the future of technical communication (future of #techcomm)
DESCRIPTION
Hear about trends that are shaping the technical communication (#techcomm) profession, discover the skills you'll need to succeed in the new world of #techcomm, and find out how your day-to-day work is changing.TRANSCRIPT
About Me
• More than 30 years in Tech Comm– Software documentation– Marketing– Project management– Consulting
• Fellow, Society for Technical Communication (STC)
What We’ll Cover Today
• New trends affecting the profession• New skills you’ll need• New ways of working
New Trends
1 Technical writing as an emotional experience
• Instilling confidence
• Cultivating trust among readers
• Building the brand experience
New Trends
2 Collaboration• Breaking down barriers between
parts of the organization
• Cultivating trust among different groups
• Content from many sources
New Trends
3 Content strategy• Information as a unified whole
• Information supports the organization's objectives
• Breaking down barriers between parts of the organization
New Trends
3 Content strategyRecommendations about how to create, deliver, and govern web
content - Kristina Halvorson
...aligning content to business goals, analysis, and modeling
- Rahel Bailie
New Trends
4 Mobile platforms
Not just laptop computers but also….
• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Who knows?
“Smart” content
New Trends
5 Agile development• Driven by customer requirements
(user stories)
• Short development cycles
New Skills
1 Structured authoring• Positions you well for mobile
• Makes your content more flexible
New Skills
2 Content strategy• Information as a unified whole
• Information supports the organization's objectives
• Breaking down barriers between parts of the organization
New Skills
3 Business know-how• Understanding the business
justification for tech comm
• Thinking like the executives
• Making a business case
New Skills
3 Business know-how
Two kinds of business case:
• Revenue enhancement
• Cost avoidance
New Skills
4 Information architecture• Define rules for structured
authoring
• Set overall organization
• Determine how output looks
New Ways of Working
1 Distributed teams• Worldwide
• Across the wholeorganization
− Marketing− Tech Support− etc.
New Ways of Working
2 Short, focused projects• Deliver only what customers need
• Prioritize tasks
• Understand business goals
• “Good enough to ship”
New Ways of Working
3 Tools• Structured
• Cloud-based
• Collaborative
Summary: The Future of Tech Comm
• Things are changing fast
• These will increase in value:– Structured authoring
– Content strategy
– Business know-how
– Information architecture
• New ways of working
ReferencesAnne GentleConversation and Community
Rahel Bailie & Noz UrbinaContent Strategy
Ann Rockley & Charles CooperManaging Enterprise Content
Sarah O’Keefe and Alan PringleContent Strategy 101
Links to the Blog Posts
1. An Emotional Experiencehttp://bit.ly/12B34Y6
2. Collaboration http://bit.ly/125Qslx
3. Content Strategyhttp://bit.ly/12J54xt
4. Going Mobilehttp://bit.ly/1cqxAmg
5. Good, Not Perfecthttp://bit.ly/19xGjXD
6. Epilog: Inhabiting the New Worldhttp://bit.ly/13adSNc