The document discusses how writing can help with engineering work. It argues that writing helps identify limitations in data, constructs intelligible descriptions of work, and improves thinking by expanding on technical ideas. The document also presents theories on how writing aids thought, such as by occupying the conscious mind and allowing new ideas to form subconsciously. It provides recommendations for incremental writing by documenting thoughts regularly and separating the creative from editing processes. Different types of reports and opportunities for writing are also outlined.
De visie op credit management, marketing en communicatie van Alphacomm Outbound Solutions. Ons #Annabel platform faciliteert multichannel communicatie.
SE2016 - Java EE revisits design patterns 2016Alex Theedom
Design patterns are not only cool but represent the collective wisdom of many developers. Since the publication of Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by GoF many new concepts have extended the coverage of these design patterns, and now Java EE provides out-of-the box implementations of many of the most well known patterns. This talk will show how, by taking advantage of Java EE features such as CDI and the smart use of annotations, traditional design patterns can be implemented in a much cleaner and quicker way. Among the design patterns discuss there will be Singleton, Façade, Observer, Factory, Dependency Injection, Decorator and more.
Implementing Structured Writing and Content Management GloballyPam Noreault
Presentation describes a case study on how to implement structured writing and content management. It discusses what went right, wrong, and metrics used to measure success.
Querix 4 gl app analyzer 2016 journey to the center of your 4gl applicationBeGooden-IT Consulting
if you run and maintain an Informix 4GL application, the documentation of this project may be a hot topic for different reasons. Check this presentation and find the solution you really need
In this three hour workshop I present an introduction to the UCD process, an overview of the basic technologies of the web and a survey of current Mobile Web Design trends.
This presentation is an introduction to the field of technical writing based on my personal journey and philosophy of documentation, and was presented to the first meeting of Write The Docs Nigeria on February 20, 2021.
De visie op credit management, marketing en communicatie van Alphacomm Outbound Solutions. Ons #Annabel platform faciliteert multichannel communicatie.
SE2016 - Java EE revisits design patterns 2016Alex Theedom
Design patterns are not only cool but represent the collective wisdom of many developers. Since the publication of Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by GoF many new concepts have extended the coverage of these design patterns, and now Java EE provides out-of-the box implementations of many of the most well known patterns. This talk will show how, by taking advantage of Java EE features such as CDI and the smart use of annotations, traditional design patterns can be implemented in a much cleaner and quicker way. Among the design patterns discuss there will be Singleton, Façade, Observer, Factory, Dependency Injection, Decorator and more.
Implementing Structured Writing and Content Management GloballyPam Noreault
Presentation describes a case study on how to implement structured writing and content management. It discusses what went right, wrong, and metrics used to measure success.
Querix 4 gl app analyzer 2016 journey to the center of your 4gl applicationBeGooden-IT Consulting
if you run and maintain an Informix 4GL application, the documentation of this project may be a hot topic for different reasons. Check this presentation and find the solution you really need
In this three hour workshop I present an introduction to the UCD process, an overview of the basic technologies of the web and a survey of current Mobile Web Design trends.
This presentation is an introduction to the field of technical writing based on my personal journey and philosophy of documentation, and was presented to the first meeting of Write The Docs Nigeria on February 20, 2021.
To document or not to document? An exploratory study on developers' motivatio...Hayim Makabee
Abstract: Technical debt represents the situation in a project where developers accept compromises in one dimension of a system in order to meet urgent demands in other dimensions. These compromises incur a “debt”, on which “interest” has to be paid to maintain the long-term health of the project. One of the elements of technical debt is documentation debt due to under-documentation of the evolving system. In this exploratory study, our goal is to examine the different aspects of developers' motivation to document code. Specifically, we aim to identify the motivating and hindering aspects of documentation as perceived by the developers. The motivating aspects of code documenting we find include improving code comprehensibility, order, and quality. The hindering aspects include developers’ perception of documenting as a tedious, difficult, and time consuming task that interrupts the coding process. These findings may serve as a basis for developing guidelines toward improving documentation practices and encouraging developers to document their code thus reducing documentation debt.
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3. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 3
Writing Helps Engineering Work
• Helps identify limitations or omissions in the data
like the ones shown in the previous slide.
• Constructs an intelligible description of what was
done.
• Improves the thinking process by expanding
technical ideas.
4. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 4
Relationship Between Writing
and Thinking
• Disciplines the mind by organizing thoughts.
• One method of thinking.
• Critical probing of engineering work can produce
new patterns of thinking.
• The mechanisms of thinking that produce insight
are poorly understood.
• Writing helps give insight.
5. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 5
Theory of Why Writing Helps Thought
• Writing occupies the mind with a conscious
activity.
• New ideas and relationships are being generated
in the subconscious mind while writing.
6. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 6
Methods of Writing
• Bulk writing
– Write a report at the end of a project.
– I won’t have time (Could be several weeks of
concentrated writing effort).
– Diminished help in organizing activity.
• Incremental writing
– Write 1/2-1 hour every couple of weeks.
– Helps organize engineering activity while it is
in progress.
7. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 7
Incremental Writing Method
• First pass should document your thoughts for
your self.
• Write on topics that you will be continuously
discussing.
• Separate editing function from creative function.
• Do plan to make several passes at writing on the
subject if the material will be read by some one
else.
• Save major editing for the end of the project.
• Electronically save work to paste into documents.
8. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 8
Methods for Separating
Creative Function
• Write direct thoughts on paper for half an hour to an hour at
one time ( uninterrupted).
• Write thoughts one sentence at a time (2 carriage returns
between sentences).
• Do not correct spelling.
• Do not try to organize material.
• Use ? for equation, reference, and figure numbers.
• Be as free form as possible.
9. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 9
Editing Function
• Fill in ? from creative function.
• Expand on ideas from creative function.
• Use active verbs in sentences ( invent, design, measured,
develop …).
• Use the American Heritage Dictionary.
• Organize thoughts in to paragraphs and write topic
sentence for the paragraph.
• Organize thoughts in to an outline with major headings and
write introductory paragraph in major headings.
• Put thoughts that do not fit in to the outline on a leftover
page at the end of the paper.
• Write introductory paragraph and conclusions.
10. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 10
Electronically Save Work
• While printing schematics, save schematics as
postscript files.
• While printing plots from spice simulation, save
plots as postscript files.
• Postscript files can be converted to TIF files
using unix imageview to paste into word
document.
• While taking laboratory data, screen capture data
and paste into a word document.
11. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 11
Types of Reports
• Your own documentation, very little editing ( 2
passes).
– 1 pass can take( 2 hrs to several days).
• Internal memo, Web site (5-8 passes).
• Published Article ( 12-20 passes).
• Chapter in a book (30-40 passes).
12. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 12
Best Opportunities to
Incrementally Write
• After spending a few days in the laboratory, write
about the graphed data.
• After spending a few weeks of simulation, write
about the plots.
• After explaining the operation of a circuit to
another engineer, write the explanation.
• After doing some editing.
• Preparing for reviews and presentations.
13. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 13
List of Active Verbs
They are the key to writing a complete sentence and a complete thought.
achieved
acquired
acted
activated
adapted
addressed
administered
adopted
advised
analyzed
appointed
appraised
approved
arbitrated
arranged
ascertained
assembled
assessed
assisted
attained
audited
averted
awarded
balanced
budgeted
built
calculated
centralized
charted
checked
classified
coached
collaborated
collected
combined
communicated
compiled
completed
composed
computed
conceived
conceptualized
condensed
conducted
conferred
connected
conserved
consolidated
constructed
consulted
controlled
converted
coordinated
corrected
coralated
counseled
created
decided
decreased
defined
delivered
demonstrated
designed
detailed
detected
determined
developed
devised
diagnosed
directed
discovered
dispensed
displayed
distributed
diverted
documented
doubled
drafted
dramatized
drew
edited
educated
elected
eliminated
employed
enforced
engineered
enlisted
ensured
established
estimated
evaluated
examined
expanded
expedited
experimented
explained
extended
extracted
14. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 14
List of Active Verbs (continued)
facilitated
finalized
financed
fired
forecast
formed
formulated
fostered
found
founded
furnished
generated
governed
guaranteed
guided
handled
headed
helped
hired
hypothesized
identified
illustrated
implemented
improved
improvised
increased
influenced
informed
initiated
innovated
inspected
installed
instituted
instructed
integrated
interpreted
interviewed
introduced
invented
invested
investigated
judged
launched
learned
lectured
led
liquidated
logged
made
maintained
managed
manipulated
mapped
marketed
matched
mediated
met
modeled
modernized
modified
monitored
motivated
navigated
negotiated
nominated
observed
obtained
offered
opened
operated
ordered
organized
originated
oversaw
painted
participated
perceived
performed
persuaded
photographed
piloted
pinpointed
pioneered
planned
predicted
prepared
prescribed
presented
prevented
processed
procured
produced
programmed
projected
promoted
proposed
15. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 15
List of Active Verbs (continued)
protected
proved
provided
publicized
published
purchased
qualified
quantified
questioned
raised
read
realized
reasoned
received
recommended
reconciled
reconstructed
recorded
recruited
redesigned
reduced
referred
refined
rehabilitated
reinforced
related
rendered
reorganized
reported
represented
researched
resolved
responded
restored
restructured
retr ieved
reviewed
revised
revitalized
salvaged
satisfied
scheduled
secured
selected
separated
served
shaped
shared
showed
simplified
sketched
sold
solved
staffed
standardized
streamlined
structured
studied
submitted
summarized
supervised
supplemented
supplied
surveyed
symbolized
synergized
synthesized
systematized
tabulated
tailored
taught
tended
tested and proved
trained
transacted
transcribed
translated
traveled
treated
tutored
uncovered
undertook
unified
united
updated
upgraded
used
verbalized
verified
weighed
withstood
worked
wrote
16. Goldman Technology
Goldman Technology
11/19/2010 Page 16
References
• “How Writing Helps R&D Work”, Herbert B. Michaelson,
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, June
1987, 85-86.
• The Elements of Style, Strunk, W. Jr., and White, E.B.,
Third Edition, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York,
1979, 70.