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Subject:RE: Information Mapping From:Maggie Secara <MSecara -at- bizbuyer -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 6 Dec 2000 10:27:14 -0800
I was lucky. I had a manger some years ago who had been through the course,
and had all the materials, which she passed on to me an a co-worker (hideous
black rules and all) rather fervently. I've been using my personal
variation of info mapping ever since, but I've always been glad I didn't
have to go through the ritual, uh, course myself. And by now, it just comes
naturally.
By way of extending your research, you might also want to look at the Simply
Written site (www.simplywritten.com) of which Tim Altom is the usual
representative around here. Another approach to the same idea.
*not affiliated with either*
Maggie Secara
The Technical Writer
BizBuyer.com
Santa Monica, CA
(310) 883-6446
"Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend,
an
acquaintance, or a stranger." Franklin Jones
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael West [mailto:mwest -at- oz -dot- quest -dot- com]
<snipped in fear of Eric's quoting limitations>
But watch out for their zealots, who can be incredibly
blind to the method's shortcomings; most notably its
horribly antiquated and horse-blinkered approach to
visual design.
If you build a pro-forma IM document, then strip out the
hideous black rules they like to stick everywhere (in
blatant defiance of Edward Tufte's 'ink-to-data ratio'),
and re-style the text and headings according to sound
visual principles, you will almost always end up with
a better document than you would have if you hadn't
applied IM principles.
I recommend the training, but I hope your instructor
is someone who hasn't lost all humor and proportion--
as mine had. Despite what they may try to assert,
it is but ONE structured writing method, not THE
method. Its value is in the early phases of document
development; in the end, its visual rubble needs
to be cleared away before a document is ready to
release.
--
Michael West
Melbourne, Australia
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