Featured TC - Tyson Barnett
February 2016
Tyson Barnett is a Senior Technical Writer and Practice Manager for Gallagher, a global provider of animal management, security, and fuel system solutions. Based in the Hamilton head office, Tyson does everything from writing release notes for customised security software to producing videos. He spoke to Tim Grey last week.
How did you get into technical communication?
I started my career as a Graphic Designer after completing a Bachelor of Media Arts (BMA) at WINTEC. I worked as a Graphic Designer and then Production Manager for ABA Resources Ltd, publishing educational books for New Zealand secondary schools. It was at this time I wrote my first publication "Year 11 Human Biology Achievement Standard 1.4 Describe how humans respond to pathogens". This publication was co-authored with Rosalie McGowan and Bev Cooper. This was my introduction to writing and a foothold for my current role as a Technical Writer. I’ve been a Technical Writer for 7 years now.
Does your background in graphic design inform your work as a technical communicator?
Definitely! I'm designing with words and illustrations. I try and present the information in its simplest form. I take the technical attributes of the subject matter and transform this into everyday language.
Another passion of mine is producing videos. I produce a short demonstration video for each major feature of a software release. This provides an opportunity for me to utilise both my product knowledge and graphic design skills.
Is it difficult to know where to draw the line in a video compared to a written document?
Not really. If the video is more than a few minutes long, the key concepts will be lost. The challenge in any format is knowing what to include and exclude. There is a trend towards slimming down manuals, whereas I'm of the opinion that you start with a full detailed, digital user guide then refine that to create a secondary quick start guide for print.
What are your key tools?
Plenty of coffee!
The main publishing applications we use are Author-it, Adobe InDesign, and Microsoft Word. For the visual imagery, we use Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop. For the videos I use Adobe Captivate for screen capturing, Adobe Premier for editing, and Adobe After Effects for the polish. I then publish using Adobe Media Encoder.
As a former graphic designer, do you have any tips on including visuals in technical documents?
Firstly work out how important it is to have the imagery, as creating images takes time. Use vector graphics. Vector graphics can be easily altered and re-used. Collaborate with other departments, marketing may have images you can use, the Engineers may have CAD files you can use.
What is it you like most about being a technical communicator?
The thing I love about writing is learning. I'm constantly learning. I learn something new every day! I try and learn as much about the subject matter as possible. As Einstein said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” I also like a challenge and transforming complex information into everyday language is a challenge.
As the world becomes more technical, I can only see the industry growing. I recently hosted two communication graduates from WINTEC and it was great explaining what the technical writers here at Gallagher do on a day-to-day basis. They could see that R&D are working on cutting edge, innovative products, that the technical communicators are a part of. As I said to them, if you have a passion for learning and enjoy simplifying technical subject matter, then the role of Technical Communicator could be for you.