New Member Profile: Derek Scott

Direction: Can you briefly describe your business background?

Derek: I stumbled into technical writing when I landed a job writing automotive repair manuals for Chilton Book Company as a fresh-out-of-college English major in 1995.
I’ve been a life-long car nut, so this was a natural way for me to blend my interests with my education. Little did I know this choice would lead to 13 years of technical writing experience in many fields including finance, telecom, and most recently, project management.

Direction: Tell us about your work - responsibilities, challenges.

Derek: I work at the Project Management Institute (PMI) as an IT document specialist. That’s HR-speak for senior technical writer. I write and edit the user guides, online help, training materials, and policies and the procedures that PMI staff use to support PMI members and credential holders around the world. I describe how the policies and procedures behind the organization’s credentials - such as the PMP® - are applied through the internal and external business systems and websites maintained by PMI’s IT department.

Direction: Tell us about your audience.

Derek: I write for both internal and external audiences at PMI. Because PMI is a global organization, I must keep a global perspective when writing for all audiences. The first audience is Customer Care. This group is the first point of contact for PMI members and credential holders who may have questions about products, services, membership or credentials.
This audience needs to understand the organization’s internal policies and procedures so they can thoroughly answer questions from members and credential holders. The second audience includes the behind-the-scenes administrators who need comprehensive information stating how the business policies behind PMI’s IT systems are applied to practical situations. Consistency is the key for both audiences. Policies in the credential handbooks must carry through the online help, user guides and FAQ text features in the application interface.
Additionally, I write IT policies and procedures to show staff members how to properly use the organization’s technology resources. For example, the organization’s information security policy describes how IT protects data and information.

Direction: What do you like most about your job?

Derek: Language is fun - it’s a toolbox and the writer selects the best tool for the job. Technical writing helps me discover how to use concise language and graphics to describe complex concepts. My goal is to increase customer satisfaction and business efficiency through clear, accurate technical communication. I seek out the tough or hard-to-understand procedures and create concise, descriptive explanations.
Additionally, there is always a new communication model I can learn and apply to my documentation. When I began my career, online help was all the rage, but now I’m investigating wikis as a way to collaboratively capture work instructions and other procedures that need editorial review and input from staff. I like to find ways to make technical writing and policy and procedure communication informative, accurate and engaging. I also enjoy helping others gain confidence through well-written documents. I blend aspects of policy and procedure writing with training and user guides to anticipate reader’s questions and provide clear answers.

Direction: What advice can you give to someone who wants to get into P&P documentation?

Derek: I approach every assignment as a way to learn new tools and gain insight to audience needs. Policy and procedure communication requires the writer to analyze how an organization’s documents and processes relate to one another. You need an open mind and a willingness to listen.
It is also important to consider the many different document types that could best fit an organization. I don’t think there is one "right" way to do it. PMI is the second organization where I have suggested organizing policy and procedure documents into a framework. A policy framework defines how an organization’s set of documents fit together to form a package of information. The policy framework also helps describe the value of technical communication. The image at the end of this article is one I put together to show a simple policy framework.

Direction: What’s the biggest P&P challenge that you face in your current environment?

Derek: It is tough to be the lone technical writer coming into a new organization with little or no documentation and advance the need for a policies and procedures program at the same time. However, this role has shown me many ways to build my career by learning from others. I’ve also learned the importance of showing readers how the policy relates to other types of documents. Technical writers must understand how policies and procedures help an organization communicate and function efficiently. With this knowledge, writers can offer more pertinent and useful online help, user guides and training materials.

Direction: Tell us a bit of personal information about you - e.g., hobbies, where you live, your family, or other information to help us get to know you.

Derek: I live in West Chester, Pennsylvania with my wife Abbey and son James. We have two cats, Ernie and Tigger. In my spare time I enjoy surf fishing along the Atlantic coast and restoring and repairing older BMW automobiles. Call me old school, but I will tinker with just about any gas engine that I can get my hands on. Lately, I’ve accumulated three old Gravely two-wheel garden tractors. I also enjoy gardening and landscaping - I needed an excuse to use the tractors ...

You can contact Derek at florida02@gmail.com.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dscott1602.

Derek Scott's Policy Framework Diagram