In general, if the microcopy helps the user feel that he or she has not made an irrevocable, high-stakes decision, the user is more likely to proceed. Continue reading ...
So You Want to Document APIs …
It’s hard to keep track of how many times APIs (Application Programming Interface) shape our experiences per day, or even per hour. Even embedding a YouTube video in a WordPress blog post counts as using an API. So it's no wonder that the need to document APIs is a growth area for tech comm. Continue reading ...
LavaCon 2015: Is 3-D Documentation Finally Here?
Nabayan Roy brought Google Cardboard to work with his iPhone6, so that we could see how a schematic drawing could be brought to 3-D life for us to view from all angles through our high-tech viewer. Continue reading ...
LavaCon 2015: Want to Move from Tech Comm to Mobile UI Design?
It was natural for us to begin our mobile prototyping careers with making eight sketches of a LinkedIn mobile app screen, in five minutes. Yes, it was definitely rushed, and no, the resulting drawings are not production quality. But it’s clear that this is a good way to get creativity flowing. Continue reading ...
LavaCon 2015: Connections that Count & Career Relationships
Alyssa Fox happily describes herself as an extrovert, and if there is anywhere that one is likely to see extroverted technical writers, it is at LavaCon. That’s one reason it is such a fun conference. Building relationships is about much more than superficial exchanges of information. Continue reading ...
Conference Report: Friendly, Diverse Rust Camp
A small debate broke out about whether the page shown on the screen was actually correct and how it should be modified. Not exactly high drama, but proof that in the Rust world, documentation is indeed very important. Continue reading ...
Git, Github, Source Control, and You
Documentation and source code should live together in the same repository. Often, docs and source code are hooked together through context-sensitive help. But keeping even standalone documentation in the same place as the other project files just makes sense. Continue reading ...
LavaCon Session: Liz Herman on Change, Leadership & Content Strategy
The immediate challenge that Liz faced: come up with a content strategy quickly at an organization that had never had one, before having thorough grasp of the organization's processes or the trust of long-term members of the organization. Continue reading ...
LavaCon 2014: Alyssa Fox on Targeted Content and Agile
Targeting content to achieve specific goals for end users is challenging, and working within the agile whole team approach ensures delivery of the right documentation when the features are complete. Alyssa Fox provided guidance and best practices during Adobe Day at LavaCon 2014. Continue reading ...