Steven Jong

 

Director at Large

Senior Member
Documentation Manager, Camiant, Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts

 

Give an example of a time when you performed duties that were beyond the scope of your job description. How did you handle this experience?

As a contractor at a start-up company, I was asked to compile several RFP responses—no writing involved. In the start-up spirit (and because I was being paid hourly), I was happy to help. Unfortunately, given the size of the company, contributors scrambled deep into the night before the deadline to complete their sections, and each piece was substantially different. Just doing as I was asked would have meant an incoherent, amateurish document.

Instead, I reformatted the pieces into one style and organization as much as I could in the time available, and edited judiciously to unify organization and terminology. It took all night, but I made it.

It was exhilarating, if exhausting. And you haven’t earned your Word stripes until you can fix broken autonumbering at 3 am.

Afterwards, I recommended ways to avoid cutting things so close. I also went back and split the individual responses out into reusable chunks, so that in future they could be pulled from a directory and assembled quickly and efficiently.

Give an example of when you worked on an extremely difficult assignment with little or no resources. What did you do and what was the result?

As chair of the Certification Task Force, I am responsible for collecting the information the Board needs to make a yes/no decision on offering certification. This issue has been discussed for 45 years, with strongly held views on both sides. Associations typically spend hundreds of thousands of dollars establishing effective, legally defensible certification programs, but our budget over three years has been zero.

As committee chair I have:

• Worked to influence the Board’s point of view on certification
• Identified the tasks that can be done with volunteers, and worked with them to make progress
• Collected and catalogued the information generated by 30 years of previous task forces
• Kept the membership abreast of our progress through reports at the Summit and articles in Intercom
• Kept the task force non-partisan; our ultimate recommendation will be based on facts, not personal beliefs

Our work is not yet done, but no previous task force has gotten so far. We have made steady progress.

Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work?

The Board of Directors is a challenging venue in which to advance ideas. High-drive leaders, used to taking charge and getting their own way, discover that they have just one vote and have to persuade peers to succeed. Some never do.

I do my homework: I marshal facts and arrange them logically. But I also assert, persuade, and negotiate. I use logic, humor, and my passion for what I believe in. I listen, make myself heard inside the room, and build relationships outside it.

Another avenue of persuasion is through email. When I can take the time to craft my message, I can be extremely persuasive! So, when possible I gravitate toward that medium.

Finally, I learned enough of Robert’s Rules of Order to maneuver effectively. (Parliamentary procedure is very important for the Secretary to know.)

Ideas don’t come with nametags. People may forget I proposed an idea, but I only care that they adopt it. I knew I had "arrived" when my ideas were supported by peers quoting me without realizing it.

Describe a time when you wanted to improve a system. What steps did you take?

When I began my current job, there was no order-number system for documents, and no perceived need for one. The writers independently chose their own numbers and tracked their own revisioning. If an error was spotted just after they issued a document, they were quick to respond with a corrected version, using the same revision number. They were self-reliant and responsive; unfortunately, larger customers refused to accept our documents because we were giving them different documents with the same order number tht couldn’t be inventoried, and frustrated reviewers saw changes seemingly come and go in what they thought were the same documents.

As manager, I inventoried existing documents and quickly realized that the system was broken. So I implemented a system of unique order numbers and insisted on incrementing revision numbers at every change.

A byproduct of this system is that now we can—and do—archive and retrieve documents and create bills of materials for specific software releases.

What are your personal reasons for wanting to serve as Secretary on the STC board?

I feel I have more to offer the Society. As a former chapter president, I know the value of a good secretary. The Board Secretary needs to be a detail-oriented, process-minded person, and I am well suited to that role. I also have experience as secretary of another non-profit organization.

As a Director at Large, I bring three years of experience to a continued role on the Board. I’ve been fortunate enough to observe Char James-Tanny in action, and my goal is to match her excellent standard, and maybe even improve on it.

Over the years, relations between members, chapters, and the Society have frayed. Clear communication is one way to heal the rift. The Secretary, through minutes and other documents, provides a visible interface to the Board. We have made great strides in providing transparent, timely communication. I will work to raise the bar even higher.

STC service, honors, and awards

I am a Director at Large, serving a three-year term ending in May 2010. I am the chair of the Certification Task Force (2007–), charged with collecting the information necessary for the Board to make a yes/no decision on certification.

I have presented papers at nine annual conferences (the Summit) and several regional conferences. Since 2002 I have served the International Technical Publications Competition as a judge, lead judge, and Best of Show judge.

I am an active member of the Management SIG and the Information Design SIG.

In 2001 I was elected to the Boston Chapter Administrative Council as a member at large. In 2002 I was elected Second Vice President, and then served in automatic succession as First Vice President, President, and Immediate Past President. During that time I chaired the Programs, Bylaws, Strategic Planning, and Associate Fellows Nominating committees. I also helped revive the chapter newsletter. Since 1993 I’ve been active in the Boston Chapter Competitions in a variety of capacities including Best of Show judge and judge trainer. I have presented at program and SIG meetings. In 2007 I received the chapter’s Landers/Carbrey Spirit of Volunteerism award.

I’m also a member of the Northern New England Chapter.

Education and other (non-STC) professional affiliations, honors, and awards

I hold two degrees from Boston University, a Master of Science in Science Communication and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Physics and Astronomy. I won a Trustee’s Scholarship, and I also earned secondary-school teaching certifications in physics and mathematics.

Professional experience

In 30 years as a technical communicator, I’ve done a little bit of everything, including writing, editing, illustrating, training, and managing. I’ve documented operating systems, applications, databases, network management software, IDEs, and Web APIs.

I learned the craft at Honeywell Information Systems. I then worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, where in September 1992 I was appointed a Consulting Technical Writer. Later I was the documentation manager at Lightbridge, a principal writer at Pegasystems, a consultant at JumpTap, and a documentation project manager at 3Com. Currently I work at Camiant as the documentation manager.

I was involved with ISO, as an author and reviewer, in their effort to revise and consolidate the standards for software documentation.

Outside of technical writing, I have published professional papers, magazine and newspaper articles, fiction, poetry, and a trade paperback. I’ve designed and delivered courses, seminars, and workshops, in the US and Europe, on technical and professional subjects. I’ve been an instructor at the Massachusetts School of Law, a proofreader for the Dummies Press, and the compositor for an academic book.