Course Title: Certificate Course in Technical Writing         

Course Code: CTW

Eligibility: Any Graduate

Duration: 30Days - Normal Track/ 15days - Fast Track

Also Available: Weekend Classes (Saturdays & Sundays) -7 Weekends Program

Timings: 10.00-12.00 PM, 02.00-04.00 PM
                 04.00-06.00 PM, 07.00 - 9.00 PM

Software Development Life Cycle

Course Outline:

• 1. Technical Writing
• 2. Software Development Life Cycle - SDLC
• 3.Technical WritingProcess
• 4. Document Delivery Life Cycle - DDLC
• 5. Document Deliverables
• 6. SME Interviews and Project Planning
• 7. HTML & XML Intro
• 8. Writing Skills
• 9. Style Guide and Standards
• 11. Technical Writing Software Tools
• 12. Microsoft Word
• 13. Adobe RoboHelp
• 14. Adobe FrameMaker
• 15.Snag IT
• 16. MS- Visio
• 17. PowerPoint
• 18. Photoshop
• 19. Reviews, Delivery and Publication
• 20. Resume Preparation and Certification

Course Modules Description:

1. Technical Writing

• What is Technical Writing?
• Role of a Technical writer
• Principles of Technical Writing, Documentation deliverables
• Printed documentation and Online Help Systems
• Working with images and illustrations

2. Software Development Life Cycle - SDLC

• Software Development Life Cycle
• How Software is developed, tested, maintained and retired
• How products are installed, configured, customized and deployed
• Relating software product features and business benefits
• Working with programmers and testers
• Understanding software requirement specifications
• Analyzing product architecture
• Documentation development life cycle
• Types of documents associated with software products
• Different types of software and applications

3. Technical Writing Process

• Understanding Audience/Readers
• Collecting and Organizing information
• Drafting information verbally and visually
• Producing Information

4. Document Delivery Life Cycle - DDLC

• Document development process
• Estimating Technical Documentation
• Documentation Planning
• Selection of Tools
• Information Architecture
• Templates and Page design
• Audience Profiling
• Task Analysis
• Content Development
• Elements of Style
• Technical Reviews
• Editorial Reviews
• Formatting and pagination
• Document Conversions
• Content Publishing
• Quality Control
• Content Maintenance

5. Document Deliverables

1. Types of Software/Hardware documents
2. End-User documents
   a. User Manual, Administrator Guide, Online Help Files
   b. Quick Reference guides, Release Notes, Read Me Notes
   c. Training Presentations, Deployment /Installation Guide
3. Technical Documents
   a. Functional Requirement Specification (FRS)
   b. System/Software Requirement Specification(SRS)
   c. Application Program Interface (API)
   d. Design/Architecture Documents, Project Plan
4. Marketing and Web Documents
   a. Case Studies
   b. White Papers
   c. Proposals/ Success Stories
   d. Product Briefs/Brochures

6. SME Interviews and Project Planning

1. Role of SME
2. SME objectives
3. SME interviews
4. Purpose of SME interview
5. Types of SME’s
6. Technical Writer and SME interactions
7. How to conduct SME interviews?
8. Modes of communication with SME
9. How to gather information from SME
10. How to create documentation Checklist
11. SME reviews
12. How to create project plan
13. Tips for conducting SME interviews

7. HTML & XML Intro

1.Why HTML
2. HTML Document Structure
3. HTML Tags
4. HTML importance in Technical writing
5. Styles and CSS
6. Why XML for Technical Writers
7. XML Vs HTML
8. Introduction to XML
9. Introduction to DITA and single sourcing

8. Writing Skills

1. How to write clear and concise sentences
2. How to Write Steps, Instructions and Procedures
3. Organizing the content
4. Using simple words/Plain English
5. Logical sequence of Writing
6. Writing Sentence and Paragraph
7. Words to Avoid in Technical Writing
8. Document Flow
9. Tone and Rhetoric

9. Style Guide and Standards

1. What is Plagiarism
2. Steps to ensure Plagiarism free content
3. Types of Style Guides
4. Documentation Standards
5. Microsoft Style Guide for Technical Publication (MSTP)
6. Plan your writing
7. Document Conventions

10. Grammar

1. Punctuations and Mechanics
2. Capitalization
3. Active Voice and Passive Voice
4. Writing clearly and concisely
5. Editing content, grammar and syntax
6. Proof Reading
7. Grammar Practice and Assignment
8. Email Etiquettes

11. Technical Writing Software Tools

1. Microsoft Word – Text Editor
2. Adobe RoboHelp - Help Authoring
3. Adobe FrameMaker – Content Publication
4. Snag IT – Image Capturing
5. Ms Visio – Image Drawing
6. PowerPoint – Training Presentation
7. Adobe Photoshop – Image Editor

12. Microsoft Word – Word Processing Tool

1. About Microsoft word
o Introduction
o Features
2. Starting the Application
3. Accessibility, Formatting Text
4. Font and Paragraph settings
5. Bullets and Numbering, Cross-references
6. Borders and Shading, Styles and Formatting
7. Template Creation, Creating Sections
8. Working with Table, Bookmark &Hyperlink
9. Generating Table of Contents & Table of Figures
10. Header and Footer, Footnote and Endnote
11. Working with Reviewing toolbar
12. Toolbars, Shortcuts, Protecting the Document
13. Watermarks/Columns/Change Case
14. Generating Index, Auto text and AutoCorrect

13. Adobe RoboHelp – Help Authoring Tool

• About Online Help
• Planning an Online Help, Understanding RoboHelp Interface
• Creating your First Help project, Working with Topics & Folders
• Working with TOC, Index, & Glossary, Generating Output
• About Types of Layouts, Applying Template and Style Sheet
• Controlling CHM Window and Skins
• Working with Links, Pop-ups, Triggers, and Drop-downs
• Working with Graphics and Text boxes
• Creating Related Topics, See Also and Keyword Link
• Playing with Marquee, Triggers, and Splash Screen
• Creating Dropdowns, Expanding, Hyperlinks and Popups
• Changing the primary layout, Tools in RoboHelp Html
• Creating and Working with Tables, Creating and Displaying Browse Sequence
• Creating Manually/Automatically Multiple TOCs, Indexes, and Glossaries
• Single Sourcing - Conditional Build Tags and Batch Generation
• Creating Context-sensitive Help, Importing Files & Skins, and Merging CHM
• Understanding the Project Source Folder and Files
• Generating Reports

14. Adobe FrameMaker – Technical Content Publication Tool

• Introduction
• Usage of FrameMaker
• FrameMaker v/s MS Word
• Getting Started, Accessibility
• Creating/Importing Documents
• Saving New File Formats
• Basic Text Formatting
• Working with Tags, Tables
• Tools Palette, Drawing Tools
• Working with Paragraph and Character Designers
• Working with Frames, Anchored Frames and Alignments
• Working with Body, Master and Reference Pages
• Page Designing and Defining Variables
• Hyperlink, Cross Reference, Pop-Ups and Image Mapping
• Generating Table of Contents, Index and Glossary
• Creating Books, Conditional Text and references
• Document Conversions
  

15. Snag IT – Image Capturing Tool

• About Snag IT
• Introduction
• Features
• Starting the application
• Image Formats, Batch Convert Images
• Exploring the Program Window
• Capture Profile, Image Capturing Modes
• Creating WebPages, Creating simple Demos
• Companion Applications
• Snag IT Editor
• Snag IT Studio
• Catalog Browser

16. MS- Visio - Image Drawing Tool

• Introduction to MS- Visio
• Using various technology images
• Creating DFD’s and Architectural Diagrams
• Synchronization of images
• Creating different file formats
• Special Merits, Installation sequence
• Types of shapes, Behavior of shapes
• How to Get shapes, Templates stencil
• Connection shapes, Staking shapes
• Group/ Ungroup, Text Adding
• Data Linking, Data Graphics
• Auto Linking, Hyper Linking
• Save type – formats
• Importing into Word
  

17. PowerPoint - professional presentation tool

• Importance of Presentations
• Saving PowerPoint
• Working on Slide Master
• Applying Design Templates
• Custom Animation and slide transition effects
• Action buttons and hyperlinks
• Slide layouts, Movies and Sounds
• Insert & edit clip art
• Create a slide background using a picture
• Customize graphical bullets
• Insert and format a table into a slide
• Add an animation scheme to selected slides
• Rearrange slides, Slideshows
• Customize slide backgrounds and templates
  

18. Photoshop – Image Editing Tool

• Introduction to Photoshop
• Cropping images and editing
• Using advanced tools for creating architectural diagrams
• Explore the Photoshop Environment
• Basic Photo Corrections, Selections
• Basic flow mode for editing images using Photoshop
• Retouching and Repairing
  
• Work with selections
• Creating layers, Mask and Channels
• Correcting and Enhancing
• Slice and Link an Image
• Creating Rollovers, Animate GIF Images
• Painting and Editing
• Basic Pen Tool Techniques
  

19. Reviews, Delivery and Publication

• What is a review cycle
• Types of Reviews
• Who are the different people involved in a review
• How to implement reviews
• Life cycle of reviews
• Delivery modes
• Delivery methods
• Printable Document and Online Documents
• Editing, formatting Proof Reading techniques
• Format documents to enhance communication and visual appeal
• Version Control System

20. Resume Preparation and Certification

• Students Query handling
• Mock interviews and industry orientations
• Writing Assignments, monitoring and Feedback
• Online Test
• Certification