SDL Research - Global Authoring Survey 2009

SDL recently conducted the 2009 edition of its annual Global Authoring Survey, which has been running since 2006 with the goal of exploring the trends in authoring and technical documentation across the globe. The particular focus is on the tools used for authoring, the dynamics of authoring teams and departments as well as the trends and shifts in XML, DITA and content management.

The survey was conducted among Society for Technical Communication (STC) and Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) members as well as other authoring and technical documentation professionals. There were 235 respondents, most of whom were Technical Authors, Documentation Managers, Technical Publications Managers, and Consultants. Respondents spanned a variety of industries, including IT & Software (29%), Electronics and Hi Tech (12%), Manufacturing (11%) and Aerospace (6%). Companies such as Microsoft, McAfee, BAE Systems, Sun and Philips participated in the survey.