The application of technical communication skills to the development of software user assistance has grown immensely in the past twenty years. This specialization is very fulfilling and challenging and technical communicators are finding their role in the software development process to be increasingly valued. User assistance is much more than “Help.” It encompasses a wide range of skills and technologies that are combined to improve the software user’s experience.

Many of us are now embedding helpful content directly into the user interface. We are involved with usability testing, localization, testing, quality assurance, and branding. This presentation provides a cutting-edge overview of the latest trends in software user assistance, defines the key terminology, highlights the most important technologies, and offers predictions on future directions of our field. The seventy-five minute session should be of interest to technical communicators of all backgrounds and experience levels.

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.

Meeting Details
Tuesday, February 15th
6:30-8:00 PM
Free for members; $10 for non-members
GenOn (formerly Mirant),1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA 30338

See you there!

Chris Snider
2nd VP, STC Atlanta
jcs1963@charter.net

“How Microsoft SharePoint Gives You a Realistic Approach to Content Management”

Whether you are a single author or part of a team, managing your content is an important practice that ensures efficiency in your work and accuracy in your documentation. Content management practices will help you route material through an approval or signature process, ensure that the right people work on it at the right time, facilitate quality assurance, allow you to track changes, and facilitate content reuse. The problem is that most content management systems are very expensive and require a large learning curve. In fact, many implementations fail because of the complexity.

Why not use Microsoft SharePoint? SharePoint has built-in document management features that you can begin using immediately without worrying about a costly implementation and learning cycle. Acquiring and implementing SharePoint is not a hard sell because most organizations already have it and, if not, there are free versions of SharePoint available. For these reasons, SharePoint is becoming the gold standard for many business activities, including content management.

This session will discuss why you should use SharePoint (or how it is much easier than people think) and what features you can take advantage of.  We will also spend a few minutes discussing Doc-To-Help and its integration with SharePoint.

Speaker Bio:

Brad has several years experience as a Documentation Product Consultant at ComponentOne. During his tenure at ComponentOne, Brad has trained and assisted thousands of authors and technical writers on best practices and emerging technologies. Brad travels the US and abroad as a frequent speaker at user groups, trade associations, and events and is a valued source to the help authoring community. He is also a published author.

Meeting Details
Tuesday, January 25th
6:30-8:00 PM
Free for members; $10 for non-members
GenOn (formerly Mirant),1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA 30338

See you there!

Chris Snider
2nd VP, STC Atlanta
jcs1963@charter.net

“Evaluating Content: Get a Grip on Your Research”

Data-driven is the mantra we often hear. But drowning in numbers doesn’t help us understand whether our content is getting results. Before we dive into digits, we need the right evaluation questions and the right research methods to answer those questions. And, we should never forget that people, not data, are responsible for content decisions. This presentation will offer a data-informed approach to evaluation based on the new book Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content by Colleen Jones.

About the Presenters

Colleen Jones is the principal of Content Science. A veteran of the interactive industry, Colleen has guided or supported strategic initiatives for global brands, government agencies, boutique brands, and savvy startups. She has presented about content strategy, user experience, and interactive marketing around the world.

Jeff Chasin advises businesses about how to use web data to gain insights into customers and content. His experience spans websites of all sizes and brands including IBM. Jeff also serves on the Research Committee of the Web Analytics Association.

We’re happy to announce the next STC Atlanta chapter meeting:

Meeting Details
Tuesday, November 16th
6:30-8:00 PM
Free for members; $10 for non-members
Mirant,1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA 30338

See you there!

Chris Snider
2nd VP, STC Atlanta
jcs1963@charter.net

“Web 2.0 in the Workplace”

“Web 2.0″ is ubiquitous in our online lives these days. What does that mean at the office? How can we use blogs and podcasts to help our business and our products? Should we block access to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, or is it possible to use these sites productively? Are there risks in giving our customers better access to us?

Won’t it all change before we get it set up?

We will talk about the benefits and drawbacks to Web 2.0 in the business world, including how to decide what is right for you and how to keep up when everything changes next.

This month’s program is presented by Christian Walters. Christian spent more than 15 years as a technical communicator and instructional designer. During that time, he developed a passion for usability. He is currently the Senior Web and Usability Engineer for Virima Technologies — a small software company working to blend Web 2.0 methods with the fast-paced world of data center optimization.

The October meeting will include information about competitions, followed by an article discussion.

Meeting Details
Tuesday, October 19th
6:30-8:00
Free for members; $10 for non-members
Mirant,1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA 30338
RSVP

Information Session: Competitions (15 minutes)

At the next meeting, 1st VP Rachel Peters will briefly talk to us about STC competitions. There are significant changes to how competitions work this year, so don’t miss this talk if you’re interested in participating.

Article Discussion (30 minutes)

After the competitions discussion, we’re trying something new – an article discussion. Here’s how it works:

Before the meeting

1. Read the three articles listed below.

2. Consider your answers to the discussion questions listed for each (and write your own questions if you have them).

At the meeting

There will be three tables – one for each article. We’ll split into three groups and spend 10 minutes at each table discussing the points made in the article.

Articles and Discussion Questions

Are you asking questions right?” by Kai Weber

• What strategies do you employ to communicate problems to colleagues and managers?

“The Big Red Word vs. the Little Green Man: The international war over exit signs.” by Julia Turner

• What kinds of images do you use in your documentation? Are those images clear to all audiences?
• As tech writers, what considerations should we have when creating and using images (screenshots, icons, etc.) in our documentation?
• Just for fun: Should the US switch to the green man exit sign?

“The Discipline of Content Strategy” by Kristina Halvorson

• While this article focuses on content strategy for websites, there are still components that apply to technical documentation as well. Does your company currently have a content strategy. How does the documentation you create fit into your company’s content strategy (or how would it fit if there was a strategy)?
• Many companies don’t have a titled “Content Strategist.” Instead, the role falls to a group of people or to one person as part of their current job. How can you, as a technical writer, help develop a content strategy for your company? Should tech writers contribute to the content strategy? Why or why not?

Volunteer!

If you’d like to volunteer to head up one of the three discussion sessions, email Chris Snider.  We’ve only got three slots, so don’t delay.  See you there!

Meeting Details
Tuesday, September 21st
6:30-8:00 PM
Free for members; $10 for non-members
Mirant,1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA 30338

See you there!

Chris Snider
2nd VP, STC Atlanta
jcs1963@charter.net

“Expose Yourself: Promoting Yourself and Your Department”

Presented by STC Atlanta chapter president Jen Collier.

Come discover ways to promote yourself and your department. Find out what has worked for other departments and how they can work for you. Then we’ll have an open forum where you can share what you have done to market your department’s products.

• Doc and Donuts (Documentation Open House)
• Potty Training (Quick Reads in the bathroom stalls)
• Scavenger Hunt (Find the answers in the docs)
• Direct Contact with your audience through casual e-mail or BETA testing
• E-mail announcements to your company about updated or new docs/training
• Articles in the company newsletter

Meeting Details
Tuesday, August 24th
6:30-8:00 PM
Free for members; $10 for non-members
Mirant,1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA 30338

See you there!

Chris Snider
2nd VP, STC Atlanta
jcs1963@charter.net

“Moving from Tech Writing into Training Development”

Many jobs in technical communications involve some aspect of training, instructional design, or development of training materials.  How can you upgrade your skills in these areas to provide more value to your organization?   How easy is it to make the transition from tech writer to trainer or instructional designer?  A panel of former tech writers who have happily morphed into successful training developers will share what they learned when making this transition.

Topics covered will include:

· How training development is similar to and different from tech writing
· An overview of the training profession
· Basic principles of instructional design and e-learning
· Skills you need to become a trainer
· Tools used in training and e-learning
· Recent trends in the training profession
· Resources for those who want to learn more

About the Presenters:

Holly Harkness is the Technical Communications Manager at Mirant Corporation, an independent power company.  In additional to technical writing, her department designs e-learning and instructor-led training.   Her e-learning courses have won awards from STC and the Atlanta chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).  She’s a former president of the Atlanta STC Chapter and currently serves as chapter membership manager.

Jack Massa is principal of Guidance Communications, Inc., where his mission is making complex information clear.  Since 1984, Jack has written and edited training, documentation, marketing copy and articles covering all kinds of technology.  He’s designed and developed e-learning, web sites, help systems, multimedia projects, and online libraries; taught workshops to corporate clients and at industry conferences; and managed teams for large and small companies.  Jack has an MFA in English/Creative Writing and certificates in Learning Design and Computer Programming.  Jack is an Associate Fellow of STC and currently serves as Vice President of Technology for the Greater Atlanta Chapter of ASTD.

Holly Mullins has performed technical writing as an employee or consultant for organizations in Atlanta such as Advanced Control Systems, MCI Systemhouse, Datex-Ohmeda, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Mirant Corporation.  Most of her work involves writing and developing technical training publications, typically for IT projects.  She creates training guides for instructor-led training and e-learning tutorials for Web-based and computer-based training. Holly is a member of STC, the American Medical Writers Association, and the Atlanta chapter of ASTD.  She currently does consulting work as the owner and president of Instructive Media.

For our June meeting, we’re hosting Arroxane Eber, president of the Lone Star chapter, for an engaging presentation on how to keep cool during difficult moments in the workplace and to use our communication skills to defuse tension.

Note: We will hold our annual business meeting from 6:30-6:45.

Details

Thursday, June 3 (note the event is on a Thursday this month)

6:30-8:00
Free for members; $10 for non-members
Mirant,1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA 30338
Parking is free. You can park in the lot or the garage.
RSVP for this event

Photo credit: Nhan Khuong

This is a come and go event. You can stay the whole time or just show up when you can. This event is informal and fun. We’ll play games and talk about what’s coming up for 2010-11.

Note: We will hold our annual business meeting from 6:30-6:45.

Open House Details

Thursday, May 27 (note the event is on a Thursday this month)

6:30-8:00
Free for members; $10 for non-members
Mirant,1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA 30338
Parking is free. You can park in the lot or the garage.
RSVP for this event

Image from Malabooboo