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Related Fields (Ecosystem)

Often, the successful technical communicator brings extraordinary value to the organization that ranges well beyond writing and editing. Many technical writers come into the field from these other areas of the technical communications ecosystem, and just as many move into them during their careers. Expertise in and exposure to these competencies—user experience, business analysis, knowledge management, content strategy, marketing, information design and more—broaden the career opportunities for technical communicators as well as the strategic opportunities for the organizations that employ them.

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Enhancing Online Help with MadPak Suite Components

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Patrick Calnan, Documentation Team Lead for N‐able Technologies has been using components of the MadPak Suite for a while, and presented at WritersUA on how MadPak Suite can enhance online help in a quick 30-minute session. Although he’s not a MadCap employee, Calnen packed a lot of useful information into a short session, effectively touching on several components of the MadPak Suite with insight on how his company has implemented them in their online help projects: Feedback, Analyzer, Contributor, Mimic and Capture. Read more of this technical writing article »

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Dealing with SMEs in Technical Communications and User Assistance

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Dr. Kevin C. Moore, the Chief Learning Officer at Tier1 Performance Solutions, presented at WritersUA on the neuroscience of knowledge transfer, and Dealing with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the Design Process using the same approach, a basis of understanding the mind. Dr. Moore started his SME discussion with four letters—A, O, K and B—Attitude, Opinion, Knowledge and Behavior. Whatever you learned from his session, he said that those are the four critical things to take away. AOKB of you, your SMEs and your users. Read more of this technical writing article »

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Session Summaries: HTML5 and CSS3 to the Point and User Annotations with HTML5

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By now, most writers know that both HTML and CSS have been updated with new standards. However, browser and tool vendors are just now beginning to support them. At WritersUA, Scott DeLoach and Dave Gash each gave presentations that covered aspects of the new technology that impact user assistance and thoughts on how we’ll be dealing with it in the coming year. Read more of this technical writing article »

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Session Summary: Adobe Tech Comm Suite Tool Seminar

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During WritersUA 2012, Adobe® hosted a tool seminar with several presenters, each one speaking to a unique feature or in more detail on a feature of Technical Communication Suite (TCS). The package allows for authoring DITA-compliant content in FrameMaker®, publishing to multiple outputs with RoboHelp® and Captivate®, and adding images, demos or simulations with Photoshop® and Captivate. Outputs include print, PDF, EPUB, AIR®, WebHelp, XML and HTML. Read more of this technical writing article »

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Session Summary: Reworking Existing User Assistance (UA) for iOS Apps

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Everything in mobile, says Myles Pflum of Filemaker, is NEW! It’s a new paradigm with a new experience, and users have new expectations. With mobile applications come fast release cycles and limited real estate for your user assistance text. With all mobile’s challenges, though, come many opportunities to reach new audiences. Read more of this technical writing article »

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Session Summary: Usability Testing–Down, Dirty, and Doable!

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The Usability Testing presentation started with some humor. An attendee, looking at Leah Guren’s slides featuring her cow insignia for CowTC , said “Would cows be the midpoint between pigs and chickens in an Agile environment?” Then Guren used the remainder of the break before the official session time to play her company appropriate song, I Am Cow, by Arrogant Worms. Read more of this technical writing article »

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Why You Should Have Attended User Assistance 101 at WritersUA

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WritersUA 2012 started with the basics in the pre-conference sessions on Sunday. Even with 17 years of experience in technical communications, I found the four content strategy sessions to be very valuable and informative, as a refresher on the basics of any technical communications project, and as applied to user assistance (UA). The Content Strategy track of UA101 included Writing Procedures by Leah Guren, Editing by Rhonda Bracey, Task Analysis by Leah Guren and SME Interviewing by Nicky Bleiel. Read more of this technical writing article »

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Session Summary: Using Neuroscience Research for Better Knowledge Transfer

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Dr. Kevin C. Moore presented a session at WritersUA that delves into recent research in neuroscience and its application to user assistance--because some of it focuses on the way knowledge is transferred between parties. Specifically, humans’ brains create schemas which we use to solve problems. Fear and even physiological discomfort can occur when we must change the schema we use, but neuroscience can help us mitigate these reactions. Read more of this technical writing article »

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Session Summary: Embedding User Experience in the Product Development Life Cycle

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IBM’s Michael Hughes opened his first session of the WritersUA conference, Embedding User Experience in the Product Development Life Cycle, by provoking the audience members to show how they add value and get involved in the four stages of product development: Defining Requirements, Design and Validation, Development and Testing, and Deployment and Support. Read more of this technical writing article »