English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

For the second version of our white paper, we decided to focus our attention on web browsers. We will focus on the problem of streamlining browser use within companies. The three browsers that we will highlight in our paper are Opera, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. The main purpose for our white paper will be to compare and contrast these three with respect to the needs of small companies, rather than individual users. Some of the main points that we have come up with so far are security, usability, and ability to restrict access. With this white paper, the IT department of a small company should be able to make a decision about which web browser best suits the needs of their company.

For research, we decided to split the topic up equally. Stephen will focus on Opera, Gary on Firefox, and Thom on Internet Explorer. Since I am the writer, I will do most of the research about our audience, to be able to relate our information to their specific needs. We plan on using the websites of these individual browsers for research, as well as getting hands on experience using each one and testing out individual features. We will also look for information from consumers about their thoughts on the usability of each. As we research, we will list all of our sources on Google Docs along with the information that we found in each to help us collaborate and share information.

Our primary audience for this paper is the IT department of small companies, specifically the decision makers. Since there are other options for web browsers, we are narrowing down our audience by focusing on Windows users. Our gatekeeping audience would be the executives of the company that may have very specific requirements for what they want out of a web browser. The secondary audience would be the rest of the IT department who may influence, but not directly make, the final decision. The tertiary audience would be anyone from the general public who may happen to find our paper.

The design of our paper will largely remain the same from our last proposal. We are still planning on using normal sized paper with a column down one side, where we will place important information and summaries. We also want to include a lot of visuals into our paper. We are planning on having one big chart somewhere in our document that will compare key features of the three browsers. Since we will access and use these browsers as part of our research, we also plan to use screen captures within our paper where relevant.

The division of labor involved in our new white paper also remains largely the same from our last topic. While I am doing the writing, Stephen is the project manager, Thom is doing the editing, and Gary is taking care of graphics and design. The research will be divided as previously states, with me focusing on audience, Stephen focusing on Opera, Gary on Firefox, and Thom on Internet Explorer.