After reading for a degree in Geology (BSc first class Honours from the University of Wales, Swansea) and some short-term programming for BP, I was trained as a technical author by ICL, where I worked for six years producing all kinds of software user manuals and procedural documentation. (At the time, ICL was generally acknowledged to offer one of the best industrial training schemes in the UK, and provided well-trained authors for many companies in the Thames Valley. It is now part of Fujitsu.)
I went freelance in 1985, and have worked for many clients including The Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, The Cauldron, gradwell dot com, Boehringer Ingelheim in the UK, Germany and USA, Orange Personal Communications, Somerset County Council, SFGL (a French software house specialising in CASE technology) and as an associate of Parity TMS, for various government, police and commercial and financial organisations. More recently, I’ve specialised in helping local small businesses, including Lyme Bay Arts, Bridport Cottages, Uplyme Parish Council and East Coker Neighbourhood Plan Groups.
I analyse, design and write all kinds of information — for print, online documents and web sites, especially in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, tourism and office procedural markets. I have had formal training in Information Mapping®; a structured technique for effective communication.
I specialise in documenting software for end-users, writing user guides, training guides, process and procedure handbooks (business and technical), and creating effective, accessible web pages. But I have also written informational leaflets, data sheets and case studies, reports, marketing copy, and general and technical newsletters and brochures for clients large and small.
In my spare time, I enjoy going out and taking photos (see more on my personal web site, https://lois.co.uk), and making pottery, not to mention reading and walking on the coast, which I assume everyone will do given the chance 🙂
Lois Wakeman, LRPS, BSc Hons