(PRWEB UK) 2 November 2015
The ISTC’s (Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators) 2015 UK Technical Communication Awards received an unprecedented number of entries for what is the technical communication industry’s equivalent to The Oscars. This year, the panel of judges decided to offer 5 ‘winner’ and 5 ‘merit’ awards due to the extremely high quality of entries portraying clear, concise and effective information. The awards were recently presented at the ISTC’s TCUK (Technical Communication UK) conference gala dinner at the Beardmore Hotel and Conference Centre, near Glasgow.
Entries were received from around the world from ISTC members and non-members, showcasing the best in communication relating to scientific or technological products and services. Winning entries included Productivity Best Practice Guides for the Engineering Construction Industry Association; a de-bugging guide providing instructions on how to find errors in software for embedded computer systems; a system operation guide for transportation routing and scheduling software; and user guides for Vertu Signature Touch prestige mobile phones.
Due to the high standard of entries, judges also offered 5 Merits for work including a help system for a web-based pricing platform to generate quotes for HP customers; online Help for customers of the HP web portal; a reference guide aimed at programmers using APIs to run commands in CA Release Automation; web-based guidance documentation to monitor PHP applications; and guides to help non-technical communicators tasked with writing help for IT topics.
UK Technical Communication Awards manager, Galyna Key, said “This year, we received the highest ever number of entries for the UK Technical Communication Awards and the judges also decided to offer ‘merits’ due to the high standard of the applications. We received entries from individuals, companies and collaborators from all around the world and from different types of industry. We hope to build on the success of this year’s awards, and encourage all technical communicators to enter next year’s UKTC Awards from March 2016!”
Alison Peck, ISTC President added “The high calibre of the entries to this year’s technical communication awards highlights the contribution of technical communicators to an organisation’s success. The quality of the entries made judging both a pleasure and extremely difficult – I’m proud to count myself as one of them.”
The other judges on the panel also remarked on the high standards of entries this year, adding:
“We were impressed with the high quality of the entries this year. It was particularly rewarding to review the entries in the context of the entrants' stated objectives. Their initial thoughts were transformed into professional and accomplished examples of effective technical communication."
"We had a good number of entries; they varied in subject, style, medium and target audience. The high standards across the board augur well for the future of technical communication."
Paul Ballard, managing director of 3di added:
“The 3di team was thrilled to have our three entries recognised as category winners in the UK Technical Communication Awards. Two of our entries were for projects with our customer Vertu, the UK designer and manufacturer of luxury mobile phones and accessories. Their customers are worldwide and the 3di team has been working with them for three years, establishing an approach to designing and building the user manuals. Our awards recognised the successful work of Vertu and 3di in creating elegant and effective user manuals in multiple languages, for printed guides, PDF, webhelp and mobile help. Our work with the Engineering Construction Industry Association (ECIA) was also recognised; the series of practical guides are helping staff in the industry understand, and make decisions about, complex management issues.”
The full list of award and merit winners is as follows:
AWARD WINNERS:
Awards Category: Best conceptual communication
Entry Title: Engineering Construction Industry Association - Productivity Best Practice Guides
Awarded To: ECIA and 3di
Awards Category: Best procedural communication
Entry Title: C-SPY® Debugging Guide for Advanced RISC Machines Ltd’s ARM®
Awarded to: Susanne Dahlén, Maria Eklund, Johan Anglemark
Awards Category: Best use of video, interaction and multi-media
Entry Title: Paragon Help, Paragon System Operation Guide
Awarded to: Gary Appleton
Awards Category: Best use of single sourcing and multi-channel publishing
Entry Title: Vertu Signature Touch User Guides
Awarded to: Vertu and 3di
Awards Category: Best product integration
Entry Title: Vertu Accessories User Guides
Awarded to: Vertu and 3di
MERIT WINNERS:
Entry Title: CASPER Help
Awarded To: Aidan O'Driscoll, Wayne Craun, Lynda O'Leary, Neil Keefe, Mary McManus
Entry Title: HP Support Center and Insight Online Help
Awarded To: Aidan O'Driscoll, Wayne Craun, Lynda O'Leary, Neil Keefe, Mary McManus
Entry Title: REST API Reference
Awarded to: Darryll Whittle
Entry Title: PHP Agent
Awarded To: Jennifer Huffer
Entry Title: IT Content Assistance
Awarded To: John Kearney
The Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators is the largest UK body representing information development professionals. The ISTC encourages professional development and standards, research resources and networking opportunities for its members and industry affiliates, and promotes technical communication as a profession.
For further information and to submit an entry for the 2016 UK Technical Communication Awards, go to http://www.uktcawards.wordpress.com
For further details about the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC), go to http://www.istc.org.uk
