Further information on entries and winners appears in the Winter issue of Communicator of the same year. Online issues of Communicator are available to ISTC members only after logging in.
UK Technical Communication Awards
The winners were announced at the celebration dinner of our annual TCUK conference, on Tuesday 26 September 2023.
Awards were presented as follows:
- One Overall Winner
- Two Merit Award winners
Overall winner (Trophy winner)
The Kedro team at QuantumBlack Labs, a McKinsey company
Quantum Black: Kedro (documentation and blog)
Quantum Black’s entry comprises the Kedro documentation and blog. These provide information to users of Kedro, a framework reproducible data science to help teams generate value from business data. The brief stresses the importance of keeping messaging simple, friendly and functional. Typically the users are data scientists, data engineers, machine learning engineers, product managers and engineering leads.
The documentation and the blog are very impressive in the fulfilment of their brief: The simple, friendly and functional message was very evident throughout the documentation. The layout was really clear. The navigation on the left was simple; the breakdown from beginners to expert was particularly well executed.
The use of direct language with consideration given to different levels of expertise is very effective. This combined with the clear and user-friendly navigation makes the documentation very attractive. The style of the blog is fresh and engaging with contributions from different writers. This is a very impressive entry and worthy winner of the UKTC Awards 2023 Trophy.
Merit Winners
Araki Masakazu, Yabuki Masato, Kumiko Jo, Tim Li
Buffalo Quick Setup Guide and User Manual for Digital Music Library N1
The Buffalo submission is the end-user documentation for the N1 digital music library, comprising a quick setup guide and a user manual. Buffalo was required to design and produce the documents in two months. The writers and product developers collaborated closely in the preparation and review of the draft documentation to ensure accuracy and consistency.
The level of detail provided guides the users in installation of the product and integration with other devices. It extends to inclusion of troubleshooting information and advertises features for prospective customers.
The documentation provides a suitable level of detail for the target audience. The content and presentation are balanced and effective. The combination of quick setup guide and a user manual provide comprehensive information to meet the brief in impressive style.
Bill White, Lindsay Baer, Diego Encarnacion, and Wayne O’Brien
IBM Redbooks publication: Keeping Up With Security and Compliance on IBMZ
The IBM submission is the documentation for users of the IBM Z Security and Compliance Center. It explains how an organisation can make use of the product to enhance and simplify their security and compliance processes for IBM Z environments. Specifically, the book helps the reader identify the necessary IBM Z security capabilities needed to meet standard compliance through use case scenarios and best practices, using the product. The brief is very clear and the end result fulfils this brief comprehensively and effectively.
There is a considerable amount of information; the structure and presentation are crucial to the success of the documentation. The use of language is excellent and the delivery style is well suited to the content. The consistency of approach and level of detail provide comprehensive and effective documentation.