Topic: Trends, Tools, and Technologies in Software User Assistance
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. We contribute through wizards, tutorials, and web-based training. We develop and populate knowledge bases and content management systems. Printed manuals and their PDF equivalents are still an important element of our documentation sets.
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.
Presenter: Joe Welinske, the president of WritersUA, visits Cleveland this February to speak at the NEO STC Programs meeting.
WritersUA, a company devoted to providing training and information for user assistance professionals, is best known for its annual WritersUA Conference, which draws hundreds of attendees each year from around the world to share the latest in user-assistance design and implementation. In addition, the free content on the WritersUA web site attracts over 30,000 visitors each month.
The NEO STC wants to extend a warm welcome to Joe, and we hope many of you will make plans now to attend his presentation!
Date
Thursday, February 11 , 2010
Time
5:30 to 6:00 p.m. registration
6:00 to 7:00 p.m. dinner
7:00 to 8:30 p.m. presentation
