list of packages and where to find out more about them Context-sensitive help for a mainframe application: how to add Winhelp or HTML to a mainframe app without modification A simple intranet model: start with something simple, like this, and then build from there. Avoiding shelfware: how to make sure your documentation stays up to date Metadata: what it is and how to use it E-learning - just training online? The ideal Document Management System: here is a wish list for your DMS Standards Proposed new international standard for user documentation: there is already one international standard for user documentation; do we need another one? Documentation standards mean more work for technical writers HCi Style Guide publicly available: with the internal release of version 3.2 of our style guide, we've decided to make it available for public use HCi Style Guide printed version Simple metrics for documentation: just how good is your documentation? Metadata: what it is and how to use it Plain English Making written procedures work Staffing and management What makes a technical writer?: what are the characteristics of today's tech writers? Spreading the cost: capitalising documentation costs Avoiding shelfware: how to make sure your documentation stays up to date Choosing writers for equipment manuals: make sure you have the right sort of writer So you want to be a technical writer?: a lighthearted look at the profession Lessons in project management: avoid the pitfalls
Quality management	Quality assurance Applying ISO9000 to software development How to upgrade to ISO9001:2000 Is QA certification just more red tape? Short story: The Book Quality Management equals QA plus TQM Contract review: Getting the order right Quality assurance - introduction Process thinking: The process is more important than the result Benefits of QA: how do you map the requirements of the ISO9000 standard to bottom line benefits? Training records: Training for quality Control of documents under ISO9000:2000: organisations that already have ISO9000 certification will soon need to upgrade them Internal audit procedure and training materials AQTF Standard 1: a comparison with ISO9000 How to use roles to simplify staff reorganisation Process definition: No process, no improvement Hanimex and HCi; a long term relationship: looks at our relationship with Hanimex over the years Software quality How to get a budget for code documentation: speaks for itself SPICE in brief Applying ISO9000 to software development Feral computing: what can happen when users take computing into their own hands. Avoiding software development failure: why some major projects fail, and what you can do to avoid it. Software requirements analysis, and why it doesn't work TQM Statistical process control: Lies, damn lies and sales figures Statistical process control: Are sales really up? Cause and effect diagram Variation: Right first time is wrong Deming's 14 points Quality Management equals QA plus TQM Pareto analysis Data checksheet PDCA cycle Process thinking: The process is more important than the result Is 'quality' a losing strategy? An Australian fiefdom Process definition: No process, no improvement The manager, his assistant, the QA manager, the accountant, and the multi-national strategist: a continuous improvement case study Customer-supplier mapping Tool: Customer-supplier mapping Mapping is the key to going horizontal How to improve customer satisfaction Other techniques Brainstorming: How to think up a storm Tool: Brainstorming Customer focussing Tool: Flowcharting sessions Article: Flowcharting sessions Small group skills Business process reengineering Compliance management: a general approach Software requirements analysis, and why it doesn't work How to use roles to simplify staff reorganisation
Six Sigma	Six Sigma tools Before you begin: No process, no improvement Cause and effect diagram Pareto analysis Data checksheet Customer-supplier mapping Flowcharting sessions Small group skills
Knowledge management	Knowledge management Knowledge Management 10-point checklist Preparing for the Knowledge Era MIS98 Mindshare Conference /Knowledge Management Survey Results Australian companies get headstart on knowledge capital Simple metrics for documentation: just how good is your documentation? Software requirements analysis, and why it doesn't work Avoiding shelfware: how to make sure your documentation stays up to date How to fix the intranet Metadata: what it is and how to use it Fast-tracking web development with an HTMLHelp wireframe: develop a detailed specification cum mock-up before coding up your site Knowledge Management at the crossroads Training E-learning - just training online? Technical writing course - complete materials free online Privacy Act training materials Internal audit procedure and training materials The key to e-learning is b-learning KM Primer Knowledge Management primer - part 1: an introduction that ties the new ideas to those you're already familiar with Knowledge Management primer - part 2: part 1 set out why KM was important; part 2 says what needs to be implemented Knowledge Management primer part 3: the final part - how to actually implement a KM strategy.
Management	Management Spreading the cost: capitalising documentation costs Costly accidents: are they inevitable or can they be prevented? Knee-jerk policies hurt the bottom line Downsizing: Is your organisation lean - or anorexic? How to write a franchise manual: franchise systems have special documentation requirements Privacy Act: The changes to the Privacy Act affect every organisation in Australia outside Government. Avoiding software development failure: why some major projects fail, and what you can do to avoid it. Software requirements analysis, and why it doesn't work How to use roles to simplify staff reorganisation Avoiding shelfware: how to make sure your documentation stays up to date From $5 bn to zero in four months: a cautionary tale How to fix the intranet Getting up to speed with employee self-service Information security - the iceberg or just the tip Strategy is wasted without Operational Effectiveness": the first of a series of articles on the concept of "operational effectiveness" Achieving Operational Effectiveness by leveraging knowledge: the second in our series on Operational Effectiveness. Customising your Disaster Recovery Plan : your business is unique, your DRP should be too