Deborah Bancroft, Information Design

Upshot

An experienced writer who transforms technical information into clear, engaging content.

Skills

  • User-facing documentation:
    software & hardware manuals, online help, wizards, instruction sets, training materials, others
  • Content management
  • Content development and document design
  • User experience design:
    task and audience analysis, user personas, use cases, and usability testing
  • Editorial skills:
    Development, substantive and line editing, proofreading
  • Cross-functional communication
  • Americanization and EFL issues

Tools

  • Fourteen years’ experience in high-tech and corporate writing
  • Master’s degree in Technical and Professional Writing (MTPW, Northeastern University)
  • DITA, XML, and single-sourcing methodology
  • Versioning and content management:
    TortoiseSVN, Drupal, others
  • All major authoring environments:
    FrameMaker, PageMaker, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, RoboHelp, others
  • Expert-level Microsoft Word, Visio, and hard-copy markup
  • Ruthless attention to detail
  • Irrational love of tight deadlines

Background

Technical Writer

Intuit, Waltham MA, April 2009 to October 2009

  • Responsible for all Intuit QuickBase product documentation, including online help, API documentation, formula reference guide, and code sample database.
  • Designed and led a major content migration effort to improve user support experience, simplify the content architecture, upgrade content management tools, and reduce overhead for Documentation, Product Development, Release Engineering, and Quality Assurance.
Technical Writer

ClearPoint Metrics, Burlington MA, September 2008 to January 2009

  • Researched, designed, and wrote administrative and user guides.
  • Developed online marketing content for company and product placement.
  • Created a single-source content library, custom Office templates, and custom company style guide.
Technical Writing and Editing Consultant

nSight, Inc., Burlington MA, 2003 to 2008

Representative Projects:

  • Created a modular user guide for a successful online service.
    Adapted documentation to address three distinct audiences (novice, advanced, and IT) with a Quick Start Guide, User Guide, and Implementation Guide. Designed a single-source documentation plan to simplify future revisions. Document based entirely on technical specs, UI wireframes, team meetings, and research conversations with engineers.
  • Developed (with SME) and edited How to Un-Boil a Frog: The Engaged Employee as a Lever for Change, a chapter for the forthcoming title High Performance Organizations (Martha Finney, Editor).
  • Wrote and edited technical documentation for a wide range of business areas including software, hardware, biopharmaceuticals, global retail, e-learning, and finance.
  • Led a six-month project reconciling architectural drawings of electrical and computer networks, managed 6 team members, created an editorial workflow that cut revision cycle time by 50%, produced all peripheral documentation and reporting.
Principal Writer, Interaction Designer, Usability Engineer

WebCT, Lynnfield MA, 2000 to 2003

  • Wrote usability test guides, scripts, findings reports, and research reviews
  • Designed user interactions and navigation for e-learning software
  • Responsible for all UI documentation
  • Wrote implementation guide for original company-wide product design workflow
Technical Writer and Application Developer

Deutsche Bank, NY NY, 1996 to 2000

  • Designed and programmed customized applications for financial tracking, stock transactions, project management, equipment inventories, and technical reviews and approvals.
  • Wrote all documentation for new applications including training, user guides, and online help
  • Managed and maintained application databases
  • Wrote all reference and communications documents for the Y2K Communications group including CEO-level reports, application instructions, user orientations, and training guides
  • Built and managed Year 2000 tracking application
  • Provided training and technical support to more than 500 executives
Technical Writer

DOME Imaging Inc., Waltham MA, 1996

  • Hardware installation manual
  • Software implementation guides
Writing Instructor

Composition, Technical Writing
Northeastern University, Boston MA, 1994 to 1996

  • Basic Composition (>250 students)
  • Technical Writing (>50 senior engineering students)
  • Subjects taught: information development, research and interview methodology, audience and task analysis, instructional design, visual design, style guides, and in-house publication
Writing Tutor

Specializing in English as a Foreign Language
Northeastern University, Boston MA, 1994 to 1996

  • Taught drafting and revision for essays, research papers, articles, and dissertations
  • Addressed EFL issues specific to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Urdu, Hindi, German, Russian, French (France and Haiti), and American Sign Language

Education

Master’s Degree in Technical and Professional Writing

Focus on content development and information design
Northeastern University, Boston MA 1996

Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature

Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, 1992