Not yet over

Are your projects done? Don’t be too happy. Projects don’t end in the implementation phase. Once your projects are done, you should take a moment to look back and see what went wrong and what went well. Some of us might think that it isn’t necessary because we can’t turn back the hands of time; however, evaluating projects can bring the following benefits.

• Evaluation helps you avoid doing the same mistakes in future projects. Always keep in mind the popular saying “one is enough and two is too much”.
• Recognize your strengths and continue building on it during your next projects. Knowing what helped you hit the marks during your recent project will help you develop strategies for future projects.
• Recognize your weaknesses and find ways to improve them. By evaluating your projects, you can see areas that you need to work on. Those weaknesses might have negatively affected your project at this time; however, when you continue to improve those areas, you are reducing its impact on your future projects. Those can possibly be your future strengths, too.

So before you celebrate, make sure you find time to look back. In the Philippines, we have a popular saying, “a person who does not look back to where his from, will not make it to where he plans to be”.

Word count: 220

Information please

I watched Pilot Betrayed, an episode of Mayday Television series. The episode is about a plane crash wherein numerous things in placed on the airline and aircraft manufacturer’s system weren’t implemented correctly. Here are some of the things that contributed to the catastrophe.

• The deicing method currently in place doesn’t completely deice a part of the airplane that is necessary to safely fly the plane craft.
• The manufacturer of the plane craft introduced a new feature; however, pilots were not made aware of the new feature. The new feature called Automatic Thrust Restoration confused the pilots when they were trying to save the plane from crashing. The pilot was directing the plane to do something but the plane did otherwise.

What struck me most about this episode is the importance of passing on important information to people who will be directly affected by the use or non-use of the information. Having the right information at the right time enables users to effectively proceed with their tasks. As technical communicators, it is our task to create user-friendly documentation; however, the organization that we work for should also be diligent in making sure that the information are distributed and implemented. 

We owe the information to the user.

Word count: 205

Space

Everyone needs space. Everything needs space. This morning I was hoping to work on my project; however, all the classrooms with the software that I need for my project were occupied. Needing that space so badly and not having it made me realize the value of space in our lives.

Space is not only important when you need to fill something. Space is also valuable when you need a break from something. This is very evident in various communication materials. In different documents that we do, we should not be scared to use space. Space gives the users the following benefits.

• Space creates grouping for the information. Using space effectively helps our audience to identify where an idea belongs.
• Space gives audience the opportunity to pause and think of the information that were presented.
• Space makes documentation materials less scary. You might think that using space makes your material look like it has nothing valuable to say or it contains very little information. I think that’s not true. Space makes the audience feel that our material is something  that is easy to digest or go through.

So whatever you’re doing, always remember to use space. You might also need some personal time and space before starting your project!

Word count: 208

Two years and two weeks

Almost two years have passed since I entered Red River College. Now, we have about two weeks left in the program. I would say my stay at the College was really short but I feel and know that I learned a lot. Here are just some of the things that I learned out of my two years of stay at the College.

• I learned to remember to think of others in everything that I do. In technical communication, we were thought of always asking who is our audience? What I learned in college is to always think of the welfare of others in all that I do because the world doesn’t just belong to myself.
• Timing is everything. Everyone seems to be busy at the College. Having to juggle all the balls in my hands thought me the value of time and perfect timing.
• Always learn to love what I do. I realized that sometimes it just takes a little love for the work that you’re doing to actually get it done.
• What does not kill me only makes me stronger. I like this saying because it helps me remember to always take something as a learning experience, no matter how hard it is. College is survival of the fittest. And like animals do, I need to adapt in order to come out strong.

I still have two weeks left. I should try to get the most out of it because someday I might look back and of course I want it be mostly happy memories. 

Word count: 260