making it better! taking your innovative documentation to the next level
DESCRIPTION
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell provide valuable tips and best practices for success as they present their innovative documentation strategies and how they made them even better. They share insights and lessons learned from their implementation of social media, multimedia, online feedback, translation, accessibility, web metrics, and docs for mobile devices, and how they took our strategies to the next level.TRANSCRIPT
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Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level
Marta Rauch, Gail ChappellSTC Webinar, 2/24/2011
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Your Presenters Today
Marta Rauch Principal Information DeveloperPlanning ID Team Lead
Gail ChappellSenior Principal Technical WriterJavaFX Team Lead
JavaFX Technical DocumentationEPM Documentation Portal Page
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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Agenda
Kindle, Tablets, Smart Phones Screencasts Translation Blogs, Twitter Web Analytics Fresh Content Accessibility User Comments, Ratings Question and Answer Session
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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Kindle, Tablets, Smart Phones: The New PC
Good Online library Usability testing Doc portal
Making it Better Kindle-compatible format Versatile iPad, iPhone, Droid, tablets Market leader Free eReaders
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
MarketGrowth
2010 2011 2012
Tablets 17 million 44 million 70 millioneReaders
10 million 14 million 16 million
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Screencasts: A Supplement to Written Docs
Good Written docs +
screencasts
Making it Better Know your audience Know your content
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
http://download.oracle.com/javafx/1.3/tutorials/image_slideshow/video.html
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Translation: Word Reduction is a Good Thing
Good Training Style guidelines
Making it Better Word reduction One glossary XML Content Management System Automation
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
% Words Reduced
Savings per Guide
Savings for All Languages
10% $2,880 $74,880
20% $5,760 $149,760
30% $8,640 $219,960
40% $11,520 $299,520
50% $14,400 $374,400
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Blogs and Twitter: A Quick Dose of Information
Good Promotions Tidbits A day in the life
Making it Better Credibility Group accounts Accountability
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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Web Analytics: A Way to Measure Your Success
Good Usability tests Productivity metrics Customer feedback
Making it Better Track usage data Downloads Click-maps Entry and exit pages Automated reports
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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Fresh Content: A Hook to Keep Users Interested
Good Live website with
changing content
Making it Better Cohesive organization Showcase design End-of-life process
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
http://download.oracle.com/javafx/
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Accessibility: Reaching All of Your Customers
Good Accessibility guidelines Alternative text
Making it Better Built in to template Reports Usability tests Screen readers Keyboard equivalents Accessibility checker
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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Comments and Ratings: Conversations With Users
Good Kudos, questions,
improvements, and bugs
Making it Better Guidelines Moderators Close-out policy
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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Key Takeaways
• Kindle, Tablets, Smart Phones: The new PC
• Screencasts: A supplement to written docs
• Translation: Word reduction is a good thing
• Blogs, Twitter: A quick dose of information
• Web Analytics: A way to measure your success
• Fresh Content: A hook to keep users interested
• Accessibility: Reaching all your customers
• Comments, Ratings: Conversations with users
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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AQ&
Q U E S T I O N S & A N S W E R SQ U E S T I O N S & A N S W E R S
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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Final Thought
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.
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Thank You!
For more information, contact us:
Attend our presentations at these 2011 conferences: Content Management Strategies/DITA 2011, April 2-4 in Baltimore, MD STC Summit 2011 May 15-18 in Sacramento, CA
Marta Rauch and Gail Chappell, “Making It Better! Taking Your Innovative Documentation to the Next Level” STC Webinar, 2/24/2011. Copyright 2011.