technical writing samples

Here are some samples of my technical writing. Except as noted all are entirely my work. Send e-mail for the password required to open the locked documents. If you need a copy of Acrobat Reader for the PDF files, you can download it here.

Striim (2013-present)

• The Striim platform documentation is online at www.striim.com/docs. Around 10% of the topics (mostly in the HP NonStop and "Advanced programming" sections) were written by developers.
• The Striim Application Management REST API documentation created from Swagger / OpenAPI specs written by developers is online at striim.docs.stoplight.io.

Sendmail (2011-2013)

An excerpt from the Sentrion Administrator Guide detailing migration to a new version of OpenLDAP.

Embarcadero Technologies (2004-2008)

• The DT/Studio user guide, which incorporates the administrator's guide.
• The DT/Studio installation guide.
• The Embarcadero Technical Writer Guide, an internal document covering documentation department standards and procedures.

Zapatec (2003)

• The Bloki User Guide (requires Microsoft Internet Explorer), the RoboHelp-generated online help for the Bloki Web hosting service.
• The Zapatec Quick Walk-Through, an introduction to the Zapatec database service.
• Web site redesign prototype (shows off my HTML and CSS skills): home page, support page.

EPCjobs (2002)

• The extensively hyperlinked recruiter, hiring manager, and candidate user guides for EPCjobs, an online staffing system.

Fresher Information (2001-2002)

• Getting Started with Matisse, an introduction to the Matisse object-oriented DBMS.
• The Matisse Java and C++ programmer's guides, including sample applications.
• The Matisse Data Type Reference referred to in Getting Started and the Java programmer's guide.
• The Matisse Rose Link user's guide.
• Release notes for Matisse versions 5.0.6 and 5.0.9.
• The installation guides for the Windows and Solaris versions of Matisse.
• A "Welcome to Matisse" page that launches after the Matisse for Windows installer completes (8KB .zip archive).
• Send e-mail for samples of javadoc- or Doc++-generated API references.

Portera Systems (2000-2001)

• The user guide for ServicePort, a hosted application suite for professional services organizations.
  • The change history for the above document.
  • The user guide for ServicePort's optional accounting module.
• The most extensive of the six versions of the manual for Learning Manager, a hosted application for corporate training programs. For this project, I used FrameMaker's conditional text to create a single-source document to generate separate manuals for three sets of users of two versions of the application.
  • Notes on the FrameMaker conditional text settings for the six versions (Excel, PDF).
  • What's New in Learning Manager 2.0.
• FAQ on Portera's XML interface and APIs.
• The front page from the intranet Web site I maintained for the convenience of other Portera employees.

BeatWare (2000)

• The cross-platform (Mac and Windows) user manual for e-Picture Pro, a program for creating Web-oriented animations and other graphics. Chapters 2 and 3 (the bulk of the document) are my original work, the rest I edited from copy provided by the company.
• Send e-mail for copies of the sample files I created for use with the tutorial section of the manual.

Telamon (1999-2000)

• Excerpts from the administrator's guide for TelAlert, a program that adds automatic paging and other notification capabilities to help-desk and network management applications. Except for a few paragraphs of Chapter 4, these excerpts are entirely my work, based on interviews with the programmers, examination of source code, and using the program myself. I created the diagram on page 16 using Visio. Some blank pages are included because the original FrameMaker document is formatted for duplex (double-sided) printing. In the table of contents and index, hypertext links that reference the included chapters (4 and 15) will work properly, but the rest will fail.
• The online help for a TelAlert client program (113KB .zip archive). I used RoboHelp to adapt this from the relevant sections of the administrator's guide.
• The course manual for a three-day TelAlert training course. I used FrameMaker's conditional text to create a single-source document to generate both student and instructor versions of the manual.
• A "primer" to introduce TelAlert to new users, prospective customers, and students attending the course.

Netopia (1999)

• Quick-reference guides for Timbuktu HouseCall Doctor and HouseCall Patient, the client and host portions of a simple Macintosh remote-control utility.

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Last updated 7/30/20.

©2019 Robert Lauriston. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission.