Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace11level
2: substantive editing—Look closely at the content, organization, and design of the document to make sure your readers can find the infor–mation they need.level
3: copy editing—Pay close attention to the document’s sentences, para-graphs, and graphics to make sure they are clear, accurate, and efficient.level
4: proofreading—Carefully proofread your document to eliminate gram-matical problems, typographical errors (typos), spelling errors, and usage mistakes. Documents with even the smallest errors will be rejected by clients and other readers because they see these kinds of errors as a sign of low-quality work. So solid editing and close proofreading are especially important before a project is completed.How Are Technical Communication and Entrepreneurship Related?1.3 identify the features that technical communication and entrepreneurship have in common.The relationship between technical communication and entrepreneurship might not be immediately apparent to people who haven’t worked in technical fields. The
organization’s name is easy to find.Topics are listed clearly.The written text is easy to skim.Color adds energy.A photo addsa human quality and action.Figure 1.4Design Is Very Important Because readers are raiders of information, you want the design of your document to be visually accessible.SOURCE: American Red Cross,http://www.redcross.orgM01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1102/11/16 2:24 PM Property of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
12Chapter 1 For the sake of comparison, let’s put the definitions of technical communication and entrepreneurship in one place so we can talk about how they are interrelated.Technical communication is a process of managing technical information in ways that allow people to take action.Entrepreneurship is a process of sensing new opportunities, developing new products and services, creating new methods of production, and constructively reorganizing resources in new ways.In these two definitions, you should see many parallels.
Technical communication and entrepreneurship are both processes that feature creativity, innovation, persuasion, and production. They both stress taking action.All right, but what does technical communication have to do with being entrepreneurial? The answer is . . . everything. Today, we live in an age of entrepreneur–ship, and technical communication provides critical tools that innovative people need to come up with new ideas, persuade others to support these new ideas, develop business plans, and turn ideas into reality. Do you need to launch a start-up company to be an entrepreneur? No. Being entrepreneurial means being innovative, self-reliant, and persistent, whether you are working for yourself or for a company. Today’s employers are looking for people who are always coming up with new ideas and searching for ways to improve products, services, and ways to get things done.Key Characteristics of Technical Communication1
.4 identify the key characteristics of technical communication.Let’s take a closer look at the parallels between entrepreneurship and technical communication. Here are some of the key characteristics of technical communication:highly Mobile, interactive, and adaptable—Today, people are accessing technical documents and presentations through their mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, so these texts need to be highly mobile, interactive, and adapt-able. You will be constantly updating and adjusting these mobile documents and presentations to the changing needs of users, clients, and customers.
Reader centered—In technical communication, readers play a central role in the development of documents and presentations. Technical communication focuses on what the readers “need to know.” As a result, you will spend a great amount of time and effort anticipating what your readers need and how they will react to your ideas.Team oriented—Technical workplaces are highly collaborative, which means you will regularly work with teams of specialists on almost every project. Documents and presentations are produced by teams and shared M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1202/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace13through Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft One Drive. Working and writing in collaborative teams will take up a significant amount of your time on technical projects.highly visual—Technical documents need to be highly visual so that readers can easily locate the information they need. Visual features, such as headings, bulleted lists, diagrams, and photos, are both common and expected by readers (Figure 1.5). Graphs and charts are used to illustrate interesting points and visualize important trends. Your documents and presentations need to be attractive and colorful if you are going to keep your readers’ attention.shaped by ethical, legal, and political issues—Ethics, laws, and politics are core features of today’s technical workplace. Every day, mobile technologies are pushing ethical and legal boundaries involving privacy, security, production, and property. Meanwhile, management structures are flatter and more flexible than ever, which means employees at all levels are being asked to take on more decision-making responsibilities. As a result, you will sometimes need to sort out the ethical, legal, and political aspects of technical decisions for yourself.shaped by international and Trans- cultural Demands—Technology companies must compete in the global workplace. More than likely, you will be regularly collaborating with people who live in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America. Your clients and customers will be incredibly diverse in culture and place. As a result, you will be communicating with people who speak other languages and have other customs and expectations. You will need to learn how to anticipate and adjust to those international and trans -cultural demands.
Link For more information on visual design, see Chapter 17.Link To learn about communicating internationally and trans-culturally, go to Chapter 2.AT A GLANCE Qualities of Technical Communication Technical communication is:• highly mobile, interactive, and adaptable• reader centered• team oriented• highly visual• multidimensional, involving ethics, laws, and politics• shaped by international and trans-cultural demands-Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs1
.5 identify eight traits of a successful entrepreneur.With these key characteristics of technical communication in line, let’s com-pare them to the traits of successful entrepreneurs. When corporate leaders are surveyed about the traits of an entrepreneur, they regularly mention the M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.in add 1302/11/16 2:24 PM Property of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
14Chapter 1 following eight key traits, all of which are strongly related to technical communication:innovator—To be successful in the technical workplace, you will need to identify trends, come up with new solutions to problems, figure out reasonable risks, and develop new ways to look at existing products and services. You need to be able to put those innovative ideas into written and spoken form.leader—Leadership involves thinking strategically, identifying desired outcomes, setting goals, and delegating to others. In today’s technical workplace, leadership responsibilities are often shared within teams, as individuals take on leadership responsibilities when their specialized skills are needed. Your ability to lead others will be dependent upon your ability to express your ideas clearly, while persuading others to take action.listener—You should always be ready to listen to customers, colleagues, and mentors. Read up on new trends and do research to better understand what is going on. Listening means soaking up the information available so that you can recognize important changes and identify potential problems. It also means hearing what clients and customers are trying to tell you while putting their criticism to good use—even when that criticism stings.network savvy—Today’s technical workplaces are highly networked and collaborative, meaning you will likely work with an evolving team of specialists on almost every project. Of course, you will need to be highly mobile, with an ability to communicate through your phone, tablet, or laptop. You will need to be comfortable with videoconferencing and tele-commuting. Also, you will need to know how to build solid relationships with colleagues, customers, and clients. Many of these relationships will be online, although face-to-face interactions will still be important.self-Reliant—Today’s technical workplaces are evolving quickly, meaning employers are looking for people who are self-starters with discipline, determination, and know-how. Self-reliance means believing in yourself, even when others are hesitating. You need to trust in your own knowledge and skills to solve problems and move forward.ethical—Being ethical goes beyond doing the right thing. It also means understanding and respecting the rights of others. It means following the appropriate laws and guidelines. It means treating people fairly and showing respect for their needs. Ethical behavior can help you forge powerful relationships that will be beneficial in the future. Unethical decisions, meanwhile, may allow you to solve a short-term problem, but they can lead to much more severe legal and financial consequences in the future.Resilient—Setbacks and even failures are not uncommon in the technical workplace. This simple truth can be stressful for new graduates who have Link For more information on working in teams, see Chapter 3.Link Ethical, legal, and political issues are discussed in Chapter 4.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.in dd 1402/11/16 2:24 PM Property of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace15Figure 1.5The Importance of Visual Design Visual design is an essential part of technical communication.SOURCE: International Energy Agency, 201117Smart grid technologies Th e many smart grid technology areas – each consisting of sets of individual technologies –span the entire grid, from generation through transmission and distribution to various types of electricity consumers. Some of the technologies are actively being deployed and are considered mature in both their development and application, while others require further development and demonstration. A fully optimised electricity system will deploy al l the technology areas in Figure 8. However, not all technology areas need to be installed to increase the “smartness” of the grid. Wide-area monitoring and control Real-time monitoring and display of power-system components and performance, across interconnections and over large geographic areas, help system operators to understand and optimise power system components, behaviour and performance. Advanced system operation tools avoid blackouts and facilitate the integration of variable renewable en energy resources. Monitoring and control technologies along with advanced system analytics – including wide-area situational awareness (WASA), wide-area monitoring systems (WAMS), an d wide-area adaptive protection, control and automation (WAAPCA) – generate data to in form decision making, mitigate wide-area disturbances, and improve transmission capacity and reliability. Information and communications technology integration Underlying communications infrastructure, whether using private utility communication networks (radio networks, meter mesh networks) or public carriers and networks (Internet, cellular, Smart grid deployment Figure 8. Smart gr id technology areas Source: Technology categories and descriptions adapted from NETL, 2010 and NIST, 2010.Smart grid deployment Generation Transmission Distribution Industrial Service Residential Information and communications technology (ICT) integration Wide-area monitoring and control Renewable and distributed generation integration Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)Distribution grid management Customer-side systems (CS)EV charging infrastructure Transmission enhancement applications Transmission lines Transmission substation Distribution substation Distribution lines Padmount transformerKEY POINT: Smart grids encompass a variety of technologies that span the electricity system. An easy-to-read title identifies the document’s subject.Headings make the text highly scannable.The two-column format makes the text easy to read quickly.Visuals and color addenergy.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1502/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
16Chapter 1 primarily experienced success in school. Resilience means being flexible and adaptable. It means staying determined and keeping calm under pres-sure. It means bouncing back when things don’t go the way you expected. Setbacks will happen; resilient people respond in a constructive way.communicator—Finally, you would be hard-pressed to find a corporate leader who didn’t rank the ability to communicate near the top of her or his “must have” list for successful people, especially entrepreneurs. In today’s networked workplace, you will be in continuous contact with others, and writing and speaking are the means through which you will communicate with them. Your ability to communicate clearly, con-fidently, and persuasively will play an important role in your success.How Important Is Technical Communication?1.6 Recognize the importance of effective written and spoken communication to your career.At this point, you might still be wondering how important technical communication will be to your career. Simply put, technical communication is critical to your The Entrepreneurial MindsetIn today’s technical workplace, everyone is expected to think like an entrepreneur.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.idd 1602/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace17success, and here’s the proof. A recent study published in the major engineering journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) found that engineers spend over 50 percent of their workday communicating through writing, including e-mails, proposals, specifications, and reports (Levine, Allard & Tenopir, 2011). The International Federation of Engineering Education Societies in 2013 listed the following twenty attributes of a “global engineer.”aTTRibuTes oF a global engineeR1.Demonstrates an understanding of engineering, science, and mathemat-ics fundamentals2.Demonstrates an understanding of political, social, and economic perspectives3.Demonstrates an understanding of information technology, digital com-petency, and information literacy4.Demonstrates an understanding of stages/phases of product life cycle (design, prototyping, testing, production, distribution channels, supplier management, etc.)5.Demonstrates an understanding of project planning, management, andthe impacts of projects on various stakeholder groups (project team members, project sponsor, project client, end users, etc.)6.Demonstrates an understanding of the ethical and business norms and ap-plies norms effectively in a given context (organization, industry, country, etc.)7.Communicates effectively in a variety of different ways, methods, and media (written, verbal/oral, graphic, listening, electronically, etc.)8.Communicates effectively to both technical and nontechnical audiences9.Possesses an international/global perspective10.Possesses fluency in at least two languages11.Possesses the ability to think both critically and creatively12.Possesses the ability to think both individually and cooperatively13.Functions effectively on a team (understands team goals, contributes effec-tively to teamwork, supports team decisions, respects team members, etc.)14.Maintains a positive self-image and possesses positive self-confidence15.Maintains a high level of professional competence16.Embraces a commitment to quality principles/standards and continuous improvement17.Embraces an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary perspective18.Applies personal and professional judgment in effectively making deci-sions and managing risks19.Mentors or helps others accomplish goals/tasks20.Shows initiative and demonstrates a willingness to learnM01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1702/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
18Chapter 1 In this list, communication is ranked seventh and eighth among the most important traits. Meanwhile, over half of the skills listed here are ones you will learn in a technical communication course.Over and over, research is showing the importance of communication in the technical workplace. According to a 2013 survey by the Workforce Solutions Group, over 60 percent of employers report that new applicants lack the “com-munication and interpersonal skills” needed for the technical workplace. Profi-ciency in math and science are important, according to the survey, but “communications ranked as the top basic skill in demand” (p. 30).According to the report, “A Ticket to Work . . . or a Ticket Out,” from the National Commission on Writing, weak writing skills are the “kiss of death” for employees. In fact, 51 percent of companies say they “frequently or almost always take writing into consideration when hiring salaried employees” (p. 9).Fortunately, right now you can learn how to write and speak effectively in the technical workplace. With guidance and practice, anyone can learn to write and speak well. In this course, you have a golden opportunity to develop these important technical communication skills. These skills will help you land the job you want, and they will help you succeed.In the global market, the ability to communicate is the key to success.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1802/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace19What You Need to Know• By consciously developing a writing process, you will learn how to write more efficiently. In other words, you will “work smarter, not harder.”• A useful workplace writing process includes the following stages: research-ing and planning, organizing and drafting, improving the style, designing, and revising and editing.• Technical writing genres are helpful for organizing information into pat-terns that your readers will recognize and understand.• Entrepreneurship is now a key component of any technical workplace, whether you are working for a company or starting your own business.• Technical communication is defined as a process of managing technical in-formation in ways that allow people to take action.• Entrepreneurship is a process of sensing new opportunities, developing new products and services, creating new methods of production, and con-structively reorganizing resources in new ways.• Technical communication is visual, interactive, adaptable, reader centered, and often produced in teams.• Technical communication has ethical, political, international, and transcul-tural dimensions that must be considered.• Corporate leaders regularly list the following traits to define an entrepre-neur: innovator, leader, listener, network savvy, self-reliant, ethical, resilient, communicator.• Effective written and spoken communication will be vital to your career.Exercises and ProjectsIndividual or Team Projects1.Locate a document that is used in a technical workplace through a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. To find documents, type in keywords like “report,” “proposal,” “instructions,” and “presentation.” You might find it helpful to limit your search to documents in PDF format.What characteristics make the document you found a form of technical communication? Develop a two-minute presentation for your class in which you highlight these characteristics of the document. Compare and contrast the document with academic essays you have written for your other classes.2.Using a search engine on the Internet, locate a professional who works in your chosen field. Write an e-mail asking that person what kinds of docu-ments or presentations he or she needs to produce. Ask how much time the person devotes to communication on the job. Ask whether he or she has some advice about how to gain and improve the communication skills that M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1902/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
XvVq7SOoRY620Chapter 1 you will need in your career. Write a memo to your instructor in which you summarize your findings.3.Identify an entrepreneur who works in an area similar to the career you want to pursue. This person could either be someone who started her or his own business or someone who is working within a company. Write a brief bio of this person in which you discuss what qualities made this person a successful entrepreneur. You can learn about writing a bio at the end of Chapter 5, “Starting Your Career.”Collaborative Project: Writing a Course Mission StatementAs you begin this course, it is a good idea for your class to develop a common understanding of the course objectives and outcomes. Companies develop mis–sion statements to help focus their efforts and keep their employees striving to–ward common goals. Corporate mission statements are typically general and nonspecific, but they set an agenda or tone for how the company will do busi–ness internally and with its clients.Your task in this assignment is to work with a group to develop a “Course Mission Statement” in which you lay out your expectations for the course, your instructor, and yourselves. To write the mission statement, follow these steps:1.Use an Internet search engine to find examples of mission statements. Just type “mission statement” into Google, Bing, or Yahoo.2.In class, with your group, identify the common characteristics of these mission statements. Pay special attention to their content, organization, and style. Make note of their common features.3.With your group, write your own course mission statement. Be sure to include goals you would like the course to meet. You might also want to develop an “ethics statement” that talks about your approach to ethical issues associated with assignments, course readings, and attendance.4.Compare your group’s course mission statement with other groups’ mission statements. Note places where your statement is similar to, and different from, their statements.When your course mission statement is complete, it should provide a one-paragraph description of what you are trying to achieve in this course.
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace11level 2: substantive editing—Look closely at the content, organization, and design of the document to make sure your readers can find the infor–mation they need.level 3: copyediting—Pay close attention to the document’s sentences, para-graphs, and graphics to make sure they are clear, accurate, and efficient.level 4: proofreading—Carefully proofread your document to eliminate gram-matical problems, typographical errors (typos), spelling errors, and usage mistakes. Documents with even the smallest errors will be rejected by clients and other readers because they see these kinds of errors as a sign of low-quality work. So solid editing and close proofreading are especially important before a project is completed.How Are Technical Communication and Entrepreneurship Related?1.3 identify the features that technical communication and entrepreneurship have in common.The relationship between technical communication and entrepreneurship might not be immediately apparent to people who haven’t worked in technical fields. Teorganization’sname is easyto find.Topics arelisted clearly.The writtentext is easyto skim.Color addsenergy.A photo addsa humanquality andaction.Figure 1.4Design Is Very ImportantBecause readers are raiders of information, you want the design of your document to be visually accessible.SOURCE: American Red Cross,http://www.redcross.orgM01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1102/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
12Chapter 1 For the sake of comparison, let’s put the definitions of technical communication and entrepreneurship in one place so we can talk about how they are interrelated.Technical communication is a process of managing technical information in ways that allow people to take action.Entrepreneurship is a process of sensing new opportunities, developing new products and services, creating new methods of production, and constructively reorganizing resources in new ways.In these two definitions, you should see many parallels. Technical commu-nication and entrepreneurship are both processes that feature creativity, innova-tion, persuasion, and production. They both stress taking action.All right, but what does technical communication have to do with being entre-preneurial? The answer is . . . everything. Today, we live in an age of entrepreneur–ship, and technical communication provides critical tools that innovative people need to come up with new ideas, persuade others to support these new ideas, develop business plans, and turn ideas into reality. Do you need to launch a start-up company to be an entrepreneur? No. Being entrepreneurial means being innovative, self-reliant, and persistent, whether you are working for yourself or for a company. Today’s employers are looking for people who are always coming up with new ideas and searching for ways to improve products, services, and ways to get things done.Key Characteristics of Technical Communication1.4 identify the key characteristics of technical communication.Let’s take a closer look at the parallels between entrepreneurship and technical com-munication. Here are some of the key characteristics of technical communication:highly Mobile, interactive, and adaptable—Today, people are accessing tech-nical documents and presentations through their mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, so these texts need to be highly mobile, interactive, and adapt-able. You will be constantly updating and adjusting these mobile documents and presentations to the changing needs of users, clients, and customers.Reader centered—In technical communication, readers play a central role in the development of documents and presentations. Technical commu-nication focuses on what the readers “need to know.” As a result, you will spend a great amount of time and effort anticipating what your readers need and how they will react to your ideas.Team oriented—Technical workplaces are highly collaborative, which means you will regularly work with teams of specialists on almost every project. Documents and presentations are produced by teams and shared M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1202/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace13through Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. Working and writing in collaborative teams will take up a significant amount of your time on technical projects.highly visual—Technical documents need to be highly visual so that readers can easily locate the information they need. Visual features, such as headings, bulleted lists, diagrams, and photos, are both common and expected by read-ers (Figure 1.5). Graphs and charts are used to illustrate interesting points and visualize important trends. Your documents and presentations need to be attractive and colorful if you are going to keep your readers’ attention.shaped by ethical, legal, and political issues—Ethics, laws, and politics are core features of today’s technical workplace. Every day, mobile tech-nologies are pushing ethical and legal boundaries involving privacy, se-curity, production, and property. Meanwhile, management structures are flatter and more flexible than ever, which means employees at all levels are being asked to take on more decision-making responsibilities. As a result, you will sometimes need to sort out the ethical, legal, and political aspects of technical decisions for yourself.shaped by international and Transcultural Demands—Technology com-panies must compete in the global workplace. More than likely, you will be regularly collaborating with people who live in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America. Your clients and customers will be incred-ibly diverse in culture and place. As a result, you will be communicating with people who speak other languages and have other customs and ex-pectations. You will need to learn how to anticipate and adjust to those international and transcultural demands.LinkFor more information on visual design, see Chapter 17.LinkTo learn about communicating internationally and transculturally, go to Chapter 2.AT A GLANCEQualities of Technical CommunicationTechnical communication is:• highly mobile, interactive, and adaptable• reader centered• team oriented• highly visual• multidimensional, involving ethics, laws, and politics• shaped by international and transcultural demandsTraits of Successful Entrepreneurs1.5 identify eight traits of a successful entrepreneur.With these key characteristics of technical communication in line, let’s com-pare them to the traits of successful entrepreneurs. When corporate leaders are surveyed about the traits of an entrepreneur, they regularly mention the M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1302/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
14Chapter 1 following eight key traits, all of which are strongly related to technical communication:innovator—To be successful in the technical workplace, you will need to identify trends, come up with new solutions to problems, figure out rea-sonable risks, and develop new ways to look at existing products and services. You need to be able to put those innovative ideas into written and spoken form.leader—Leadership involves thinking strategically, identifying desired outcomes, setting goals, and delegating to others. In today’s technical workplace, leadership responsibilities are often shared within teams, as individuals take on leadership responsibilities when their specialized skills are needed. Your ability to lead others will be dependent upon your ability to express your ideas clearly, while persuading others to take action.listener—You should always be ready to listen to customers, colleagues, and mentors. Read up on new trends and do research to better understand what is going on. Listening means soaking up the information available so that you can recognize important changes and identify potential problems. It also means hearing what clients and customers are trying to tell you while putting their criticism to good use—even when that criticism stings.network savvy—Today’s technical workplaces are highly networked and collaborative, meaning you will likely work with an evolving team of specialists on almost every project. Of course, you will need to be highly mobile, with an ability to communicate through your phone, tablet, or laptop. You will need to be comfortable with videoconferencing and tele-commuting. Also, you will need to know how to build solid relationships with colleagues, customers, and clients. Many of these relationships will be online, although face-to-face interactions will still be important.self-Reliant—Today’s technical workplaces are evolving quickly, meaning employers are looking for people who are self-starters with discipline, determination, and know-how. Self-reliance means believing in yourself, even when others are hesitating. You need to trust in your own knowl-edge and skills to solve problems and move forward.ethical—Being ethical goes beyond doing the right thing. It also means un-derstanding and respecting the rights of others. It means following the appropriate laws and guidelines. It means treating people fairly and showing respect for their needs. Ethical behavior can help you forge powerful relationships that will be beneficial in the future. Unethical de-cisions, meanwhile, may allow you to solve a short-term problem, but they can lead to much more severe legal and financial consequences in the future.Resilient—Setbacks and even failures are not uncommon in the technical workplace. This simple truth can be stressful for new graduates who have LinkFor more information on working in teams, see Chapter 3.LinkEthical, legal, and political issues are discussed in Chapter 4.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1402/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace15Figure 1.5The Importance of Visual DesignVisual design is an essential part of technical communication.SOURCE: International Energy Agency, 201117Smart grid technologiesTh e many smart grid technology areas – each consisting of sets of individual technologies –span the entire grid, from ge neration through transmission and distribution to various types of electricity consumers. Some of the technologies ar e actively being deployed and are considered mature in both their development and application, while others require further development and demonstration. A fully optimised electricity system will deploy al l the technology areas in Figure 8. However, not all technology areas need to be installed to increase the “smartness” of the grid. Wide-area monitoringand control Real-time monitoring and display of power-system components and performance, across interconnections and over large geographic areas, help system operators to understand and optimise power system components, behaviour and performance. Advanced system operation tools avoid blackouts and facilitate the integration of variable renewable en ergy resources. Monitoring and control technologies along with advanced system analytics – including wide-area situational awareness (WASA), wide-area monitoring systems (WAMS), an d wide-area adaptive protection, control and automation (WAAPCA) – generate data to in form decision making, mitigate wide-area disturbances, and improve transmission capacity and reliability. Information and communications technology integrationUnderlying communications infrastructure, whether using private utility communication networks (radio networks, meter mesh networks) or public carriers and networks (Internet, ce llular, Smart grid deploymentFigure 8. Smart gr id technology areas Source: Technology categories and descriptions adapted from NETL, 2010 and NIST, 2010.Smart grid deploymentGenerationTransmissionDistributionIndustrialServiceResidentialInformation and communications technology (ICT) integrationWide-area monitoring and controlRenewable and distributed generationintegrationAdvanced metering infrastructure (AMI)Distribution gridmanagementCustomer-side systems (CS)EV charging infrastructureTransmissionenhancement applicationsTransmission linesTransmissionsubstationDistributionsubstationDistribution linesPadmounttransformerKEY POINT: Smart grids encompass a variety of technologies that span the electricity system. An easy-to-read title identifies thedocument’ssubject.Headingsmake thetext highlyscannable.The two-column formatmakes thetext easy toread quickly.Visuals andcolor addenergy.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1502/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
16Chapter 1 primarily experienced success in school. Resilience means being flexible and adaptable. It means staying determined and keeping calm under pres-sure. It means bouncing back when things don’t go the way you expected. Setbacks will happen; resilient people respond in a constructive way.communicator—Finally, you would be hard-pressed to find a corporate leader who didn’t rank the ability to communicate near the top of her or his “must have” list for successful people, especially entrepreneurs. In today’s networked workplace, you will be in continuous contact with others, and writing and speaking are the means through which you will communicate with them. Your ability to communicate clearly, con-fidently, and persuasively will play an important role in your success.How Important Is Technical Communication?1.6 Recognize the importance of effective written and spoken communication to your career.At this point, you might still be wondering how important technical communica-tion will be to your career. Simply put, technical communication is critical to your The Entrepreneurial MindsetIn today’s technical workplace, everyone is expected to think like an entrepreneur.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1602/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace17success, and here’s the proof. A recent study published in the major engineering journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) found that engineers spend over 50 percent of their workday communicating through writing, including e-mails, proposals, specifications, and reports (Levine, Allard & Tenopir, 2011). The International Federation of Engineering Education Societies in 2013 listed the following twenty attributes of a “global engineer.”aTTRibuTes oF a global engineeR1.Demonstrates an understanding of engineering, science, and mathemat-ics fundamentals2.Demonstrates an understanding of political, social, and economic perspectives3.Demonstrates an understanding of information technology, digital com-petency, and information literacy4.Demonstrates an understanding of stages/phases of product life cycle (design, prototyping, testing, production, distribution channels, supplier management, etc.)5.Demonstrates an understanding of project planning, management, andthe impacts of projects on various stakeholder groups (project team members, project sponsor, project client, end users, etc.)6.Demonstrates an understanding of the ethical and business norms and ap-plies norms effectively in a given context (organization, industry, country, etc.)7.Communicates effectively in a variety of different ways, methods, and media (written, verbal/oral, graphic, listening, electronically, etc.)8.Communicates effectively to both technical and nontechnical audiences9.Possesses an international/global perspective10.Possesses fluency in at least two languages11.Possesses the ability to think both critically and creatively12.Possesses the ability to think both individually and cooperatively13.Functions effectively on a team (understands team goals, contributes effec-tively to teamwork, supports team decisions, respects team members, etc.)14.Maintains a positive self-image and possesses positive self-confidence15.Maintains a high level of professional competence16.Embraces a commitment to quality principles/standards and continuous improvement17.Embraces an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary perspective18.Applies personal and professional judgment in effectively making deci-sions and managing risks19.Mentors or helps others accomplish goals/tasks20.Shows initiative and demonstrates a willingness to learnM01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1702/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
18Chapter 1 In this list, communication is ranked seventh and eighth among the most important traits. Meanwhile, over half of the skills listed here are ones you will learn in a technical communication course.Over and over, research is showing the importance of communication in the technical workplace. According to a 2013 survey by the Workforce Solutions Group, over 60 percent of employers report that new applicants lack the “com-munication and interpersonal skills” needed for the technical workplace. Profi-ciency in math and science are important, according to the survey, but “communications ranked as the top basic skill in demand” (p. 30).According to the report, “A Ticket to Work . . . or a Ticket Out,” from the National Commission on Writing, weak writing skills are the “kiss of death” for employees. In fact, 51 percent of companies say they “frequently or almost always take writing into consideration when hiring salaried employees” (p. 9).Fortunately, right now you can learn how to write and speak effectively in the technical workplace. With guidance and practice, anyone can learn to write and speak well. In this course, you have a golden opportunity to develop these important technical communication skills. These skills will help you land the job you want, and they will help you succeed.In the global market, the ability to communicate is the key to success.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1802/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace19What You Need to Know• By consciously developing a writing process, you will learn how to write more efficiently. In other words, you will “work smarter, not harder.”• A useful workplace writing process includes the following stages: research-ing and planning, organizing and drafting, improving the style, designing, and revising and editing.• Technical writing genres are helpful for organizing information into pat-terns that your readers will recognize and understand.• Entrepreneurship is now a key component of any technical workplace, whether you are working for a company or starting your own business.• Technical communication is defined as a process of managing technical in-formation in ways that allow people to take action.• Entrepreneurship is a process of sensing new opportunities, developing new products and services, creating new methods of production, and con-structively reorganizing resources in new ways.• Technical communication is visual, interactive, adaptable, reader centered, and often produced in teams.• Technical communication has ethical, political, international, and transcul-tural dimensions that must be considered.• Corporate leaders regularly list the following traits to define an entrepre-neur: innovator, leader, listener, network savvy, self-reliant, ethical, resilient, communicator.• Effective written and spoken communication will be vital to your career.Exercises and ProjectsIndividual or Team Projects1.Locate a document that is used in a technical workplace through a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. To find documents, type in keywords like “report,” “proposal,” “instructions,” and “presentation.” You might find it helpful to limit your search to documents in PDF format.What characteristics make the document you found a form of technical communication? Develop a two-minute presentation for your class in which you highlight these characteristics of the document. Compare and contrast the document with academic essays you have written for your other classes.2.Using a search engine on the Internet, locate a professional who works in your chosen field. Write an e-mail asking that person what kinds of docu-ments or presentations he or she needs to produce. Ask how much time the person devotes to communication on the job. Ask whether he or she has some advice about how to gain and improve the communication skills that M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1902/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
XvVq7SOoRY620Chapter 1 you will need in your career. Write a memo to your instructor in which you summarize your findings.3.Identify an entrepreneur who works in an area similar to the career you want to pursue. This person could either be someone who started her or his own business or someone who is working within a company. Write a brief bio of this person in which you discuss what qualities made this person a successful entrepreneur. You can learn about writing a bio at the end of Chapter 5, “Starting Your Career.”Collaborative Project: Writing a Course Mission StatementAs you begin this course, it is a good idea for your class to develop a common understanding of the course objectives and outcomes. Companies develop mis–sion statements to help focus their efforts and keep their employees striving to–ward common goals. Corporate mission statements are typically general and nonspecific, but they set an agenda or tone for how the company will do busi–ness internally and with its clients.Your task in this assignment is to work with a group to develop a “Course Mission Statement” in which you lay out your expectations for the course, your instructor, and yourselves. To write the mission statement, follow these steps:1.Use an Internet search engine to find examples of mission statements. Just type “mission statement” into Google, Bing, or Yahoo.2.In class, with your group, identify the common characteristics of these mission statements. Pay special attention to their content, organization, and style. Make note of their common features.3.With your group, write your own course mission statement. Be sure to include goals you would like the course to meet. You might also want to develop an “ethics statement” that talks about your approach to ethical issues associated with assignments, course readings, and attendance.4.Compare your group’s course mission statement with other groups’ mission statements. Note places where your statement is similar to, and different from, their statements.When your course mission statement is complete, it should provide a one-paragraph description of what you are trying to achieve in this course.
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace11level 2: substantive editing—Look closely at the content, organization, and design of the document to make sure your readers can find the infor–mation they need.level 3: copyediting—Pay close attention to the document’s sentences, para-graphs, and graphics to make sure they are clear, accurate, and efficient.level 4: proofreading—Carefully proofread your document to eliminate gram-matical problems, typographical errors (typos), spelling errors, and usage mistakes. Documents with even the smallest errors will be rejected by clients and other readers because they see these kinds of errors as a sign of low-quality work. So solid editing and close proofreading are especially important before a project is completed.How Are Technical Communication and Entrepreneurship Related?1.3 identify the features that technical communication and entrepreneurship have in common.The relationship between technical communication and entrepreneurship might not be immediately apparent to people who haven’t worked in technical fields. Theorganization’sname is easyto find.Topics arelisted clearly.The writtentext is easyto skim.Color addsenergy.A photo addsa humanquality andaction.Figure 1.4Design Is Very ImportantBecause readers are raiders of information, you want the design of your document to be visually accessible.SOURCE: American Red Cross,http://www.redcross.orgM01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1102/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
12Chapter 1 For the sake of comparison, let’s put the definitions of technical communication and entrepreneurship in one place so we can talk about how they are interrelated.Technical communication is a process of managing technical information in ways that allow people to take action.Entrepreneurship is a process of sensing new opportunities, developing new products and services, creating new methods of production, and constructively reorganizing resources in new ways.In these two definitions, you should see many parallels. Technical commu-nication and entrepreneurship are both processes that feature creativity, innova-tion, persuasion, and production. They both stress taking action.All right, but what does technical communication have to do with being entre-preneurial? The answer is . . . everything. Today, we live in an age of entrepreneur–ship, and technical communication provides critical tools that innovative people need to come up with new ideas, persuade others to support these new ideas, develop business plans, and turn ideas into reality. Do you need to launch a start-up company to be an entrepreneur? No. Being entrepreneurial means being innovative, self-reliant, and persistent, whether you are working for yourself or for a company. Today’s employers are looking for people who are always coming up with new ideas and searching for ways to improve products, services, and ways to get things done.Key Characteristics of Technical Communication1.4 identify the key characteristics of technical communication.Let’s take a closer look at the parallels between entrepreneurship and technical com-munication. Here are some of the key characteristics of technical communication:highly Mobile, interactive, and adaptable—Today, people are accessing tech-nical documents and presentations through their mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, so these texts need to be highly mobile, interactive, and adapt-able. You will be constantly updating and adjusting these mobile documents and presentations to the changing needs of users, clients, and customers.Reader centered—In technical communication, readers play a central role in the development of documents and presentations. Technical commu-nication focuses on what the readers “need to know.” As a result, you will spend a great amount of time and effort anticipating what your readers need and how they will react to your ideas.Team oriented—Technical workplaces are highly collaborative, which means you will regularly work with teams of specialists on almost every project. Documents and presentations are produced by teams and shared M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1202/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace13through Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. Working and writing in collaborative teams will take up a significant amount of your time on technical projects.highly visual—Technical documents need to be highly visual so that readers can easily locate the information they need. Visual features, such as headings, bulleted lists, diagrams, and photos, are both common and expected by read-ers (Figure 1.5). Graphs and charts are used to illustrate interesting points and visualize important trends. Your documents and presentations need to be attractive and colorful if you are going to keep your readers’ attention.shaped by ethical, legal, and political issues—Ethics, laws, and politics are core features of today’s technical workplace. Every day, mobile tech-nologies are pushing ethical and legal boundaries involving privacy, se-curity, production, and property. Meanwhile, management structures are flatter and more flexible than ever, which means employees at all levels are being asked to take on more decision-making responsibilities. As a result, you will sometimes need to sort out the ethical, legal, and political aspects of technical decisions for yourself.shaped by international and Transcultural Demands—Technology com-panies must compete in the global workplace. More than likely, you will be regularly collaborating with people who live in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America. Your clients and customers will be incred-ibly diverse in culture and place. As a result, you will be communicating with people who speak other languages and have other customs and ex-pectations. You will need to learn how to anticipate and adjust to those international and transcultural demands.LinkFor more information on visual design, see Chapter 17.LinkTo learn about communicating internationally and transculturally, go to Chapter 2.AT A GLANCEQualities of Technical CommunicationTechnical communication is:• highly mobile, interactive, and adaptable• reader centered• team oriented• highly visual• multidimensional, involving ethics, laws, and politics• shaped by international and transcultural demandsTraits of Successful Entrepreneurs1.5 identify eight traits of a successful entrepreneur.With these key characteristics of technical communication in line, let’s com-pare them to the traits of successful entrepreneurs. When corporate leaders are surveyed about the traits of an entrepreneur, they regularly mention the M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1302/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
14Chapter 1 following eight key traits, all of which are strongly related to technical communication:innovator—To be successful in the technical workplace, you will need to identify trends, come up with new solutions to problems, figure out rea-sonable risks, and develop new ways to look at existing products and services. You need to be able to put those innovative ideas into written and spoken form.leader—Leadership involves thinking strategically, identifying desired outcomes, setting goals, and delegating to others. In today’s technical workplace, leadership responsibilities are often shared within teams, as individuals take on leadership responsibilities when their specialized skills are needed. Your ability to lead others will be dependent upon your ability to express your ideas clearly, while persuading others to take action.listener—You should always be ready to listen to customers, colleagues, and mentors. Read up on new trends and do research to better understand what is going on. Listening means soaking up the information available so that you can recognize important changes and identify potential problems. It also means hearing what clients and customers are trying to tell you while putting their criticism to good use—even when that criticism stings.network savvy—Today’s technical workplaces are highly networked and collaborative, meaning you will likely work with an evolving team of specialists on almost every project. Of course, you will need to be highly mobile, with an ability to communicate through your phone, tablet, or laptop. You will need to be comfortable with videoconferencing and tele-commuting. Also, you will need to know how to build solid relationships with colleagues, customers, and clients. Many of these relationships will be online, although face-to-face interactions will still be important.self-Reliant—Today’s technical workplaces are evolving quickly, meaning employers are looking for people who are self-starters with discipline, determination, and know-how. Self-reliance means believing in yourself, even when others are hesitating. You need to trust in your own knowl-edge and skills to solve problems and move forward.ethical—Being ethical goes beyond doing the right thing. It also means un-derstanding and respecting the rights of others. It means following the appropriate laws and guidelines. It means treating people fairly and showing respect for their needs. Ethical behavior can help you forge powerful relationships that will be beneficial in the future. Unethical de-cisions, meanwhile, may allow you to solve a short-term problem, but they can lead to much more severe legal and financial consequences in the future.Resilient—Setbacks and even failures are not uncommon in the technical workplace. This simple truth can be stressful for new graduates who have LinkFor more information on working in teams, see Chapter 3.LinkEthical, legal, and political issues are discussed in Chapter 4.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1402/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace15Figure 1.5The Importance of Visual DesignVisual design is an essential part of technical communication.SOURCE: International Energy Agency, 201117Smart grid technologiesTh e many smart grid technology areas – each consisting of sets of individual technologies –span the entire grid, from ge neration through transmission and distribution to various types of electricity consumers. Some of the technologies ar e actively being deployed and are considered mature in both their development and application, while others require further development and demonstration. A fully optimised electricity system will deploy al l the technology areas in Figure 8. However, not all technology areas need to be installed to increase the “smartness” of the grid. Wide-area monitoringand control Real-time monitoring and display of power-system components and performance, across interconnections and over large geographic areas, help system operators to understand and optimise power system components, behaviour and performance. Advanced system operation tools avoid blackouts and facilitate the integration of variable renewable en ergy resources. Monitoring and control technologies along with advanced system analytics – including wide-area situational awareness (WASA), wide-area monitoring systems (WAMS), an d wide-area adaptive protection, control and automation (WAAPCA) – generate data to in form decision making, mitigate wide-area disturbances, and improve transmission capacity and reliability. Information and communications technology integrationUnderlying communications infrastructure, whether using private utility communication networks (radio networks, meter mesh networks) or public carriers and networks (Internet, ce llular, Smart grid deploymentFigure 8. Smart gr id technology areas Source: Technology categories and descriptions adapted from NETL, 2010 and NIST, 2010.Smart grid deploymentGenerationTransmissionDistributionIndustrialServiceResidentialInformation and communications technology (ICT) integrationWide-area monitoring and controlRenewable and distributed generationintegrationAdvanced metering infrastructure (AMI)Distribution gridmanagementCustomer-side systems (CS)EV charging infrastructureTransmissionenhancement applicationsTransmission linesTransmissionsubstationDistributionsubstationDistribution linesPadmounttransformerKEY POINT: Smart grids encompass a variety of technologies that span the electricity system. An easy-to-read title identifies thedocument’ssubject.Headingsmake thetext highlyscannable.The two-column formatmakes thetext easy toread quickly.Visuals andcolor addenergy.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1502/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
16Chapter 1 primarily experienced success in school. Resilience means being flexible and adaptable. It means staying determined and keeping calm under pres-sure. It means bouncing back when things don’t go the way you expected. Setbacks will happen; resilient people respond in a constructive way.communicator—Finally, you would be hard-pressed to find a corporate leader who didn’t rank the ability to communicate near the top of her or his “must have” list for successful people, especially entrepreneurs. In today’s networked workplace, you will be in continuous contact with others, and writing and speaking are the means through which you will communicate with them. Your ability to communicate clearly, con-fidently, and persuasively will play an important role in your success.How Important Is Technical Communication?1.6 Recognize the importance of effective written and spoken communication to your career.At this point, you might still be wondering how important technical communica-tion will be to your career. Simply put, technical communication is critical to your The Entrepreneurial MindsetIn today’s technical workplace, everyone is expected to think like an entrepreneur.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1602/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace17success, and here’s the proof. A recent study published in the major engineering journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) found that engineers spend over 50 percent of their workday communicating through writing, including e-mails, proposals, specifications, and reports (Levine, Allard & Tenopir, 2011). The International Federation of Engineering Education Societies in 2013 listed the following twenty attributes of a “global engineer.”aTTRibuTes oF a global engineeR1.Demonstrates an understanding of engineering, science, and mathemat-ics fundamentals2.Demonstrates an understanding of political, social, and economic perspectives3.Demonstrates an understanding of information technology, digital com-petency, and information literacy4.Demonstrates an understanding of stages/phases of product life cycle (design, prototyping, testing, production, distribution channels, supplier management, etc.)5.Demonstrates an understanding of project planning, management, andthe impacts of projects on various stakeholder groups (project team members, project sponsor, project client, end users, etc.)6.Demonstrates an understanding of the ethical and business norms and ap-plies norms effectively in a given context (organization, industry, country, etc.)7.Communicates effectively in a variety of different ways, methods, and media (written, verbal/oral, graphic, listening, electronically, etc.)8.Communicates effectively to both technical and nontechnical audiences9.Possesses an international/global perspective10.Possesses fluency in at least two languages11.Possesses the ability to think both critically and creatively12.Possesses the ability to think both individually and cooperatively13.Functions effectively on a team (understands team goals, contributes effec-tively to teamwork, supports team decisions, respects team members, etc.)14.Maintains a positive self-image and possesses positive self-confidence15.Maintains a high level of professional competence16.Embraces a commitment to quality principles/standards and continuous improvement17.Embraces an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary perspective18.Applies personal and professional judgment in effectively making deci-sions and managing risks19.Mentors or helps others accomplish goals/tasks20.Shows initiative and demonstrates a willingness to learnM01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1702/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
18Chapter 1 In this list, communication is ranked seventh and eighth among the most important traits. Meanwhile, over half of the skills listed here are ones you will learn in a technical communication course.Over and over, research is showing the importance of communication in the technical workplace. According to a 2013 survey by the Workforce Solutions Group, over 60 percent of employers report that new applicants lack the “com-munication and interpersonal skills” needed for the technical workplace. Profi-ciency in math and science are important, according to the survey, but “communications ranked as the top basic skill in demand” (p. 30).According to the report, “A Ticket to Work . . . or a Ticket Out,” from the National Commission on Writing, weak writing skills are the “kiss of death” for employees. In fact, 51 percent of companies say they “frequently or almost always take writing into consideration when hiring salaried employees” (p. 9).Fortunately, right now you can learn how to write and speak effectively in the technical workplace. With guidance and practice, anyone can learn to write and speak well. In this course, you have a golden opportunity to develop these important technical communication skills. These skills will help you land the job you want, and they will help you succeed.In the global market, the ability to communicate is the key to success.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1802/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace19What You Need to Know• By consciously developing a writing process, you will learn how to write more efficiently. In other words, you will “work smarter, not harder.”• A useful workplace writing process includes the following stages: research-ing and planning, organizing and drafting, improving the style, designing, and revising and editing.• Technical writing genres are helpful for organizing information into pat-terns that your readers will recognize and understand.• Entrepreneurship is now a key component of any technical workplace, whether you are working for a company or starting your own business.• Technical communication is defined as a process of managing technical in-formation in ways that allow people to take action.• Entrepreneurship is a process of sensing new opportunities, developing new products and services, creating new methods of production, and con-structively reorganizing resources in new ways.• Technical communication is visual, interactive, adaptable, reader centered, and often produced in teams.• Technical communication has ethical, political, international, and transcul-tural dimensions that must be considered.• Corporate leaders regularly list the following traits to define an entrepre-neur: innovator, leader, listener, network savvy, self-reliant, ethical, resilient, communicator.• Effective written and spoken communication will be vital to your career.Exercises and ProjectsIndividual or Team Projects1.Locate a document that is used in a technical workplace through a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. To find documents, type in keywords like “report,” “proposal,” “instructions,” and “presentation.” You might find it helpful to limit your search to documents in PDF format.What characteristics make the document you found a form of technical communication? Develop a two-minute presentation for your class in which you highlight these characteristics of the document. Compare and contrast the document with academic essays you have written for your other classes.2.Using a search engine on the Internet, locate a professional who works in your chosen field. Write an e-mail asking that person what kinds of docu-ments or presentations he or she needs to produce. Ask how much time the person devotes to communication on the job. Ask whether he or she has some advice about how to gain and improve the communication skills that M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1902/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
XvVq7SOoRY620Chapter 1 you will need in your career. Write a memo to your instructor in which you summarize your findings.3.Identify an entrepreneur who works in an area similar to the career you want to pursue. This person could either be someone who started her or his own business or someone who is working within a company. Write a brief bio of this person in which you discuss what qualities made this person a successful entrepreneur. You can learn about writing a bio at the end of Chapter 5, “Starting Your Career.”Collaborative Project: Writing a Course Mission StatementAs you begin this course, it is a good idea for your class to develop a common understanding of the course objectives and outcomes. Companies develop mis–sion statements to help focus their efforts and keep their employees striving to–ward common goals. Corporate mission statements are typically general and nonspecific, but they set an agenda or tone for how the company will do busi–ness internally and with its clients.Your task in this assignment is to work with a group to develop a “Course Mission Statement” in which you lay out your expectations for the course, your instructor, and yourselves. To write the mission statement, follow these steps:1.Use an Internet search engine to find examples of mission statements. Just type “mission statement” into Google, Bing, or Yahoo.2.In class, with your group, identify the common characteristics of these mission statements. Pay special attention to their content, organization, and style. Make note of their common features.3.With your group, write your own course mission statement. Be sure to include goals you would like the course to meet. You might also want to develop an “ethics statement” that talks about your approach to ethical issues associated with assignments, course readings, and attendance.4.Compare your group’s course mission statement with other groups’ mission statements. Note places where your statement is similar to, and different from, their statements.When your course mission statement is complete, it should provide a one-paragraph description of what you are trying to achieve in this course.
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace11level 2: substantive editing—Look closely at the content, organization, and design of the document to make sure your readers can find the infor–mation they need.level 3: copyediting—Pay close attention to the document’s sentences, para-graphs, and graphics to make sure they are clear, accurate, and efficient.level 4: proofreading—Carefully proofread your document to eliminate gram-matical problems, typographical errors (typos), spelling errors, and usage mistakes. Documents with even the smallest errors will be rejected by clients and other readers because they see these kinds of errors as a sign of low-quality work. So solid editing and close proofreading are especially important before a project is completed.How Are Technical Communication and Entrepreneurship Related?1.3 identify the features that technical communication and entrepreneurship have in common.The relationship between technical communication and entrepreneurship might not be immediately apparent to people who haven’t worked in technical fields. Theorganization’sname is easyto find.Topics arelisted clearly.The writtentext is easyto skim.Color addsenergy.A photo addsa humanquality andaction.Figure 1.4Design Is Very ImportantBecause readers are raiders of information, you want the design of your document to be visually accessible.SOURCE: American Red Cross,http://www.redcross.orgM01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1102/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
12Chapter 1 For the sake of comparison, let’s put the definitions of technical communication and entrepreneurship in one place so we can talk about how they are interrelated.Technical communication is a process of managing technical information in ways that allow people to take action.Entrepreneurship is a process of sensing new opportunities, developing new products and services, creating new methods of production, and constructively reorganizing resources in new ways.In these two definitions, you should see many parallels. Technical commu-nication and entrepreneurship are both processes that feature creativity, innova-tion, persuasion, and production. They both stress taking action.All right, but what does technical communication have to do with being entre-preneurial? The answer is . . . everything. Today, we live in an age of entrepreneur–ship, and technical communication provides critical tools that innovative people need to come up with new ideas, persuade others to support these new ideas, develop business plans, and turn ideas into reality. Do you need to launch a start-up company to be an entrepreneur? No. Being entrepreneurial means being innovative, self-reliant, and persistent, whether you are working for yourself or for a company. Today’s employers are looking for people who are always coming up with new ideas and searching for ways to improve products, services, and ways to get things done.Key Characteristics of Technical Communication1.4 identify the key characteristics of technical communication.Let’s take a closer look at the parallels between entrepreneurship and technical com-munication. Here are some of the key characteristics of technical communication:highly Mobile, interactive, and adaptable—Today, people are accessing tech-nical documents and presentations through their mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, so these texts need to be highly mobile, interactive, and adapt-able. You will be constantly updating and adjusting these mobile documents and presentations to the changing needs of users, clients, and customers.Reader centered—In technical communication, readers play a central role in the development of documents and presentations. Technical commu-nication focuses on what the readers “need to know.” As a result, you will spend a great amount of time and effort anticipating what your readers need and how they will react to your ideas.Team oriented—Technical workplaces are highly collaborative, which means you will regularly work with teams of specialists on almost every project. Documents and presentations are produced by teams and shared M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1202/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace13through Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. Working and writing in collaborative teams will take up a significant amount of your time on technical projects.highly visual—Technical documents need to be highly visual so that readers can easily locate the information they need. Visual features, such as headings, bulleted lists, diagrams, and photos, are both common and expected by read-ers (Figure 1.5). Graphs and charts are used to illustrate interesting points and visualize important trends. Your documents and presentations need to be attractive and colorful if you are going to keep your readers’ attention.shaped by ethical, legal, and political issues—Ethics, laws, and politics are core features of today’s technical workplace. Every day, mobile tech-nologies are pushing ethical and legal boundaries involving privacy, se-curity, production, and property. Meanwhile, management structures are flatter and more flexible than ever, which means employees at all levels are being asked to take on more decision-making responsibilities. As a result, you will sometimes need to sort out the ethical, legal, and political aspects of technical decisions for yourself.shaped by international and Transcultural Demands—Technology com-panies must compete in the global workplace. More than likely, you will be regularly collaborating with people who live in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America. Your clients and customers will be incred-ibly diverse in culture and place. As a result, you will be communicating with people who speak other languages and have other customs and ex-pectations. You will need to learn how to anticipate and adjust to those international and transcultural demands.LinkFor more information on visual design, see Chapter 17.LinkTo learn about communicating internationally and transculturally, go to Chapter 2.AT A GLANCEQualities of Technical CommunicationTechnical communication is:• highly mobile, interactive, and adaptable• reader centered• team oriented• highly visual• multidimensional, involving ethics, laws, and politics• shaped by international and transcultural demandsTraits of Successful Entrepreneurs1.5 identify eight traits of a successful entrepreneur.With these key characteristics of technical communication in line, let’s com-pare them to the traits of successful entrepreneurs. When corporate leaders are surveyed about the traits of an entrepreneur, they regularly mention the M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1302/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
14Chapter 1 following eight key traits, all of which are strongly related to technical communication:innovator—To be successful in the technical workplace, you will need to identify trends, come up with new solutions to problems, figure out rea-sonable risks, and develop new ways to look at existing products and services. You need to be able to put those innovative ideas into written and spoken form.leader—Leadership involves thinking strategically, identifying desired outcomes, setting goals, and delegating to others. In today’s technical workplace, leadership responsibilities are often shared within teams, as individuals take on leadership responsibilities when their specialized skills are needed. Your ability to lead others will be dependent upon your ability to express your ideas clearly, while persuading others to take action.listener—You should always be ready to listen to customers, colleagues, and mentors. Read up on new trends and do research to better understand what is going on. Listening means soaking up the information available so that you can recognize important changes and identify potential problems. It also means hearing what clients and customers are trying to tell you while putting their criticism to good use—even when that criticism stings.network savvy—Today’s technical workplaces are highly networked and collaborative, meaning you will likely work with an evolving team of specialists on almost every project. Of course, you will need to be highly mobile, with an ability to communicate through your phone, tablet, or laptop. You will need to be comfortable with videoconferencing and tele-commuting. Also, you will need to know how to build solid relationships with colleagues, customers, and clients. Many of these relationships will be online, although face-to-face interactions will still be important.self-Reliant—Today’s technical workplaces are evolving quickly, meaning employers are looking for people who are self-starters with discipline, determination, and know-how. Self-reliance means believing in yourself, even when others are hesitating. You need to trust in your own knowl-edge and skills to solve problems and move forward.ethical—Being ethical goes beyond doing the right thing. It also means un-derstanding and respecting the rights of others. It means following the appropriate laws and guidelines. It means treating people fairly and showing respect for their needs. Ethical behavior can help you forge powerful relationships that will be beneficial in the future. Unethical de-cisions, meanwhile, may allow you to solve a short-term problem, but they can lead to much more severe legal and financial consequences in the future.Resilient—Setbacks and even failures are not uncommon in the technical workplace. This simple truth can be stressful for new graduates who have LinkFor more information on working in teams, see Chapter 3.LinkEthical, legal, and political issues are discussed in Chapter 4.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1402/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace15Figure 1.5The Importance of Visual DesignVisual design is an essential part of technical communication.SOURCE: International Energy Agency, 201117Smart grid technologiesTh e many smart grid technology areas – each consisting of sets of individual technologies –span the entire grid, from ge neration through transmission and distribution to various types of electricity consumers. Some of the technologies ar e actively being deployed and are considered mature in both their development and application, while others require further development and demonstration. A fully optimised electricity system will deploy al l the technology areas in Figure 8. However, not all technology areas need to be installed to increase the “smartness” of the grid. Wide-area monitoringand control Real-time monitoring and display of power-system components and performance, across interconnections and over large geographic areas, help system operators to understand and optimise power system components, behaviour and performance. Advanced system operation tools avoid blackouts and facilitate the integration of variable renewable en ergy resources. Monitoring and control technologies along with advanced system analytics – including wide-area situational awareness (WASA), wide-area monitoring systems (WAMS), an d wide-area adaptive protection, control and automation (WAAPCA) – generate data to in form decision making, mitigate wide-area disturbances, and improve transmission capacity and reliability. Information and communications technology integrationUnderlying communications infrastructure, whether using private utility communication networks (radio networks, meter mesh networks) or public carriers and networks (Internet, ce llular, Smart grid deploymentFigure 8. Smart gr id technology areas Source: Technology categories and descriptions adapted from NETL, 2010 and NIST, 2010.Smart grid deploymentGenerationTransmissionDistributionIndustrialServiceResidentialInformation and communications technology (ICT) integrationWide-area monitoring and controlRenewable and distributed generationintegrationAdvanced metering infrastructure (AMI)Distribution gridmanagementCustomer-side systems (CS)EV charging infrastructureTransmissionenhancement applicationsTransmission linesTransmissionsubstationDistributionsubstationDistribution linesPadmounttransformerKEY POINT: Smart grids encompass a variety of technologies that span the electricity system. An easy-to-read title identifies thedocument’ssubject.Headingsmake thetext highlyscannable.The two-column formatmakes thetext easy toread quickly.Visuals andcolor addenergy.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1502/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
16Chapter 1 primarily experienced success in school. Resilience means being flexible and adaptable. It means staying determined and keeping calm under pres-sure. It means bouncing back when things don’t go the way you expected. Setbacks will happen; resilient people respond in a constructive way.communicator—Finally, you would be hard-pressed to find a corporate leader who didn’t rank the ability to communicate near the top of her or his “must have” list for successful people, especially entrepreneurs. In today’s networked workplace, you will be in continuous contact with others, and writing and speaking are the means through which you will communicate with them. Your ability to communicate clearly, con-fidently, and persuasively will play an important role in your success.How Important Is Technical Communication?1.6 Recognize the importance of effective written and spoken communication to your career.At this point, you might still be wondering how important technical communica-tion will be to your career. Simply put, technical communication is critical to your The Entrepreneurial MindsetIn today’s technical workplace, everyone is expected to think like an entrepreneur.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1602/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace17success, and here’s the proof. A recent study published in the major engineering journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) found that engineers spend over 50 percent of their workday communicating through writing, including e-mails, proposals, specifications, and reports (Levine, Allard & Tenopir, 2011). The International Federation of Engineering Education Societies in 2013 listed the following twenty attributes of a “global engineer.”aTTRibuTes oF a global engineeR1.Demonstrates an understanding of engineering, science, and mathemat-ics fundamentals2.Demonstrates an understanding of political, social, and economic perspectives3.Demonstrates an understanding of information technology, digital com-petency, and information literacy4.Demonstrates an understanding of stages/phases of product life cycle (design, prototyping, testing, production, distribution channels, supplier management, etc.)5.Demonstrates an understanding of project planning, management, andthe impacts of projects on various stakeholder groups (project team members, project sponsor, project client, end users, etc.)6.Demonstrates an understanding of the ethical and business norms and ap-plies norms effectively in a given context (organization, industry, country, etc.)7.Communicates effectively in a variety of different ways, methods, and media (written, verbal/oral, graphic, listening, electronically, etc.)8.Communicates effectively to both technical and nontechnical audiences9.Possesses an international/global perspective10.Possesses fluency in at least two languages11.Possesses the ability to think both critically and creatively12.Possesses the ability to think both individually and cooperatively13.Functions effectively on a team (understands team goals, contributes effec-tively to teamwork, supports team decisions, respects team members, etc.)14.Maintains a positive self-image and possesses positive self-confidence15.Maintains a high level of professional competence16.Embraces a commitment to quality principles/standards and continuous improvement17.Embraces an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary perspective18.Applies personal and professional judgment in effectively making deci-sions and managing risks19.Mentors or helps others accomplish goals/tasks20.Shows initiative and demonstrates a willingness to learnM01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1702/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
18Chapter 1 In this list, communication is ranked seventh and eighth among the most important traits. Meanwhile, over half of the skills listed here are ones you will learn in a technical communication course.Over and over, research is showing the importance of communication in the technical workplace. According to a 2013 survey by the Workforce Solutions Group, over 60 percent of employers report that new applicants lack the “com-munication and interpersonal skills” needed for the technical workplace. Profi-ciency in math and science are important, according to the survey, but “communications ranked as the top basic skill in demand” (p. 30).According to the report, “A Ticket to Work . . . or a Ticket Out,” from the National Commission on Writing, weak writing skills are the “kiss of death” for employees. In fact, 51 percent of companies say they “frequently or almost always take writing into consideration when hiring salaried employees” (p. 9).Fortunately, right now you can learn how to write and speak effectively in the technical workplace. With guidance and practice, anyone can learn to write and speak well. In this course, you have a golden opportunity to develop these important technical communication skills. These skills will help you land the job you want, and they will help you succeed.In the global market, the ability to communicate is the key to success.M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1802/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace19What You Need to Know• By consciously developing a writing process, you will learn how to write more efficiently. In other words, you will “work smarter, not harder.”• A useful workplace writing process includes the following stages: research-ing and planning, organizing and drafting, improving the style, designing, and revising and editing.• Technical writing genres are helpful for organizing information into pat-terns that your readers will recognize and understand.• Entrepreneurship is now a key component of any technical workplace, whether you are working for a company or starting your own business.• Technical communication is defined as a process of managing technical in-formation in ways that allow people to take action.• Entrepreneurship is a process of sensing new opportunities, developing new products and services, creating new methods of production, and con-structively reorganizing resources in new ways.• Technical communication is visual, interactive, adaptable, reader centered, and often produced in teams.• Technical communication has ethical, political, international, and transcul-tural dimensions that must be considered.• Corporate leaders regularly list the following traits to define an entrepre-neur: innovator, leader, listener, network savvy, self-reliant, ethical, resilient, communicator.• Effective written and spoken communication will be vital to your career.Exercises and ProjectsIndividual or Team Projects1.Locate a document that is used in a technical workplace through a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. To find documents, type in keywords like “report,” “proposal,” “instructions,” and “presentation.” You might find it helpful to limit your search to documents in PDF format.What characteristics make the document you found a form of technical communication? Develop a two-minute presentation for your class in which you highlight these characteristics of the document. Compare and contrast the document with academic essays you have written for your other classes.2.Using a search engine on the Internet, locate a professional who works in your chosen field. Write an e-mail asking that person what kinds of docu-ments or presentations he or she needs to produce. Ask how much time the person devotes to communication on the job. Ask whether he or she has some advice about how to gain and improve the communication skills that M01_JOHN5733_06_SE_C01.indd 1902/11/16 2:24 PMProperty of Pearson Education Not for redistribution beyond this class For University of Washington ADA use only
XvVq7SOoRY620Chapter 1 you will need in your career. Write a memo to your instructor in which you summarize your findings.3.Identify an entrepreneur who works in an area similar to the career you want to pursue. This person could either be someone who started her or his own business or someone who is working within a company. Write a brief bio of this person in which you discuss what qualities made this person a successful entrepreneur. You can learn about writing a bio at the end of Chapter 5, “Starting Your Career.”Collaborative Project: Writing a Course Mission StatementAs you begin this course, it is a good idea for your class to develop a common understanding of the course objectives and outcomes. Companies develop mis–sion statements to help focus their efforts and keep their employees striving to–ward common goals. Corporate mission statements are typically general and nonspecific, but they set an agenda or tone for how the company will do busi–ness internally and with its clients.Your task in this assignment is to work with a group to develop a “Course Mission Statement” in which you lay out your expectations for the course, your instructor, and yourselves. To write the mission statement, follow these steps:1.Use an Internet search engine to find examples of mission statements. Just type “mission statement” into Google, Bing, or Yahoo.2.In class, with your group, identify the common characteristics of these mission statements. Pay special attention to their content, organization, and style. Make note of their common features.3.With your group, write your own course mission statement. Be sure to include goals you would like the course to meet. You might also want to develop an “ethics statement” that talks about your approach to ethical issues associated with assignments, course readings, and attendance.4.Compare your group’s course mission statement with other groups’ mission statements. Note places where your statement is similar to, and different from, their statements.When your course mission statement is complete, it should provide a one-paragraph description of what you are trying to achieve in this course.
