This Is the Future We Talked about

This Is the FutureWe Talked about

Larry KunzApril 16, 2014 #techcomm #future

Today’s Tech Comm Trendsand the New Workplace

April 16, 2014@larry_kunz

What We’ll Cover Today•Welcome to the future•Trends in the Tech Comm profession•Today’s Tech Comm workplace•Today’s technical writer

“The future is now” (source: ESPN)


Welcome to the FutureIf this is the future, why does it look so

much like the past?


Today’s Tech Comm Trends

• Content as a business asset• Technical writing as an emotional

experience• Breaking down barriers (collaboration)• Going mobile• A new definition of quality


Content as a Business Asset

Content• Is more than just words and pictures• Needs rules for its creation and

governance• Must be aligned to business goals


An Emotional ExperienceYour readers want to feel…• Confident: They can do the job• In the know: You’re confiding in them• That they’re part of a community

Source: Randy Conley (leadingwithtrust.com)


Breaking Down BarriersMany people contribute contentFrom within the organization:• Tech pubs• Marketing• Tech supportFrom outside:• Blogs• Forums• Aftermarket books


Going MobileFast, easy access to content – from everywhere• Adaptive content: compatible with the

devices on which it’s read• Responsive content: changes format to fit

the screen it’s displayed on• Smart content: based on your location

and/or preferences

By 2015 tablets will outsell laptops and desktops combined. – Gartner


A New Definition of Quality

“Good, not perfect”• “Just in Time” development• Flexible, responsive• Short product cycles (sprints)• Frequent updates

57% of software tech writers work in agile. - WritersUA 2014 Tools & Skills survey


Tomorrow’s Today’s Workplace• Knowing the value of what we do• Content strategy• Collaboration• Structured authoring


The Value of What We Do• Strategic, not tactical thinking• Making the business case• Either– Cost avoidance, or– Revenue enhancement


The Value of What We DoExamples:• Cost avoidance – Good docs result in

fewer support calls• Revenue enhancement – Good docs

help attract new customers

Making your business case:Content Strategy 101 (O’Keefe & Pringle)


Content Strategy

…aligning content to business goals, analysis, and modeling

- Rahel Bailie

Recommendations about how to create, deliver, and govern web content

- Kristina Halvorson


Content StrategyIs your content: Tech Pubs

Marketingand all that other stuff ?


Content StrategyIs your content: Blown out of the water by

other people’s content?


Content StrategyYour content:• Truly functions as a business asset• Is managed in a strategic, coordinated way• Delivers a unified, trustworthy message


Content Strategy


Collaboration• Breaking down barriers• Content from many sources• Cultivating trust across the

organization


CollaborationNew roles…New opportunities• Content curator• Community builder• Content strategist

Source: Anne Gentle


Structured Authoring

Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.

Jacques Barzun


Structured Authoring

Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of Tech Comm had better learn structured authoring.

Larry Kunz


Structured Authoring• Not just a new way to organize the

same old content• Employs semantic elements• Separates the task of formatting

from the task of writing• Creates value through– Portability– Efficiency– Consistency


Tomorrow’s Today’s Technical Writer

• Trained in a variety of skills• Savvy about the ways of business• Flexible


Your Guiding Principles• Content has business value• Content should be managed

strategically

And one to rule them all:• As a technical communicator,

you’re as qualified as anyone!


Bibliography• Conversation and Community

Anne Gentle• The Language of Content Strategy

Scott Abel & Rahel Bailie• Content Strategy 101

Sarah O'Keefe & Alan Pringle• Content Strategy

Rahel Bailie & Noz Urbina• DITA 101

Ann Rockley, Steve Manning & Charles Cooper• DITA blog articles on Techwhirl [Feb-Apr 2014]

Jacquie Samuels


Stay in Touch!

Larry KunzTwitter: @larry_kunz

larrykunz.wordpress.comwww.linkedin.com/in/ldkunz/