Papers, articles & research

Rich collaboration

My work and experience in the online space is exciting and fulfilling because of my close collaboration with two very talented and creative professionals, Renée Todres and Heather Schoenheimer.

Renée is the Managing Director of Tipping Point, a digital services company with extensive experience in e-marketing, website design and innovative web-based business solutions.

Heather is the CEO of HS Consulting, and a specialist consultant in HR, Learning Development, Organisation Capability and Leadership Curricula.

2007

• Documentation Cannot Compensate for Poor Design, Best Practices, Center for Information-Development Management, Vol 9, Issue 6, Denver, USA, December, 2007.

2006

• Writing for translation, don't miss the opportunity!, Susan Harkus
  CIDM e-newsletter, August, 2006. Update of 2000 research and paper, with specific validation against Asian languages.
• Designing Information for the Me: Implications of the 'User Illusion', Susan Harkus, Best Practices, Center for Information-Development Management, Vol 8, Number 2, Denver, USA, April, 2006.
• Links are a serious business, Susan Harkus
  CIDM e-newsletter, January, 2006. Update of 2003 paper, using post-2003 examples.

2005

• Embedded Knowledge - A Nürnberg Funnel, (pdf, 118 KB) Susan Harkus, Best Practices, Center for Information-Development Management, Vol 7, Number 3, Denver, USA, June 2005.

2004

• A Tipping Point Perspective on Minimalism, (pdf, 101 KB) Susan Harkus, Best Practices, Center for Information-Development Management, Vol 6, Number 3, Denver, USA, June 2004.
• Ignore Context and Risk Your Project, Susan Harkus,
  CIDM e-newsletter, April, 2004. Final article in a series of 3 articles.
• Meeting Your Readers in THEIR Context, Susan Harkus,
  CIDM e-newsletter, March, 2004. Second in a series of 3 articles.
• Tipping Point perspective, suggesting tipping point assessment is the best way to ensure IT solutions achieve their tipping point and required ROI. Susan Harkus, NEXT, Sydney Morning Herald, February 17, 2004. (Final item on page)
• If Readers Don’t Read, Who Is Responsible?, Susan Harkus,
  CIDM e-newsletter, February, 2004. First in a series of 3 articles.
  Reprinted March 2004 in Technically Write, newsletter of the Lone Star Chapter, Society for Technical communication, USA.
  "Technically Write has also published a rare (for us) reprint, in this age of the hyperlink. We hope you find Susan Harkus' article from the Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM) newsletter 'unsettling'."
• Solutions Must Deliver Outcomes to the User Context, Susan Harkus, CIDM e-newsletter, January, 2004 (Adaptation of the three tax agents story on this site).

2003

• 'Tipping' subscribers through the 'power of context' (pdf 63 KB), Susan Harkus & Renée Todres, Methodical Marketer Weekly Email, Issue 48, Tuesday, December 2, 2003.
• Links are a serious business, September, 2003. An examination of what is required for website and email links to 'pull' users through to engagement.
• Tipping customers across the internet chasm (pdf 61 KB). Reflections on the synergy between Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
• To be or not to be seven, plus or minus two, short introduction or full paper (pdf, 82 KB). My thoughts on the irrational, universal application of George Miller's research into the limitations of short-term memory.

2002 and earlier

• Building Success on the User Agenda, (pdf, 156 KB) Elizabeth Pek and Susan Harkus, Best Practices, Center for Information-Development Management, Vol 4, Number 2, Denver, USA, April 2002.
• Beware the User Agenda, Susan Harkus, Best Practices, Center for Information-Development Management, Vol 3, Number 5, Denver, USA, October 2001.
• Knowledge bases… Where is your 'way of doing business' knowledge, (pdf, 25 KB) Best Practices, Center for Information-Development Management, Vol 3, Number 2, Denver, USA, April, 2001
• Making sense of: XML + XSL + DTD + HTML + CSS + DHTML, paper presented at annual conference, Australian Society for Technical Communication (NSW) November 2000
• Writing for Translation, paper and presentation, http://www.multilingualwebmaster.com/library/writing-TR.html
• Translation and Localisation, Presented at the 3rd Australasian Online Documentation Conference, April 12-14 2000
• Integrating Application Help and Customer Documentation using A-Links, Presented at the 3rd Australasian Online Documentation Conference, April 12-14 2000
• Talking about Information Models… Info Packs, Best Practices, Center for Information-Development Management, Vol 1, Number 5, Denver, USA, October 1999
• Minimal mentoring: Adding value to self-study, Published on the Unisys Intranet, February 1998; Published http//www.comtech-serv.com, March-April 1998; Published in Keyword, Vol 8, Number 1, Journal of the ASTC March 1998