STC Wisconsin

Content is king… and the new kingmaker… and your message needs to align with your model and metrics and other mumbo jumbo, right? Whether you’re slogging through theory or buzzwords, there’s no denying content strategy is coming of age. But what’s in it for you? And if you’re not a content strategist, why should you care?

For our April meeting, we’re joining our friends at mkeUX for what is sure to be a relevant and enlightening presentation by Margot Bloomstein, who (literally) wrote the book on content strategy. If you’ve been wanting to learn more about content strategy, this is your chance to pick the brain of one of the industry’s leaders!

This event is FREE! For additional event information and to RSVP, please see mkeUX’s website.

Location

The Irish Pub
124 North Water Street

Date & Time

Thursday, April 19, 2012
6:30pm

Get more than two technical communicators in a room and the conversation eventually turns to tools. So, join us at this meeting as we talk about and demonstrate tools in a lively progression.

Captivate at RedPrairie

Lots of e-development software packages promise you can jump right in and build interactive e-learning in a matter of minutes. Using Adobe Captivate, it really is possible to build complete software simulations with a small amount of ramp-up time. This session will show you how RedPrairie used Captivate to quickly build a vast library of e-Courses that give the user a simulated environment to practice their on-the-job tasks. You will also learn how with a bit of technical savvy, you can transform your e-Courses into media-rich information experiences.

This session provides a demonstration of a variety of deliverables created using Captivate, a show and tell of the Captivate interface, and some practical techniques you can use to streamline your e-learning development.

About Susan Hughes

Susan Hughes is currently responsible for managing the development of RedPrairie Supply Chain e-Courses using Adobe Captivate. With her team, she is challenged to update and innovate an extensive library of self-study e-Courses that simulate on-the-job experiences using the Supply Chain software. She holds a Masters of Education from Alverno College, specializing in Instructional Design. She has also taught instructional design within the Alverno Masters program.

About Catherine Goebel

Catherine Goebel from RedPrairie has 18 years experience in IT focused management, training and administration. She brings years of professional experience to the end user through engaging e-Courses. Her broad background in technology allows her to translate very technical information and concepts in terms that anyone can understand. Her professional passions are instruction, development and support services.

Catherine’s  professional experience and management encompasses multiple educational venues:

• Web-based training (e-Course) development and distribution
• Virtual training (“webinar”)
• Curriculum development and customized, classroom training
• Learning management system utilization / administration / development.

DITA Exchange at FIS

Linda Verway will demonstrate DITA Exchange as the solution FIS is using to begin a DITA XML evolution for user assistance.

About Linda Verway

Linda Verwey manages the Information Design and Development team at the FIS Milwaukee Brown Deer campus.  She is coordinating the implementation of the Content Technologies DITA Exchange solution on SharePoint, beginning the transition from traditional desktop publishing to an XML authoring methodology.

Location

Country Inn & Suites
1250 South Moorland Road
Brookfield, WI

Time

5:30 PM Networking
6:00 PM Progression

Cost

$15 members
$20 non-members
$10 students
$5 meeting only

Appetizers will be served: Southwest chicken pot stickers, salsa, sour cream, warm tricolored tortilla chips with chili con queso dip.

Whether you’re managing a team of technical communicators or just yourself, it’s critical to accurately estimate the amount of time a project will take. This seems pretty obvious but the truth is, most technical communicators chronically underestimate the time needed and end up scrambling to finish at the last minute, or worse–miss deadlines. Last-minute scrambling is risky and frustrating and usually results in mistakes. Missed deadlines not only cost money but they make you look bad. Not to mention, if you’re a freelancer, you risk losing money if the project takes more time than you estimated. So how do you accurately estimate the time needed for a documentation project and how do you track the time you actually spend?

This session covers the essential parts of documentation estimating: determining the work to be done, estimating the time needed, tracking actual time and using the data for future projects. We’ll talk about top-down and bottom-up estimating and some best practices for both. We’ll also look at some “black holes”–things writers often fail to account for when estimating. Finally, we’ll review a few tools for estimating and time tracking that you can use to help manage your projects.

About Leigh

Leigh White is a technical communicator with 20-ish years of experience as a content creator and information architect. She is primarily interested in helping small technical publication groups leverage existing tools and improve processes to maximize content reuse, improve efficiency, increase offerings and save their sanity. Leigh advocates that effective technical communicators must be more than writers; they must also be part programmer, part designer and part project manager. She is a devotee of structured documentation and believes that DITA might just save the world. Her other professional interests include FrameMaker template/EDD design, DITA Open Toolkit customization and relational database design. She is currently authoring a book on customizing the DITA Open Toolkit for PDFs.

Location

MSOE Alumni Partnership Center
1120 N. Broadway
Milwaukee 53202

HTML is the core language of the World Wide Web. Along with our friends at mkeUX, we are pleased to present this HTML5 workshop to explore the latest version of Hypertext Markup Language that was recently released with new features and elements.

Hima Chalasani leads this workshop intended for Technical Communicators interested in programming with HTML5. She will discuss how adding this skill set helps a technical communicator in today’s competitive job market. She also discuss the differences between the older version of HTML and HTML5. Hama will also share tips on the best practices to prepare for certification and the most valuable sources for it.

Agenda for the workshop includes:

• What is HTML5?
• What are the differences between HTML4 and 5?
• Why is HTML5 getting more adapted these days?
• Where else is it being used other than webpages?
• How is it HTML5 going to benefit Technical Communicator?
• Is it worth to add this skill set to our profiles?
• What are the prerequisite to learn HTML5?
• Is there a need for certification?
• How long does it take to prepare for the Certification?
• Building a basic page in HTML 5 using Dreamweaver.
• HTML5 in mobile applications.

Bring your laptop with the trial version of Adobe Dreamweaver installed.

About Hima Chalasani

Hima is a technical writer and has worked in the IT world for 8 years. Her experience of working in wide variety of platforms has introduced her to multiple technologies. With mobile apps and WebPages for tablets in high demand, Hima was keen to learn HTML5 and has recently earned certification in HTML5 after a few weeks of self study. Hima holds a Masters in Information Technology and Management.

Location

Country Inn and Suites
1250 Moorland Road
Milwaukee WI 53005

Time

9:00 AM -Noon
Continental breakfast will be served

With a technical communication team, moving documentation into a content management system involves activities like building a business case, creating a project plan, and managing a pilot project. It also requires developing a content strategy, and with content strategy comes change—change that affects people, processes, and technology. For some people, change is exciting. For others, it is not.

In this meeting, we’ll talk about the rules of engagement for content strategy projects, including how to handle the inevitable Change. We want to build interest and participation, not cause anxiety or doubt. It’s critical that your first users—your team members—are on board and the people they work with understand the value of the project. With a clear understanding of what content is, how content strategy works, and how to work within the scope of the project plan, your team will be headed for success.

About Chris Hester

Chris currently works as a Content Specialist with Infogix, Inc. in Naperville, IL, where she is responsible for content and communication strategy, as well as design and delivery projects. She is an Associate Fellow of STC, a member of STC Chicago, and is currently helping to plan the 2012 Summit.
Her early career experiences in high-tech environments, such as Argonne National Laboratory and Kodak Park, introduced her to the Internet and the early stages of the World Wide Web. These experiences established her skills in understanding technology evolution, change management, user adoption, and design and development methodologies.

Location

Klemmer’s Banquet Center
10401 W. Oklahoma Ave
West Allis 53227

Time

5:30 PM Networking
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Speaker

Cost

$15 Members
$20 Non-members
$10 Students
$5 Meeting only

Thursday, 17 November, 3:00-4:00 PM
Guests must arrive by 2:45 to allow time to register with a photo ID.

FIS at Woodland Prime
W126 N7449 Flint Drive
Menomonee Falls WI 53051

Members: $5
Not Yet Members: $8
Student Member: Free

Preregister: Linda.verwey@fisglobal.com

Overview

Recognition that content has a lifecycle that is not linear, but iterative, is often the “aha” moment that gives technical communicators a framework to better manage their technical content.

The content lifecycle is at the core of the content strategy. Managing the content lifecycle is the implementation of a strategy, and a successful implementation means managing all of the components of the lifecycle. See how a content lifecycle applies in a variety of circumstances. This webinar spans marketing content and technical content, both Web-delivered, to show how the content lifecycle applies across the board.

Presenter Biography

Rahel Anne Bailie has always looked for techniques and tips to create content with more quality and less headache. She tracks industry trends and has been an early adopter of single-sourcing, content management, and social media. She employs principles from various disciplines to develop content strategies that focus on the ultimate ability of the intermediate and end users to successfully complete the tasks that further the organization’s intended goals. Her experience gives her an intimate understanding of end-to-end processes, from requirements-gathering to implementation. She is an STC Fellow and holds memberships in various associations to stay current in pertinent practice areas.

User Experience. You’ve likely heard of it, but to the uninitiated, it can seem like a very scary, many-tentacled beast:

• Usability testing
• Information architecture
• Interaction design]
• Content strategy

The list goes on.

But all sub-category buzzwords aside, User Experience involves learning about the behaviors, preferences, and expectations of the people who will use digital products. This research then guides the design of purposeful interfaces.

Michael Seidel will discuss the hand-in-glove relation between Technical Communication and User Experience. Specifically, he’ll share the story of his transition from tech writer to UXer. Then he’ll wrestle the buzzword beast to provide an overview of UX methodologies.
View Michael’s slideshow.

About Michael

Michael has degree in Technical & Professional Writing from UWM and works as an Information Architect at Johnson Controls. He founded and runs mkeUX (http://mkeux.com/), a Milwaukee-based User Experience professional organization.

Location

Klemmer’s Banquet Center
10401 W. Oklahoma Ave
West Allis 53227

Time

5:30 PM Networking
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Speaker

Cost

$15 Members
$20 Non-members
$10 Students
$5 Meeting only

Need to get a lot of information communicated in an uncomplicated, but robust way?

One of the fastest, most universally understandable and information-rich ways of telling a technical [or UX] story is with a storyboard. This is true whether that story is field research, application work flows, or how people use your website. Throughout history, storyboards have been used to depict events through pictures, so much so that they are part of our DNA. Even when created very quickly, storyboards can convey a wealth of information, showing a specific order of events in an interesting and easy-to-understand way.

In this micro-tutorial, we will discuss the many ways to use storyboards, and how to turn your idea, concept or hard information into a storyboard. The creation process will cover the spectrum from drawing with stick people through using pictures of the story and everything in between.

Do you have any of the following hesitations?

• “But I can’t draw” – don’t worry; no drawing experience necessary!
• “But I’m not a visual thinker” – you may not be, but many of your colleagues, managers,
  customers, and teammates are; we can show you how to reach them
• “Storyboards are great for movies, but they have no use in our field” – whatever your field is, if you need to clearly convey information, having storyboarding in your communication toolkit will give you an edge. Storyboards are used in page flow diagrams, workflow, scenarios, field research, test results, and on and on.

About the Presenters

Deborah Sova

Deborah has over 18 years of experience evaluating software and website usability for clients in a variety of industries including financial, government services, health/medical, bibliographical, wireless, multimedia, enterprise software, security, travel, utilities, and insurance.

Deborah has served as Senior Solutions Architect for Perficient, Inc., UX Manager for Trisept Solutions, and senior UX researcher for Tec-Ed, Nielsen Norman Group, and other consulting firms. She co-authored with Jakob Nielsen “233 Tips and Tricks for Recruiting Participants for Usability Studies.”  Deborah has presented at multiple international conferences on UX‑related topics, including storyboarding as a means of communicating UX information, as well as UX mentoring. She has served on 10 Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA) conference committees and currently is Treasurer of the Board of Directors for MilwauCHI. She holds Bachelor and Master degrees from The University of Michigan.

Ron Sova

Ron Sova, President and Senior Usability Specialist, Sova Consulting Group, LLC. Ron has 18 years of experience in usability engineering. Ron specializes in information design, information visualization, and interaction design. He also has extensive experience in the areas of contextual inquiry, usability testing, prototype testing and evaluation. Ron has developed and taught classes in GUI Design, Application Design, Usability Concepts, Designing Visually, Storyboarding and Graphic Design Tools & Methods.

Before working as a usability engineer, Ron worked as a user interface designer and a graphic designer for 5 years and before that as a project manager and developer. Ron’s experience has been as an employee, contractor, and most recently as a consultant (12 years). He has worked in the usability departments at Compuware and American Express and has worked as a usability consultant for Compuware Software Products, American Family Insurance, Yahoo!, Juniper, Rockwell, Alliant, Roche NimbleGen and Johnson Controls.

Ron earned a BSEE from Marquette University and has studied Computer Science at UWM. He is currently working on a degree in Communication Design at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

When not working in the usability field, Ron is playing softball, hiking or sailing.

Location

MSOE Alumni Partnership Center
1120 N. Broadway
Milwaukee 53202

Time

5:30 PM Networking
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Speaker

Cost

$15 Members
$20 Non-members
$10 Students
$5 Meeting only

Register Now!

Member $15.00 Non-Member $20.00 Student $10.00 Meeting Only $5.00

You can help your mobile team improve your apps by understanding the basics of mobile application creation. This session will cover iPhone/iPad and Android but can be generalized to other mobile platforms. This session is technical in nature but does not require any experience with programming.

The first area of exploration is with user interface text. The reduced screen real estate of mobile devices put a great weight on the words and phrases appearing in the apps. The first word to mind is rarely the best word. Usability techniques can help you choose the perfect word for every situation and make your app that much easier to use. By understanding how application creation is done you can do much of the design work on your own without the need for programming resources.

The second area to explore is the delivery of your content. For training and user assistance content, providing your content as a web-based deliverable inside of an application has several advantages over embedding it in code. One is that there is no need for your contnet to go through the Apple app reviewprocess. Two, you can update the content at any time without affecting installed apps. And three, you can do all of your work without the need for programming resources. We will look at some of the differences in web content delivery for different mobile platforms.

What you will learn in this workshop

• What words and phrases are best for optimal communication
• How micro-concise instructions regarding difficult concepts can significantly improve a users initial experience with the mobile app
•  How much text to use within the minimal available screen estate
•  How to best integrate content displayed on a desktop or laptop with that of the mobile app
• The vocabulary used by iPhone developers
• How to prototype with the iPhone SDK and simulator

Joe Welinske is currently working on the design of Help for a range of iPhone applications, where his focus is on features that are not easily discovered. He’ll share his experiences in this session.

About Joe

Joe Welinske is the president of WritersUA. WritersUA is a company devoted to providing training and information for user assistance professionals. The WritersUA/WinWriters Conference draws hundreds of attendees each year from around the world to share the latest in user assistance design and implementation. The free content on the WritersUA web site attracts over 20,000 visitors each month. Joe has been involved with software documentation development since 1984. Together with Scott Boggan and David Farkas, Joe authored two editions of the popular and pioneering book Developing Online Help for Windows. He has also taught online Help courses at the University of Washington, UC Santa Cruz, and Bellevue Community College. Joe received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1981, and a M.S. in Adult Instructional Management from Loyola University in 1987. Joe was the President of STC Puget Sound Chapter from 2006-2008 and remains on the board in charge of gathering chapter sponsorships. Joe is currently Membership Director for the Puget Sound Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association.

Location

Country Inn and Suites
1250 Moorland Road
Milwaukee WI 53005

Time

9:00 AM -Noon

Cost

$20 Members and Non-members
$10 Students
Continental breakfast will be served

Join colleagues and friends for our season kick-off meeting with Mitchell Donaldson of International Communication by Design. Mitch will discuss topics on writing for translation that include use of icons, EU directives for translation, and CE Markings.

About Mitchell

S. Mitchell Donaldson is Business Development Manager at International Communication by Design, Inc. (ICD). With fluency in Mandarin Chinese and having worked and lived in Asia, coupled with his background in the translation industry – and stint at the 2008 Beijing Olympics – he regularly consults customers on cultural issues and localization concerns, particularly those pertaining to the Chinese market.

Location

Country Inn & Suites
1250 South Moorland Road
Brookfield, WI

Time

5:30 PM Networking
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Speaker

Cost

$15 Members
$20 Non-members
$10 Students
$5 Meeting only