Anne Gentle

12711 Theriot Trail                                512.535.1044
Austin, TX 78727           annegentle at justwriteclick dot com

Summary

Technical writer with more than ten years of experience seeking a flexible yet challenging workplace. Industry-recognized leader in technology, information design, and leading-edge communication ideas.

Endorsements and Recommendations

Anne Gentle is one of those rare information professionals who sees the “big picture” and communicates clearly the potential that technology has to improve the way we work. Her blog, justwriteclick.com, is a popular resource for many in the technical communication industry and one of my favorites!

Scott Abel
President, The Content Wrangler

Anne is a bundle of energy. She is a rare individual who combines the vision needed to be creative on a grand scale with the drive and practicality to make things happen. She is both a thinker and a doer on a variety of fronts. Anne knows information architecture (DITA), project management (Agile), developmental learning (One Laptop per Child) and consistently contributes her knowledge, experience and efforts to help others. She’s a tireless, dependable worker and an emerging leader in the field of technical communication.

Bill Gearhart
Management Consultant and Instructor, Information Development

Anne is an exceptional information developer with outstanding technical aptitude and ability. Her brain runs at the speed of light, and she thrives on learning new technologies at all levels. Anne consistently surpasses all expectations for timely delivery of challenging requirements, in spite of overlapping demands. She is a star player on any team and a pleasure to work with.

Wendy Shepperd
Information Development Manager , BMC Software

Anne is am absolute shining star at BMC. She is dedicated, hard-working, and innovative. When something “can’t be done,” give it to Anne. She excels at making the impossible possible. Whether it’s new technology or just looking at a problem with fresh eyes, she’s an Ace.

Michael Wethington
Information Development Manager, BMC Software

Anne’s intuitive approach to problems makes her an exceptional writer. Our past collaborations were made much better by her quick grasp of the technical issues at hand. Her wit and charm has made our work together very enjoyable.

Ken Zotigh
Senior Product Developer, BMC Software

Writing Positions

Consultant, JustWriteClick, Austin, TX, 2007-present

Write, publish, and promote a book titled Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation about harnessing the power of blogs, wikis, and social media, interviewing those writers with experience and analyzing case studies.

Prototype and test method for migrating unstructured Framemaker 7 to DITA for as a consultant for Troux Technologies resulting in a strategic plan for converting to HTML.

Write blog entries regularly about web writing, social media, wikis, DITA, and information architecture topics at justwriteclick.com. By building my online brand I have doubled my subscribers in 18 months’ time. Market information products for sale such as presentations about social media and white paper about Agile development, wikis, and DITA.

Write weekly articles for Duo Consulting about web content, social media, and cutting-edge technology.

Manage process for coordinating interviews for podcasts at talk.bmc.com. Write questions for interviews and show notes, and schedule interview times.

Community Documentation Coordinator, One Laptop per Child and FLOSS Manuals, 2007-present

Develop wiki-based documentation for the XO laptop as part of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) volunteer staff, using the FLOSS Manuals toolkit at flossmanuals.net.

In August 2008, helped FLOSS Manuals define and run a Book Sprint in which we gathered writers together for a week-long documentation session that resulted in over 7 manuals containing 300 pages and a single remixed book for sale on Lulu.com.

Co-authoring a book about how to coordinate a Book Sprint with FLOSS Manuals founder Adam Hyde.

Senior Technical Writer, Advanced Solutions International, Austin, TX, 2007-present

Write topics for complex customer relationship and event management software targeting non-profits using Author-it as the content management and authoring system. Analyze user tasks and compare features and requirements release-to-release. Log defects as necessary and perform testing on early developer builds.

Information Developer, BMC Software, Austin, TX, 2000-2007

As information architect for the distributed systems business unit, assisted in content analysis and DITA implementation. As technical lead, designed, tested, and debugged a browser-based cross-platform HTML help system. Perform first-line troubleshooting and support for both writers and developers implementing the system. Write printed manuals and online help for software tools for configuration management, asset management, and database management. Work effectively with Agile development and team members distributed across the globe, resulting in working software at the end of each three-week iteration.

Technical Writer, Entek IRD International, Milford, OH, 1996-2000

Created printed manuals and online help for software and hardware products that collect and store machinery data. Single-sourced online help from FrameMaker using Word macros. Managed all aspects of technical writing projects for a small team, including supervising contract workers, recruiting and interviewing new candidates, scheduling projects, and meeting deadlines.

Documentation Specialist, Center for Chemical Education, Middletown, OH, 1994-1996

Edited teacher education materials for teaching chemistry and physics using everyday objects such as toys. Assisted with teacher workshops.

Student Interaction Roles

Board member, Gethsemane Lutheran Children’s Ministry, Austin, TX, 2008-present

Audited staff and classroom computer needs, implemented computer maintenance request ticket system by coordinating parent volunteers, and redesigned website.

Volunteer, GirlStart, Austin, TX 2008

Led discussion at weekly lunches with a group of eighth grade girls interested in science and technology.

Professional Practice Coordinator, Entek IRD International, Milford, OH 1998-2000

Worked with four local universities to recruit, hire, and review the performance of university co-operative education students.

Student Advisor, student STC chapter, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 1999-2000

Helped graduate students find technical writing professionals to present at meetings, coordinated and attended monthly meetings, offered advice and mentored students graduating to the workforce.

Education

Masters in Technical and Scientific Communication

Miami University, Oxford, OH

Bachelor of Science Chemistry

Butler University, Indianapolis, IN

Continuing Education

Agile Teams training 2006

Working with Global Teams training 2004

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) training 2003

Java Programming I at Austin Community College 2002

Computer Skills

Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, and Vista; basic UNIX command knowledge; some Mac OS X experience

Software: Adobe Acrobat (Exchange, Distiller), Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Photoshop, Atlassian Confluence, Arbortext Epic Editor, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Visual Basic, Macromedia Dreamweaver, PowerPoint, RoboHELP, RoboHTML, Wordpress

Technologies: ASP, CSS, DITA, DTD, HTML, PDF, XML, XSLT