2012-10-16 Barbara Giammona and panel present "Interviewing SMEs: Covering All the Bases and Hitting Homers"

Is it only an urban legend that a batch of brownies will guarantee that an engineer will make time to meet with you?  And when he does agree to meet, how do you make good use of that time?  Many of us shy technical-writer-types are not technical ourselves.  Is that an advantage or a disadvantage when meeting with an expert to discuss content for your project?  This "cross-generational" expert panel, with backgrounds in several industries, will talk to the question of how best to extract information from the cagiest of resources:  the Subject Matter Expert.  Bring us your biggest curve balls, and we'll help you keep from striking out with your SMEs.

About the moderator:

Barbara Giammona, panel moderator, is a technical communicator who has just passed the 30-year mark in her career. With nearly 25 years experience as a manager of technical writers in several industries, Barbara has been a frequent presenter at STC events, especially on management topics. She is currently the Senior Manager of Technical Publications for Systems R&D at Invensys Operations Management. She is an STC Fellow, and holds a BA in English from UC Irvine and an MS in the Management of Technology from the Polytechnic Institute at New York University. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/barbaragiammona.

About the panel:

	Jennifer Anthony has been a technical communicator in the Orange County high-tech industry for nearly 20 years. She is currently a Principal Technical Writer at Invensys Operations Management, specializing in developing software documentation and user assistance, and leading the style guide committee. She is Senior Member of STC, and holds a BA in Communications - Journalism from California State University, Fullerton. She also holds a Certificate in Technical Editing from STC. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferanthony.
	Carrie Chambers is a Certified Professional Technical Communicator (CPTC) and senior STC member. She is a graduate of Miami University with a master's degree in technical and scientific communication and has spent the last eight years as the Director of Documentation at Eyefinity in Irvine, CA, where she manages and writes user documentation for two eyecare practice management systems and an electronic medical records program. Carrie also teaches a technical communication class at CSULB in an effort to instruct students on real-world applications of academic technical communication concepts. For more information about Carrie, visit her LinkedIn page at www.linkedin.com/in/carriemchambers and her about.me page at http://about.me/carrie.chambers.
	Sabina Horigan is originally from Canada, where she earned her B.Sc. in Computer Science before moving to sunny California. Her writing history ranges from software configuration guides for technical audiences to online Help for the average consumer. Sabina has also worked as a Project Manager and earned her PMP certification. She is currently a Senior Technical Writer for Blizzard Entertainment. www.technicalwriterblog.com
	Rick Merwin has been a technical communicator for more than 30 years, with experience in a wide variety of technologies, businesses, environments, and industries. He is currently Principal Technical Writer at Invensys Operations Management. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/richard-merwin/2/6b6/145.
	Bianca Szczesniak graduated from UC Irvine with a BA in English and a double minor in Business Management and Spanish. She has been a technical writer in the safety control and healthcare industries, and is currently a Contract Technical Writer for Eyefinity. Bianca has worked with the whole spectrum of SMEs: from shy programmers to unresponsive engineers to busy product managers, and everyone in between. She's also dealt with the challenges of working with remote teams spread across the country. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bszczesniak; About.Me: about.me/bszczesniak.