Key Skills
Authoring Skills | Education and Qualifications | Personal Details
Authoring Skills
Jim Snowden is a skilled technical author with a wide experience of documenting complex software products for various large organisations.
- Products. Jim has created complete documentation
suites for many products (mainly SQL database-driven such as
financial, record archival,
document management and workflow systems).
- Documentation. Jim has written on-line
help, quick reference cards and user guides, installation and
administration guides, complex programming reference and API
manuals, XML scripting reference guides, product release notes,
marketing datasheets, internal IT employee communications, knowledge
base articles, and detailed technical specifications. Wherever
appopriate, Jim has used single sourcing to ensure consistency and
reduce duplicated work.
- Audience. Jim has written documentation for a variety of readers, from occasional and novice users through to sophisticated system administrators, implementers, and programmers.
As part of his role, Jim has often been involved in the testing of new software releases, the design and evaluation of user interfaces, and the development of style guides, templates, and tools to assist other authors. Jim has some experience of team leading a small team of writers.
Jim has also designed and maintained a number of websites, both commercial sites for the companies he has worked for and charity sites. This has required writing short ASP and SQL scripts.
Education and Qualifications
- Elected Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Member British Computer Society (MBCS)
- Elected Member - Institute of Scientific and Technical Writers (ISTC) and member of STC
- Member of HTML Writers Guild
- MSc - Information Systems Design (Kingston University)
- MA (Hon’s) - Natural Sciences (Chemistry) - (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge)
- 'O’ Level - 9 passes, ’A’ Level - 4 passes and ‘S’ Level - 2 passes
Personal Details
- British citizen (eligible to work in EU). Place of birth: Perth,
Scotland
- Interests: gardening, reading, cycling and computers
- Lay pastor of local Baptist Church, maintenance officer at community
centre, youth group worker