dotmil and dotgov TechComm Consulting: Part 1

Indiana Jones & TechComm?!?

My first impression of government Technical Communicators  while in the military brought to mind that last scene in the classic film Raiders of the Lost Ark where, after the entire film’s adventures the Ark of the Covenant is being (air finger quotes) examined by top men.

Indy asks who, and the reply is the same: Top. Men.

As the film cuts away, we see the famous box holding the Ark being wheeled down the hall of a warehouse.

I tended to think of Technical Communication within the Government as being the same. Content repositories being siloed. It was hard to access and in the worst case in recent history, being responsible for the events of 9/11 according to the 9/11 Commission’s report. Agency A couldn’t communicate with Agency B in time to bring actionable information to bear, therefore… We all know the rest of the story.

How interested is the dotGov in listening to TechComm consultants?

Cause and effect being what it is, it’s been in everyone’s best interest to streamline the information.

Military Technical Communication? Is that an oxymoron?

TechComm has been going on since the first typewriters were adopted by the military. With tools like DITA and XML, dotmil Technical Communication has potential it has in the 21st Century. I’ve been in contact with several levels of dotgov and dotmil Technical Communicators in the past fifteen years.

Doing business with the military is not something that majority of the Technical Communicators deal with regularly. However… With the tremendous reliance on technology, there is an equal or greater reliance upon training for new technology adopted by the military.

There’s always the savvy TechComm services provider who comes across a dotgov or dotmil bid that’s just too good to pass up on, and this article is meant for you.

Consultants who own their own company - this article is for you.

Technical Communicators working for temporary staffing companies - this article is for you. You may end up having to work with contractors or directly for the military as part of a contract.

Exiting military members who are looking for careers outside - this article is also for you.

Demand for TechComm is best defined as both a push and pull of the technology.

While I was at eHelp Corporation I had the pleasure of dealing with several government contractors at SPAWAR and what is now Rockwell Collins. I used to talk to the NASA docs manager regularly and many case studies have been written about the dotgov and dotmil usage of Technical Communication.

Some of the instructors who taught me got out of the service and continued to work in Technical Communication, some for General Atomics and other defense contractors.

Looking At dotmil TechComm Pull:

Technical Communication is pulled by the dotmils and dotgovs as part of the contract process. Savvy military liaisons will realize the value of a good help file and technical support. This leads into the fulfillment of contract requirements for the best possible value.

Government contractors usually have full time positions. Freelance consultants should capitalize on new government technology that’s being adopted.

An IEEE paper from 1991 titled Operation Desert Storm: Emergence of the Need for Technical Communication defines the role TechComm played nearly eighteen years ago.

From the abstract:

…Desert Shield, and subsequently Desert Storm, represented turning points in joining technical communicators with the scientists and engineers into a cohesive team, an after effect likely to continue.

Top military and civilian managers had the foresight to include technical communicators on the R&D team at CRDEC and the results were strategies that improved quality of communication and succeeded in conveying needed scientific and engineering information.

I might add, as one of the GenX’ers who was over there in 1992 post Desert Storm that this was before the Internet. Before Web 2.0, before email was adopted widely, and right about the time we were converting from Wordstar.  I was one of the early adopters in our squadron to Microsoft Word 2.0!

Examining The dotmil TechComm Push:

As a ‘push’ from software providers, rapid eLearning is something that, according to the statistics, fits well within the dotmil user group.

Of note is that most operational units within the Navy, for instance, fit the small organization demographic identified as those who are going towards online training.

* E-learning has grown dramatically. The use of self-study e-learning now accounts for 20% of student hours, up from last year’s figure of 15%.

This growth is driven largely by an increase in online training among small organizations (100-999 employees), which are acquiring the skills and technology to make online training a reality.

The average size of a squadron or cruiser complement is 250 people. Unit sized application of rapid eLearning is a smart way to shape adoption of technology.  I used Computer Based-Training in 1990 in the military. The Navy was early adopters of this technology and I expect them to continue seeking organic eLearning through software and procedure documentation.

Technical Support Documentation

Obviously it’s desirable to provide training and how-to advice at the closest point as possible. Hence TechComm and in particular rapid eLearning methods.

What are some of your best examples you feel should be savings us all some tax dollars? Any best practices you think could help?

In parts 2 and 3 we’ll be looking at ways to get involved on the small, consultant level.