As most software is copyrighted, it is very important that you obtain a software licence before you try and use a piece of computer software. Its easy to overlook the need for this, but since the law is starting to clamp down on illegal software usage, it is even more important than ever that you obtain a software licence to ensure you are allowed to use the program.

Your Software Rights

There are of course some types of software that don’t need a licence, and you will often find this on the Internet referred to as freeware. However, businesses in particular need to pay attention to software licensing, as using software unauthorised can be a criminal offence. Luckily, there are plenty of software licence companies out there that can supply the necessary software licence rights and keep you on the right side of the law.

Criminals Are Being Caught

In this day and age, licensing and law is a common concern. Its true that some are ignorant to the fact they need a software licence, whereas others think they can just get away without one. It takes time to get the computer offenders, but it can be done, and the police will catch those that are breaking the law. Police are getting used to criminal activity on computers and it is not uncommon for people to get found out after only a few short weeks of using a piece of software without a software licence. Despite the increased chance of being caught, people are still avoiding purchasing any sort of software licence or even speaking with a software licence company.

Get A Proper Software Licence

Naturally, anyone using software without an appropriate licence is going to feel increasingly apprehensive about the chances of being caught, which is why it is best to speak with a software licensing company. It feels good when you know you aren’t breaking the law with your software, and the software licence company will make sure everything is above board. The software licence market is growing all the time, and more businesses are seeing the need to contact a specialist company and ensure they obtain the appropriate software licence rights.

Today companies are searching for ways to reduce their expenses and still keep quality high. One effective way to cut costs that many firms are exploring is to hire a technical writing company to develop their technical manuals. If everyone understands the ground rules this can be a very effective way to reduce costs and can actually improve the quality of the technical manuals in many cases. The following paragraphs provide six guidelines for ensuring a successful outsourcing project.

1. Establish ground rules. Everybody involved in a technical manual outsourcing project should understand the parameters of the project. A detailed project description will include information about the contents of the manual, the format of the document, the software used for publishing and illustrations, and the size of the project. Accurately defining the size or scope of the project is particularly important. Creating a preliminary outline can be used to project the page count, providing a basis for the scope.

2. Who does what? Another key to a successful project is to clearly identify who will be involved and what their roles will be. Problems can arise when multiple individuals are providing source data that may be conflicting. To alleviate this issue you should try to have one single person be responsible for getting data to and from the technical manual writing company.

3. Set the fee. My technical writing company, Allard, works almost exclusively on a firm, fixed-price basis. Clients appreciate this approach, as it allows them to budget with a degree of confidence and not worry about cost overruns or overcharges. It also provides us with an incentive to get the project completed on time, if not early.

4. Set a schedule. Deadlines exist for a reason. If there are no deadlines then very little will get accomplished - it is just human nature. But all parties involved should recognize that schedules are very seldom met with no slippage at all. It is a very rare technical writing project that hits every milestone with no delays due to late design changes, revisions, delays due to the unavailability of key individuals, etc.

5. Get it in writing. When a portion of a project is submitted (i.e. outline, rough draft) the technical writing company should insist upon a formal review and a written (or, email) approval. This will ensure that everybody has taken the responsibility to review the document and will avoid surprises later.

6. Be flexible. Particularly with the first project that is outsourced, parties on both sides of the equation should be flexible. There is an inevitable learning curve for these types of arrangements. The second project always goes smoother than the first, as the technical writers learn about the company, the individuals involved, the technology, etc. The customer’s staff learns what is expected of them, become more comfortable with the mechanics of exchanging information, and how to communicate their changes and suggestions to the technical writing company.

Over the last 20+ years we have successfully completed hundreds of projects comprising thousands of pages of technical manuals. Over that time we have developed internal processes that insure we produce a quality product for our customers. If your company follows the guidelines detailed in this article it will go a long way toward making sure your technical manual outsourcing project is successful.

Today companies are searching for ways to reduce their expenses and still keep quality high. One effective way to cut costs that many firms are exploring is to hire a technical writing company to develop their technical manuals. If everyone understands the ground rules this can be a very effective way to reduce costs and can actually improve the quality of the technical manuals in many cases. The following paragraphs provide six guidelines for ensuring a successful outsourcing project.

1. Get on the same page. Once everybody knows the rules of the game, the project will have a greater chance to succeed. Getting the rules laid out properly begins with a detailed proposal describing what will be accomplished. The details of the technical manual including content, layout, arrangement, format, graphics used, and other aspects should be defined to the extent possible. One key thing to try and quantify is the size or scope of the document. To gain an understanding of how big the project will be, develop an outline and try to assign estimated page counts to each chapter.

2. Who does what? Another key to a successful project is to clearly identify who will be involved and what their roles will be. Problems can arise when multiple individuals are providing source data that may be conflicting. To alleviate this issue you should try to have one single person be responsible for getting data to and from the technical manual writing company.

3. Set the fee. My technical writing company, Allard, works almost exclusively on a firm, fixed-price basis. Clients appreciate this approach, as it allows them to budget with a degree of confidence and not worry about cost overruns or overcharges. It also provides us with an incentive to get the project completed on time, if not early.

4. Set a schedule. Deadlines exist for a reason. If there are no deadlines then very little will get accomplished - it is just human nature. But all parties involved should recognize that schedules are very seldom met with no slippage at all. It is a very rare technical writing project that hits every milestone with no delays due to late design changes, revisions, delays due to the unavailability of key individuals, etc.

5. Get it in writing. When a portion of a project is submitted (i.e. outline, rough draft) the technical writing company should insist upon a formal review and a written (or, email) approval. This will ensure that everybody has taken the responsibility to review the document and will avoid surprises later.

6. Be patient. If you are outsourcing your technical writing for the first time, you should understand that there will be a learning curve. The writers have to become familiar with the technology, the product, and the individuals involved. The client will have to learn what is expected in terms of the level of detail, the typical turnaround, and other facets of the project. The first project is typically somewhat rocky, but if everybody is patient and perseveres, the next project will invariably go better.

Our library of completed projects fills almost an entire office. In over 20 years of technical writing, we have developed a good working relationship with dozens of clients, many of whom have outsourced their projects to Allard for many years. If your company will heed the suggestions in this list, it will help your next project proceed smoothly.