Let's Tech Communicate

September 2016

In this spring edition of Let’s Tech Communicate, we explore content that makes you feel good, look at English as a global language, and traverse through some content strategies for tech comm professionals – this and a whole lot more from around the Net!

Out of this world

Birgit Lutzer has been researching why Content that feels good and solicits the reader's emotions makes technical content – such as technical, sales, and training documents— more convincing.

Insights

Some years ago, the multinational manufacturer of copying and printing equipment, Océ Technologies, faced a great challenge: how to improve documentation quality while reducing costs. Although the actual case described in English as a Global Language dates back a few years, the motivations, principles, and choices are still valid and form a compelling argument for controlled language.

Karina Lehrner-Mayer reminds us of the importance of going beyond the software interface in Five tips for creating documentation that focuses on the user. She presents practical tips that let you "zoom in on the people you write for, increase the quality of your user assistance and prove your value to the company".

Content strategies

First there was the Internet of Things (IoT), and then Bill Swallow from Scriptorium gave us the Content Strategy of Things. In this article, which is a recap of the presentation he gave at Localization World Berlin in June 2015, Bill describes how and why to adapt a content strategy that supports IoT.

Once you've implemented your content strategy, you need to evaluate it. Gretyl Kinsey suggest the questions you need to ask and answer before mounting the podium for a medal, in Going for the gold with your content strategy.

Agile tech communicators

Grappling with Agile? Alyssa Fox, current Vice President of STC, has advice on being an equal part of the development team, getting helpful documentation reviews, and spreading the workload throughout the release cycle in Writer Challenges in Agile and Traditional Development Teams.

Funny but useful

Finally we wrap up with Val Swisher providing a funny and very useful example of why we need Plain English. Enjoy the sunny weather and we’ll see you next time!

Luke Pivac