![Page 1: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
ADDICTED TO MEANING
MENTAL MODELS
FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS
Kai Weber
@techwriterkai #TCUK13
25 September 2013
![Page 2: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
PROGRAM
Intro: Who am I and what do I know?
1. What is meaning…… and why should technical communicators care?
2. How does meaning work in communication…… and why does it still fail in tech comm?Semiotics
3. How and why we create meaning…… and how to create meaningful documentation?Mental models
![Page 3: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?
![Page 4: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
WHAT IS MEANING?
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
Don‘t put into fruit salad.
It‘s a fruit.
![Page 5: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
WHAT IS MEANING?
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
![Page 6: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
WHAT IS MEANING?
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
Nothing lasts...
Used to be File menu
Open, Save, Print
Office 2007
![Page 7: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
WHAT IS MEANING?
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
Nothing lasts...
Used to be File menu
Open, Save, Print
Office 2007
ME
AN
ING
![Page 8: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
WHAT IS MEANING?
Can be in information, more valuable in knowledge
Allows us to “connect the dots”
Answers “why should I care?” and “what should I do?”
Turns information into relevant & applicable knowledge
![Page 9: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
WHY SHOULD TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS CARE?
It’s what we do:
Turn information into relevant & applicable knowledge
Know your audience!
Task-oriented documentation
![Page 10: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION
Shannon & Weaver (1949) – process theory
Omits meaning!
![Page 11: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Sender Receiver
Fiske (1990) – semiotics
HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION
Messages
Conventions
Media
![Page 12: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Fiske (1990) – semiotics
HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION
Messages
Conventions
Media
In semiotics… In tech comm…
Represent “stuff” arbitrarily Clarify w/ definitions & glossary
Include or exclude groups Can ensure comprehensibility
Allow or restrict feedback Invite feedback & collaboration
![Page 13: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
WHY DOES MEANING FAIL IN TECH COMM?
Aren’t message, conventions, and media clear?
von Foerster (1949ff.) – radical constructivism
There is no meaning but the one created by the reader.
Each individual situation is a new beginning, another page one…which is why FAQs fail.
![Page 14: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
HOW WE CREATE MEANING
We compare each individual situation…
… with personal past experience…
… by matching…
Mental models
Semi-consciously selected, incomplete images
What (we think) we understand of the world
How we face the world: Options? Solutions? Confidence?
![Page 15: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
HOW WE CREATE MEANING
![Page 16: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
HOW WE CREATE MEANING
![Page 17: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
HOW WE CREATE MEANING
Imag
e c
redit:
jwarletta
![Page 18: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
HOW WE CREATE MEANING
![Page 19: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
HOW WE CREATE MEANING
Mental models
Flexible and adaptable, within limits
Support meaningful knowledge
How we approach a task
How we react to a problem
How we look for help
Inert, uncontrollable
![Page 20: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
HOW WE CREATE MEANING
Mental models
Flexible and adaptable, within limits
Support meaningful knowledge
How we approach a task
How we react to a problem
How we look for help
Inert, uncontrollable
In tech comm:Designer vs. user
Norman (1988)
![Page 21: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
WHY WE CREATE MEANING
We are addicted to meaning!
Conspiracy theories
Pop lyrics, “mondegreens”
Logos
Janoff (1977)
Image credit: Marcin Wichary
![Page 22: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
WHY WE CREATE MEANING
We are addicted to meaning!
Because we want to understand and do stuff: What does this mean? How does this work?
Because we seek order:How does this hang together? How to connect the dots?
![Page 23: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
WHAT IS MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE?
1. Relevant to user, applicable to situation
2. Or a way ahead, a workaround
3. Or an explanation
4. Or even understanding and sympathy
![Page 24: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE
Meaning needs understanding (cognition and empathy)
1. Understanding your audience
2. Understanding semantics
3. Understanding mental models
![Page 25: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE
Understanding your audience
1. Help users connect the dots.
2. Beyond information, deliver applicable knowledge.
3. Beyond the “how”, include the “why”.
![Page 26: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE
Understanding semantics
1. Messages are best clear and consistent.
2. Conventions are best inclusive.
3. Media are best serving people’s communication.
4. Receivers need “random access”.
![Page 27: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE
Understanding mental models
1. Translate designer’s model into users’ models.
2. Observe diverse audiences.
3. Support with options, solutions, and confidence.
4. Invite to explore; don’t teach to control.
![Page 28: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
BETTER GRASP ON MENTAL MODELS...?
![Page 29: Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public](https://reader034.vdocuments.mx/reader034/viewer/2022052618/554dc7f4b4c905c2488b51dd/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
FURTHER READING AND SOURCES
1. DIKW Pyramid
2. Shannon & Weaver’s process theory (1949)
3. Fiske on semiotics (1990) (chapters 3 & 4)
4. Mental models
in user interfaces
Norman: The Design of Everyday Things (1988)
5. Mondegreens in pop lyrics; Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight”
6. Janoff, designing the Apple logo (1977)
7. Carroll on minimalism (1998), (esp. chapter 2)