Value of Technical Publications in Automotive Engineering Industry free essay sample

[pic] Position Paper on Value of Technical Publications in Automotive Engineering Industry Providing useful and accurate documents is critical to ensure that the user can easily find the required information. If the end users cannot find the answers to their problems, they assume that the documentation is useless. To be useful, the documentation must be clear, concise, and well designed. The documentation that is accurate and complete also needs to be well designed. Accurate and easy-to-understand technical documentation is the only way to provide information to the end user, and it is also cost-effective. India is the 9th largest automobile industry in the world, with a production of 2. 3 million units in 2008 alone. In 2009, India became Asia’s 4th largest exporter of cars. Automobile companies like Nissan, Volkswagen, Toyota and Hyundai have expanded manufacturing facilities to India. Nissan and Hyundai predict an export of over 250,000 vehicles by 2011. [pic]  ¦ Business Proposals  ¦ Legal Disclaimers  ¦ Policy Manuals  ¦ Style Guide Design  ¦ Template Design Telephone: +91. 80. 40741400 / +91. 80. 41256367 Corporate Enquiries: [emailprotected] in TWB is a leading technical publisher with an excellent record of providing unmatched technical documentation to many major companies. TWB is the ideal choice for leading manufacturers in the automotive industry. TWB helps customers with all their technical documentation needs such as design documents, analytical reports, handbooks, technical specification documents, technical reports and training materials. TWB works closely with client teams located globally, and assists them in meeting their worldwide product announcements and launch deadlines. TWB works round-the-clock with client teams and help them with quick responses that facilitate timely distribution of documents around the globe. Rapid technological advances in the automotive industry have resulted in complex and diverse technical products. The task of creating documentation for such a wide range of products may seem complex and daunting, since documentation has to be revised or updated to keep pace with advancements. Quality documentation is easy to update and maintain, reducing the cost involved despite the massive amounts of documentation required by the industry. Differences in the functionality and quality of technical products are slowly reducing. However the complexity of these products is increasing correspondingly. As product complexity increases, the quality of the documentation is often the deciding factor in customer decision making. TWB provides documentation with professional quality. Product liability regulations, like the EU product liability directive, have impacted technical documentation enormously. Today, the demand for experts in technical documentation is high to guarantee quality document creation, thus avoiding legal ramifications. Economic Business Research  ¦ Industry Analysis  ¦ Market Opportunity Analysis  ¦ Competitive Business Analysis  ¦ Company Prospect Profiling  ¦ Reporting Solutions  ¦ Assessment of Unmet Market Needs  ¦ Status and Potential of Technologies  ¦ Benchmarking of Strategies Vs Competition  ¦ Forecasting  ¦ Sales Force Effectiveness  ¦ Market Assessments  ¦ Competitive Intell igence  ¦ Opinion Leadership  ¦ Emerging Markets evaluation and research TWB – Leading Technical Documentation Outsourcing Company Telephone: +1. 512. 586. 8357 Attractive Publications as Useful Marketing Tool Document Management Solutions  ¦ Record Management Storage and Retrieval  ¦ US Office: TWB 11701 Norwegian Wood Drive Austin, TX 78758 Records Management  ¦ Software Translation Services  ¦ Document Translation Services  ¦ Localization (L10N) Testing  ¦ Internationalization (I18N) Testing Translation and Localization Services In the automotive industry, it is necessary to create several different types of documentation for different purposes: design documents, technical reports, specification documents, user manuals and training material and so on. Each of these documents addresses a different audience, each of whom has a specific role in the automotive industry. It is important that documents be created keeping in mind the role of the person who will use the documentation. For example, a technical analyst, who is accustomed to reviewing satellite images on a workstation, needs to learn how to use the system and software to magnify the image, but not how to analyze the image. For users who start without technical or product knowledge, you need to provide instructions to use the product as well as information they need to look for as a result of using the product. This presents a more difficult problem. Different needs of the end users and the gap between their technical and product knowledge determines the amount of information that goes into technical publications. Deployment and Support The recent economic crisis has created momentum for a massive structural change in the auto industry, preparing the industry for growth for the next decade. â€Å"The automotive industry in India grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 11. 5% over the past five years. † – The Economic Survey, 2008 – 2009. Growth of the automotive industry in India Challenges and Solutions Qualitative Analytics for Decision Support This paper presents the value of and need for quality Technical Publications in the Automotive Engineering industry. Technical publications include a wide variety of material such as design documents, analytical reports, handbooks, technical specification documents, user manuals, requirement documents, technical reports, white papers, online help files, classroom and web based training material, policy manuals, lab reports, and case studies. Modern automotive engineering is a complex process, integrating elements of mechanical, electrical and electronic, software and safety engineering. The key concept behind the integration of multiple processes is to automate vehicle manufacture and increase efficiency. This has led to rapid innovation in the development of automotive systems. Today, customers are offered highly customized products at low prices. This is achieved by configuring individual vehicles from a large number of options. This necessitates the creation of highly accurate and specific product documentation. Further, the rapid technological progress in the automotive industry has led to increased complexity in technical products. Owner and user manuals have increased by over 100% in volume in the last decade. This has proven to be a challenge, since globalization has necessitated an increase in the number of languages into which a technical document is translated. With each additional language translation, costs increase, directly proportional to the size and complexity of the documentation. This makes the creation of simple, easily comprehensible documentation essential to the automotive industry. This, in turn, necessitates the involvement of Technical Documentation Specialists in the creation of these documents. In this paper we will discuss the importance of technical publications to the automotive industry, to facilitate the growth, and development of the industry. â€Å"TWB believes that technology cannot exist without being communicated effectively. †  ¦ Workflows  ¦ Standard Operating Procedures  ¦ ISO Documentation  ¦ CMM Documentation  ¦ Installation and Configuration Guides  ¦ Operations Manual  ¦ Process Documentation  ¦ Web 2. development  ¦ Web content  ¦ Web applications Web site Development  ¦ Graphic Designing  ¦ Info graphics  ¦ 2D 3D animation  ¦ Line drawings and illustrations Illustrations  ¦ Single Sourcing  ¦ File Version Control  ¦ Document Naming Conventions  ¦ Consistent Document Formatting  ¦ Data Transformation Content Management TWB is India’s leader in technical communication outsourcing and educ ation. TWB offers a complete suite of services that allow our customers to effectively publish their technical knowledge with their people and processes. TWB’s customers range from Global 500 – including Cisco, Accenture, McAfee, LG, Samsung, Citrix, SAP, Siemens, AOL, Intel; Indian technology majors – including Infosys, Wipro; Global defense majors Pratt Whitney, Honeywell, DRDO, HAL; and exciting technology startups. TWBs expertise in technical communication ranges from IT Products and Outsourcing, ITES, Banking, Financial, Aerospace, Defense, Ship Building to Hi-tech Manufacturing, and Discrete and Process Manufacturing. TWB’s services include: The Importance of the Automotive Industry: The automotive industry is among the few that have shown steady growth during the last few years, particularly with the troubled economy. The automotive industry is important not just for its direct effects, but for its indirect effects as well. The industry has a large, complex supply chain, which draws from both specialized component suppliers and material suppliers. The automotive industry is one of the largest consu mers of products of the aluminum, rubber, glass, plastics and steel industries. For many industries, the automotive industry is a leading consumer, whose requirements provide an impetus to innovations that benefit other sectors.  ¦ Value of Technical Publications: Technical Publications are very essential for transferring product knowledge to the end users. Providing proper material to use technology and products enables the user to accept and efficiently use the product. Frequently, the quality of documentation is a factor which directly contributes to a customer’s decision to purchase or reject a product. Faulty assumptions about documentation lead to inaccurate and hard-to-understand material which discourages end users from the product itself. This also decreases the changes of marketing the products in the global markets.  ¦ Role of Documentation Outsourcing: The complexity involved in automotive engineering, arising from the integration of electric, electronic, manufacturing, software, and hardware systems requires that vendors and purchasers look at outsourcing their documentation needs to well-established Technical Publications Solutions providers. This helps the company cut costs and at the same time deliver their products with quality documents. Growth of the automotive industry Globally These faulty assumptions result in incomprehensible documents:  ¦ The developers know the product better than anyone else: With time constraints and limited resources, many companies are tempted to let the programmers do the documentation. The engineers and developers know the product very well. However, the developer is likely to provide technology-centered information; where as the end user requires task-centered information. pic]  ¦ The application is complicated; having a writer learn about it will take too long: Learning the product should not be a major obstacle for the writers with the right technical background. Publications for Different Levels of Technical and Product Knowledge Benefits Business Documentation The purpose of technical publications is to transfer product knowledge to the end user, in a comprehensible format. The s trategies of communication and levels of information vary depending on the type of product. When delivering a product, whether a hardware product or a software application, it is equally important to give the users information about the product’s operation and maintenance. In the real world scenario, technical publications are often developed as an afterthought. This usually results in inaccurate and hard-to-understand material. As a result, the users dislike these materials and avoid using them. Inaccurate and hard-to-understand material also results in the user’s inability to understand and implement high-end technologies. The users might reject the product. Technical Publication for Transferring Product Knowledge Faulty Assumptions that Result in Problems in Documentation â€Å"Mark Oline, a Fitch Ratings Analyst predicted that sales will rise to 11. 1 million cars and trucks next year, a 7. 8 percent increase over the 10. 3 million he expects for 2009. † China’s automobile market showed massive growth in 2010, with output and sales for January continuing from the growth in December 2009, to reach 1. 6148 million and 1. 6642 million units respectively. Autofacts forecasts a 10% improvement in sales in the North America, predicting sales of 13. million units with an assembly forecast of 10. 4 million units. In South America, the vehicle sales reached 3 million units in 2009, a record-breaking 12. 7% increase over sales in the 2008. This growth is expected to continue, both in sales and assembly. â€Å"Knowledge is people, money, learning, flexibility and competitive advantage. Knowledge is more relevant to sustained busine ss than capital or labor. And yet knowledge remains the most neglected asset of a business. TWB helps you unlock and share your technical knowledge with the world. †  ¦ Short Reports  ¦ Proposals  ¦ Case Studies Lab Reports  ¦ Memos  ¦ Progress/Interim Reports  ¦ Writing for Electronic Media Business Communication  ¦ Copy Editing and Proof Reading  ¦ Managing Writing  ¦ Editing Services  ¦ Layout and Design  ¦ Creating SLAs Documentation Quality Management  ¦ Datasheets  ¦ Administrator’s Guide  ¦ API Document  ¦ Configuration Guide  ¦ Functional Specifications Document  ¦ Installation Manual  ¦ Interface Document  ¦ Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM)  ¦ Maintenance Manual  ¦ Online Help  ¦ Operation Manual  ¦ Product Demo  ¦ Product Specifications Document  ¦ Product Overview Document  ¦ Quick Reference Guide Release Notes  ¦ Requirement Analysis Document  ¦ SDK Document  ¦ Troubleshooting Manual  ¦ User Manual  ¦ Open Source Documentation  ¦ Programmers Guides  ¦ Functional Specifications Document  ¦ Use Cases  ¦ Online Help /Context Sensitive Help  ¦ Troubleshooting Guides  ¦ Technical Product Documentation Technical Marketing Solutions  ¦ Datasheets  ¦ Cheat sheets  ¦ Solution Briefs/Solution Brochures  ¦ Presentations – Products/Corporate Profile  ¦ Brochures and marketing collateral  ¦ Web content  ¦ Audio and video scripts  ¦ Press releases  ¦ Direct mail  ¦ Newsletter design copy  ¦ Sales catalogues  ¦ Sales sheets Our technical proficiency in software and authoring tools includes:  ¦ SCORM 1. 2 / 2004  ¦ AICC  ¦ W3C  ¦ Section 508  ¦ QTI XML Standards  ¦ Microsoft Visio  ¦ iGrafx  ¦ EDraw  ¦ RFFlow  ¦ Flowbreeze  ¦ Smart Draw Flowcharting  ¦ Sharepoint ®  ¦ Moodle  ¦ Joomla,  ¦ WordPress  ¦ Media Wiki  ¦ CMS Builder  ¦ Author-it (formerly AuthorIT)  ¦ Alfresco  ¦ XMetal ®  ¦ Microsoft Word 2003 ®,  ¦ Microsoft Word 2007 ® CMS/ LMS XML  ¦ Microsoft Access  ¦ Microsoft SQL Server Databases  ¦ JavaHelp  ¦ Adobe RoboHelp 7. 0  ¦ HelpScribble  ¦ WebWorks Publisher  ¦ PowerCHM  ¦ Doc-To-Help  ¦ WinCHM  ¦ HelpSmith 2. 1. 1(Windows)  ¦ Fast-Help MadCap Flare  ¦ Help-Server  ¦ NVU Help Online Help  ¦ Adobe Flash ®  ¦ Adobe Flex ®  ¦ Adobe AIR ®  ¦ Adobe Dreamweaver ®  ¦ Adobe Acrobat ®  ¦ Microsoft Silverlight ®  ¦ Adobe Authorware ®  ¦ Adobe Director ®  ¦ Adobe Captivate ®  ¦ Trivantis L ectora ®  ¦ ASP. NET  ¦ JSP  ¦ JAVA Multimedia/Authoring/ Supporting tools Graphics/Animation  ¦ Adobe Flash ®  ¦ Adobe Photoshop ®  ¦ Adobe Illustrator ®  ¦ Adobe Fireworks ®  ¦ Microsoft Silverlight ®  ¦ Adobe Flash ®  ¦ Adobe Dreamweaver ®  ¦ Microsoft FrontPage ®  ¦ Adobe Captivate ® Multimedia/Authoring  ¦ Adobe Flash ®  ¦ Adobe Photoshop ®  ¦ Adobe Fireworks ® Macromedia Captivate Graphics/Animations Adobe Flash CS4 Professional  ¦ Adobe Illustrator CS3  ¦ CorelDRAW  ¦ Microsoft-Expression Graphic Designer  ¦ Xara Xtreme (Windows Linux)  ¦ CuteDraw  ¦ Publisher3D(for animation)  ¦ Sketsa SVG Editor (for vector graphics)  ¦ Techsmith Camtasia  ¦ Adobe Flash CS4 Professional  ¦ Arbortext IsoDraw (technical illustrations for 2D and 3D) Illustrations  ¦ XSLT/XSL  ¦ EDD Development and Publishing tools  ¦ Epic  ¦ FrameMaker+SGML  ¦ X-Metal ® XML Structured Editors  ¦ Microsoft Word ®  ¦ A dobe FrameMaker ®  ¦ Adobe InDesign ®  ¦ QuarkXPress ®  ¦ Adobe PageMaker ®  ¦ Unstructured Content Development TWB services a wide range of technology and knowledge driven industries, helping them meet their markets better, these include:  ¦ Banking, Insurance and Financial Services  ¦ Consulting and Business Services  ¦ Defense, Aerospace and Hi-Tech Manufacturing  ¦ Education and Learning  ¦ IT, ITES  ¦ ITES/ KPO/ BPO  ¦ Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology  ¦ Process Manufacturing and Allied Industries  ¦ Steel, Ship Building, Construction and Aviation  ¦ Telecom and Digital Communications Some of the greatest documentation challenges that most companies in the automotive industry face today include:  ¦ Increased complexity and diversity of products Increased competition with regard to documentation quality and efficiency  ¦ Stricter product liability regulations, placing more importance on completeness and comprehensibility of documentation. For a leading vendor in the automotive industry, association with TWB has benefited them immensely in saving costs and producing professional documentation along with services such as:  ¦ Transferring complex technical data into easily understandable language  ¦ Protecting technical and commercial data of newly developed products  ¦ Creating, editing, reviewing, and maintaining content Preparing training material, online Help, graphics and illustrations TWB has been the preferred technical documentation outsourcing company for: The TWB Building No: 4062, 19th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Bangalore – 560008 India. Landmark: Behind Carlton Towers [pic] The Writers Blockwww. twb. in7 The Writers Blockwww. twb. in6 TWB Position Paper on Value of Technical Publication in Indian Aerospace and Defense Industry2