VIRGINIA CHAPMAN-QUALIFICATIONS SUMMARY
Senior Technical Writer with a broad range of skills and experience designs, updates, and maintains XML, HTML and plain text for publication as user
guides, reference manuals, tutorials, website copy, and online help
Accomplished at creating, editing, and delivering translatable content for software and hardware documentation
Highly motivated by grasping complex technological concepts
Technically savvy with programming courses and CMS developer certifications in the Sitecore CMS and Ektron CMS400.NET
Experienced at working collaboratively in topic-based authoring environments such as Sitecore, Trisoft, and Astoria Content Management
Systems, in addition to Confluence and Sharepoint
Well skilled in the use of XMetaL and oXygen (XML/DITA), FrameMaker and Arbortext/Epic (SGML, XML/DocBook DTD), Microsoft Office
(Word, Excel, SharePoint, Visio), Adobe InDesign and RoboHelp
Comfortable with aggressive scheduling and tight deadlines
Knowledgeable in translation logistics, localization, computer networking, data storage, and GPS technology
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Freelance Assignments / Independent Study
Mar 2017 – present
In the last year, I have accepted short-term assignments that would allow me time for volunteer work and online classes.
Contracting through Clarity Consultants, I performed document conversions from PDF and Microsoft Word files to XML for Mastercard. Then later, I
created content for a website that was being developed in stealth mode. In the background, I took programming courses and have recently begun
learning Chinese.
Cisco Systems, Inc., Milpitas, CA
Senior Technical Writer
Mar 2015 – Sep 2016
Developed and maintained technical content in DITA for UCS Manager and UCS Central network management software.
Updated existing release notes, troubleshooting and configuration guides to resolve defects reported in CDETS (Cisco’s Defect and
Enhancement Tracking System).
Restructured and updated the XML API programming guide based on a model suggested by documentation and technical marketing
managers.
Produced inline and online help as part of an Agile (Rally) release project.
Generated and delivered PDFs and help files from the Astoria CMS.
Reviewed and suggested edits to new licensing UIs.
Hitachi Data Systems (netPolarity), Santa Clara, CA
Senior Technical Writer
Aug 2011 – Mar 2015
Created and updated software documentation for RAID 700 and RAID 800 data storage products.
Coordinated with teams in the US and Japan on documentation requirements and delivery schedules.
Reviewed and incorporated information from engineers and program managers on Hitachi’s Virtual Storage Platform.
Updated legacy content for the Universal Volume Manager, Mainframe and Open Provisioning Guides using structured FrameMaker
with a DocBook DTD.
Transferred updates into DITA topics using XMetaL and oXygen.
Generated and delivered PDF documentation and online help from a document repository for legacy content and from the TriSoft
CMS for new and converted topics.
Freelance Assignments
Content Developer
Sep 2010 – Aug 2011
Consulted with Wolf Rock Software and the Gulf Coast Patent Bar on content design and development. Created documentation for Translations.com
and returned to SkyHawke Technologies to create new international locales for the SkyGolf website.
SkyHawke Technologies, LLC, Ridgeland, MS
Senior Technical Writer
Aug 2007 – Sep 2010
Researched, documented, and tested hardware and software information related to SkyHawke’s GPS rangefinder, desktop interface, and
commercial website.
Collaborated with Translations.com, Clay Tablet Technologies, and TOIN Services to manage and verify the translation of CMS content for
international distribution.
Created or revised website content exported as XML for translation.
Worked with design and development teams to implement and deploy the Sitecore CMS.
Drafted or edited plain text and HTML content to populate the Sitecore CMS.
Reviewed and provided feedback on structured documentation tools, CMS products, translation services, and API documentation
strategies.
Managed the scheduling and resources required for translation-related projects.
Submitted bug reports and enhancement requests on a routine basis in JIRA.
Coordinated with in-house and third-party developers to automate batch translation processes. Created Spanish, German, Japanese,
Swedish, and UK website locales.
Tested SkyCaddie devices to create or edit website and user guide content.
Supervised and participated in the verification of localized website content.
Created Quality Assurance and Help Desk procedural documentation.
Sun Microsystems, Inc., Menlo Park, CA
Senior Technical Writer
Oct 1995 – Aug 2007
Created and maintained software documentation and structured SGML/XML content in Arbortext/Epic with DocBook DTD.
Interviewed SMEs and attended team meetings to elicit product information and release requirements.
Composed working drafts in Arbortext/Epic, delivered as PDFs, HTML, or plain text for review and comment. Incorporated changes
and submitted final drafts, first for editing and then for production.
Documented changes to build procedures for the Solaris source and encryption products.
Updated SDK release notes.
Authored the Solaris 9 release of the International Languages Collection, comprised of Korean and Chinese user manuals with a
programming guide for developers.
Created and updated Solaris man pages on networking library functions as part of the Solaris reference manual collection.
Peer-reviewed Solaris System Administration content and style guidelines.
Participated as a member or facilitator of workgroups and project teams such as:
Online indexing – Worked with team members to design and conduct surveys and a usability study to evaluate preferred methods for
identifying key content in online documentation.
Sun Proof tools – Tested interim releases of an application suite developed to check documentation for potential translation issues.
Coordinated team research that led to the publication of the paper presented at SIGDOC 2003.
EDUCATION
University of Southern Mississippi, Monterey Peninsula College, Foothill College
RELATED CLASSES AND COURSE WORK
Classes in LAN networking, Solaris system administration, network security, InContext, SGML, CALS, HTML, Java, and Adept SGML
C/C++ and Java programming courses (currently taking Python programming course online)
Seminars and training sessions on subjects such as topic-based writing, DITA, XMetaL/TriSoft, indexing, SGML authoring,
translatability, usability testing, and customer contacts
Ektron CMS400.NET developer training/certification
Sitecore CMS developer training/certification
