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Learn how Simplified Technical English and Information Quality will increase readability and save considerable (translation) cost.
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1© 1974-2010
Simplified Technical English
Clear Communication Quality Assurance Standardization Cost Savings
2© 1974-2010
What do we communicate?
User Guides Maintenance Manuals Service Bulletins Online Help Instruction Guides Parts Catalogs Wiring Diagrams Bulletins Illustrations, Graphics
Animations and Simulations Parts Catalogs User Guides Installation Manuals Operation Manuals Training Manuals Screenshots GUIs Etc….
3© 1974-2010
But…what do we communicate?
Content control:Do you manage your terminology?Do you have a style guide?Do you communicate clearly and efficiently?
4© 1974-2010
We have control…don’t we?
Words with multiple meanings Check, ensure, be sure, validate, verify, examine, make sure Should, may, might, could, would Follow the procedure, do the procedure, obey the procedure Press Power On button, push Power On Pushbutton, press Start button, press Power ON Switch, turn, push, de-energize, press, start, stop Remove power, disconnect power, pull Emergency Stop switch
Long-noun clusters The minimum password length Properties dialog box Clean the turret dome chassis thermal window securing screw threaded holes
Long sentences Clean the turret dome chassis thermal window securing screw threaded holes and the thermal window 16
securing screws of all previously used sealant using solvent.
5© 1974-2010
Confused and frustrated readers High translation costs Bad translations due to unclear source Safety risk Damage Potential for legal liabilities Higher support costs Ineffective customer service
And what if we don’t control?
6© 1974-2010
The larger costs of not getting it right..
A power transformer company was sued for $5M after a transformer blew up due to badly worded and confusing documentation.
The largest single problem area for Google in internationalizing their service was language / translation issues - accounted for 35% of all reported issues.
EMC estimates it was spending $762,000 on internationalization errors in just one product set. Failure to convert English measures to metric values caused the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter, a
spacecraft that smashed into the planet instead of reaching a safe orbit. Total project cost: $327.6M. An FAA survey of aircraft technicians revealed that, although user evaluations of the accuracy and quality
of technical manuals are generally good, the manuals themselves were noted as having poor usability. Using the wrong word in an accounting system cost the New York City Department of Education $1.4M A badly worded sentence in a contract cost a Canadian utility company $2.3M. Several medium sized engineering companies going out of business because they lost customers due to
either poor quality documentation, or after they stopped producing any docs at all to ‘save money’.
7© 1974-2010
Consider your audience Write unambiguous Write consistent Provide your
customer with quality
So…avoid miscommunication
8© 1974-2010
STE makes technical English easy to understand Writing rules:
Keep it simple, be specific, be consistent
Core dictionary: ± 3000 words
Add company-specific terms to core dictionary:One word = one meaning
STE can help you reduce 80,000 words to 8,000 words
Writing RulesGrammar & StyleApprox. 60 rules
Core Dictionaryapproved words
non-approved words
Company DictionaryCompany specific
terminology
Simplified Technical English
9© 1974-2010
Quality assurance and improvement Standardized way of writing (ASD-STE100, Plain English, Corporate
Style Guide, Grade Level, MIL SPEC, etc.) Improved safety Efficient authoring Reduced time to market Improved customer experience Facilitates content management, XML Facilitates structured authoring (Information Mapping, DITA,
S1000D) Considerable cost savings Cheaper, faster and better translations (up to 40% per language!)
Benefits
10© 1974-2010
How to implement
Three steps:1. Standardize corporate terminology2. Train writers on writing rules3. Check your documentation with HyperSTE:
•Quality assurance / quality control / quality measurement•Faster time to market•Efficient Authoring
Writing Rules
Core Dictionary
Company Dictionary
HyperSTE
11© 1974-2010
HyperSTE 2009 Survey Results
A survey amongst HyperSTE users in 2009 showed that the use of HyperSTE resulted in the following benefits:
Up to 30% in cost savings on translation and localization
Up to 40% in reduced word count
Quality improvement in writing and translations
Up to 30% in reduced product cycle time
Up to 40% reduction in overall documentation cost
Efficient conversion of legacy documents
12© 1974-2010
Case Study – Rolls-Royce
The challenge To standardize documentation in compliance with the Simplified Technical English specification ASD-STE100 To improve quality and readability of manuals To reduce cycle time
The solution Tedopres developed a dictionary containing Rolls-Royce standardized terminology and trained Rolls-Royce technical writers and
editors on the rules of ASD Simplified Technical English (ASD-STE100) and how to use the HyperSTE software. As part of the implementation process, Rolls-Royce uses the HyperSTE checker software to ensure that all manuals comply with
ASD Simplified Technical English (ASD-STE100), including the use of standardized and consistent Rolls-Royce terminology.
The results Compliance with ASD Simplified Technical English (ASD-STE100) Better quality and readability of manuals Reduced cycle time Better reusability of text Standardized terminology and style
13© 1974-2010
Case Study – Elekta/ImpacThe challenge To standardize documentation in compliance with corporate style guide EASE (Elekta Approved Simplified English) To improve quality and readability of manuals To save translation cost
The solution Tedopres developed the EASE dictionary containing Elekta standardized terminology and trained Elekta technical writers in the UK, Sweden and
US on the rules of EASE and how to use the HyperSTE software. For IMPAC, Tedopres developed the IMPAC dictionary containing IMPAC specific terminology which can be used together with the EASE
dictionary. Elekta uses HyperSTE to ensure compliance with EASE.
The results Up to 30% in translation cost savings after one year Better quality and readability of manuals Reduced cycle time Overall documentation cost reduced by 20% Better reusability of text in XML environment Standardized terminology and style
14© 1974-2010
Case Study – Electrolux
The challenge To standardize terminology and style guide To improve quality and readability of manuals To save translation cost
The solution Tedopres developed the Electrolux dictionary based on thousands of pages of content, including translation memory software Electrolux uses a server based solution for HyperSTE Tedopres trained Electrolux authors worldwide in France, Poland, Sweden, Germany and Italy
The results Up to 50% in translation cost savings in over 30 languages Better quality and readability of manuals, from 40% to 95% Less phone calls to Customer Service Time to market reduced by 30% Overall documentation cost reduced by 20% Reduction of words by 25% Standardized terminology and style
15© 1974-2010
About Tedopres
Established in 1974 Offices in the Netherlands, Germany,
USA, Singapore and Japan One-stop shop for technical
documentation: technical writing, translations, illustrations, software
130 employees worldwide A leader in the technical documentation industry
16© 1974-2010
Tedopres Services
Writing & Editing Simplified Technical English Technical Translations Graphic Design Technical Illustrations Animation & Simulation Patent Documentation Augmented Reality HyperVision
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Tedopres HyperVision
Technology to support the efficient creation, maintenance and publication of content.
HyperSTE – Simplified Technical English checker HyperSTD – Simplified Technical German Checker HyperTerm – Multilingual Terminology Management System HyperSales – Sales Support System HyperParts – Parts Catalog System HyperSTI – Simplified Technical Illustrations HyperDoc – Content Management System HyperSIS – Service Information System HyperAsset – Asset Maintenance Management System HyperVoice – System for Voice Support HyperTraining – Application for Training
18© 1974-2010
Some of our Customers
19© 1974-2010
Thank you
For more information, please contact your local Tedopres representative:
Tedopres International BV (headquarters)The Netherlands - Tel.: +31 (0)40 84 84 050
Tedopres International, Inc.USA - Tel.: +1 512 306 8601
Tedopres Japan K.K.Japan - Tel.: 81-(0)43-297-2589
Tedopres Asia Pte. LtdSingapore - Tel.: +65 65154318
Email: [email protected]
or visit our website at:
www.simplifiedenglish.net
