Chris Despopoulos

Senior Technical Writer

Responsible for all documentation of nCompass (a network management solution). Assist in documentation for consulting projects and other products as needed. Develop FrameMaker publishing tools.

Consulting Technical Writer

At EMC a Consulting Technical Writer designs and produces documentation, coaches other writers, develops publication processes, and has influence outside of his or her department. In this position I was responsible for developer documentation for the EMC SMARTS product line, and for a service-based development platform. The underlying technology is an object-oriented database used to model and analyze real world systems.

Planned, designed, and produced the following documentation:

• Eight programmer’s guides for service-based development platform
• Developer’s guide for UML within the model development environment
• Programmer’s guide for the object database
• Programmer’s guide for generated client-side bindings to server objects
• Overview documentation for service-based development/runtime platform
• Project WIKI page

Maintained the following documentation:

• Java and C++ client API programmer’s guides
• CIM-based model reference guide
• Perl programming guide
• ASL programming guide (ASL is a proprietary scripting language)

Developed the following code, tools, and processes:

• Code samples in C++ and Java for client APIs and server-side programming
• Sample models in UML and MODEL (a proprietary IDL)
• Various documentation production tools -- generate mini-TOC in chapter; prepare HTML for Doxygen processing; generate reports of changes in code
• Project design document templates

Managed two writers, and helped them learn UML modeling, Java, and C++.

Delivered classes for programming with the client API -- received MVP award for delivering a class to a member of the NEC engineering staff.

Sole Proprietor

As a contractor I developed documentation and FrameMaker tools for customers in the US, Europe, and Israel. I established myself as a FrameMaker specialist who designs and implements unique and valuable publishing tools. As a writer, I demonstrated an ability to come up to speed quickly, deliver on time, and stay within budget.

Documentation:

• Maintained the developer guides for Adobe FrameMaker, including completely new code examples for the SGML API
• Wrote documentation and samples for FrameAC, a VisualBasic wrapper for the FrameMaker API
• Wrote user manuals for circuit simulators running under SPICE; a tutorial for a symbolic circuit simulator
• Produced the full range of cell library data books for MOSAID (Virtual Silicon); developed automation to yield quick turnaround
• Documented the architecture of a full-cycle customer management system
• Documented B2B architecture and CMS user’s guide

FrameMaker tools -- designed and implemented tools that:

• Generate and assemble changed pages, list of effective pages, and print job specs as a print-ready PDF file
• Serialize ID attribute values for document subsets in a structured document management system
• Aid in drafting laws by generating lists of citations in bills, providing a specialized GUI for cross-reference management, automatically implementing amendments to bills, and automatically fitting end-page content
• Manage and track changes to a drug tariff and automatically list those changes in a preface
• Manage translation projects and generate book statistics -- demo available at http://www.checkloc.com
• Map formatting of legacy documents to new templates -- demo available on request

Delivered courses in programming the FDK (FrameMaker API) and the FrameMaker SGML API.

Clients include:

• Adobe Systems, San Jose, CA
• MEKON Ltd, London, England -- Oxford University Press, Macmillan & Sons, ABB, British Parliament, National Health Services of England and Wales
• Lampert Technical Communications, San Jose, CA -- Harmonic, MOSAID (Virtual Silicon), Circuit Semantics, UMC, Innologic, Sierra Atlantic, Asante
• Lucent Technologies, USA
• Axial InfoSolutions, Bothell, WA
• MicroType, Kfar Yona, Israel
• MGB Science & Technology, Warner Robins, GA
• Tracom publishing & consulting, Bonn, Germany
• Sibelius, CA

Senior Technical Writer

As a technical writer for Adobe Systems and Frame Technology, I performed the following functions:

• Technical writer for Adobe Developer Support -- Maintained the complete set of developer documentation for FrameMaker 5.5, including FrameMaker API documentation, structured application developer’s guides, and the MIF reference guide; managed a contract writer; trained and supported other members of the staff; created document production tools.
• Librarian and “scribe” for engineering department -- Documented header files and user interface tools; designed and implemented an internal web of development documents and engineering change orders (ECOs); provided editorial support for design documents (particularly for engineers struggling with the English language).
• Designed and authored the help system for products based on the 4.0 and 5.0 releases of FrameMaker for Macintosh, Windows, and Unix.

Technical Writer

The position at Ashton-Tate was my introduction to the software industry. I established a reputation as a "quick study" who can express technical information in a direct and organized manner. In this position I:

• Wrote function specifications for MultiMate Printer Enhancement Pack, and FullWrite enhancements
• Compiled work from developers into an architectural design document and file format specification for FullWrite
• Established function specification standards and templates
• Managed two writers, a graphic designer, and an instructional designer to produce four manuals, art, Help, and two HyperCard tutorials for FullWrite 1.5.
• Wrote chapters of user’s guides for FullWrite 1.5 and Full Impact
• Implemented a change tracking system in HyperCard