Sessions and Speakers
Conference Sessions - Friday 14 March 2008
Opening keynote: Content as a Commodity: A Farewell to Technical Writing
Presenter: Hans Fenstermacher, Vice President, Translations.com
Download presentation (1.5Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/...ContentAsACommodity.ppt
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About Hans Fenstermacher |
Creating multilingual illustrated spare parts catalogues and multimedia service information systems
Presenter: Herwart Schuette, Sales Manager, Docware GmbH
EIFFEL TOWER SPONSOR
Download presentation (1.7Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/DocWare_Presentation_STC.pdf
This session showcases PARTS-PUBLISHER, Docware GmbH's parts catalogue software creation solution. After demonstrating the product and showing several example applications, Herwart will explain how to create multilingual spare parts catalogues and service information systems using a quick, easy, and largely automated process.
Issues discussed will include transfer of data from various sources (ERP, CAD, etc.), the compilation of data (linking spare parts information and drawings automatically, integrating descriptive documentation, catalogue configuration, etc.) and single-source publishing to paper, CD or the Internet.
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About Herwart Schuette Herwart Schuette, International Sales Manager France at Docware GmbH, a German company specialised in software for the creation of electronic spare parts catalogues and service information systems, has more than 10 years experience in technical documentation, especially parts catalogue creation. He is a member of tekom, the German professional association for technical communication and information-development. He has presented at several workshops picking out parts catalogue creation as a central theme. |
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About DocWare GmbH Docware is a supplier of software solutions for professional information management in aftersales service and in spare parts business. With the standard software PARTS-PUBLISHER, Docware assumes a top position among the suppliers of electronic spare parts catalogue software. PARTS-PUBLISHER is a configurable, modularly designed and customisable standard software for the professional management and optimised provision of spare part, service- and product information. With the database-driven software, spare parts catalogues and service information systems can be created and updated in a process-optimised, automated manner. |
Use Cases - An agile, just-in-time approach to software documentation
Presenter: Dr. Jonathan Price
Download presentation (0.7Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/UseCasesJPrice03.ppt
Use cases offer a way for technical communicators to get involved in product development earlier than we generally have been able to in the past. A use case describes a sequence of actions that will be performed by a user, and the responses of a proposed system, leading to an observable result that the user considers meaningful or valuable. As a document, the use case serves as a way for the stakeholders and the development team to reach agreement on functional requirements - what the system will actually do for the users.
In this session, Jonathan will describe what goes into a use case, how they can help developers elicit requirements from stakeholders, and how use cases can help overcome some of the worst problems that bedevil development teams. Jonathan will explain why use cases are a great way for technical writers to get more deeply involved with a project, and with customers, long before they start the user guide or online help.
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About Dr. Jonathan Price Dr. Jonathan Price has worked with software development teams at major hardware and software companies for 25 years. His clients include America Online, Apple, Cadence, FileMaker, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Sun, and Symantec. He is a Fellow of the STC, and presents regularly at chapter meetings, regional and international conferences. He has published several dozen books, among them How to Communicate Technical Information (Benjamin Cummings), and Hot Text: Web Writing that Works (New Riders). For articles on technical communication, see: www.theprices.com. For articles on web writing, see: www.webwritingthatworks.com. |
Communicating successfully in Europe
Presenter: Theresa Cameron, Technical Communications Consultant
Download presentation (3.3Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/TC_communicating_europe_opti.ppt
Download handout (0.4Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/...Handout_Communicating_Successfully.ppt
This presentation, through a collection of images, seeks to explore the diversities, similarities and quirks of communication in Europe. It presents geographical and cultural aspects of work, education, standards, and associations, and gives links to help you be a more successful communicator in Europe.
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About Theresa Cameron Theresa has a Master of Arts degree, a diploma in German, and numerous certifications including European Public Affairs and Lobbying, HTML Developer, and Day Skipper Navigation. She is a member of the STC France Leadership Team, editor of the STC France newsletter "France Connexion", and is International Representative for the ISTC (UK). |
Understanding international usability testing: why translation and localization do not guarantee success
Presenter: Alison Reynolds, Project Manager, Information Design Centre NZ, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
Download presentation (6.6Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/...Usability_Alison Reynolds.ppt
Web sites that work for a culturally diverse group of users don’t rely solely on translation and localization for success. The key to success is to understand how cultural issues affect the way users interact with the web. For example, differences in the way cultures welcome innovation, deal with inequalities of wealth and power, value individual or collective achievements all have a strong influence on the way users perceive and use the web.
In this presentation, Alison Reynolds draws on recent research to show how a deeper understanding of different cultures enables us to identify the needs of culturally diverse users. Alison will use global examples, with a focus on Europe, to illustrate the key dimensions of culture that influence the way users interact with web sites.
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About Alison Reynolds Alison's qualifications include: Master of Business Management (Communication), Graduate Diploma of Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching (University of London). She pioneered online education delivery in New Zealand thirteen years ago when she led a project to develop a virtual GDID to meet the needs of organisations that required highly skilled information designers. In 2006, Alison established New Zealand's only information design centre and usability testing laboratory (IDCNZ). The IDCNZ ensures that information and products are designed and tested to meet user needs. Alison is a highly sought after speaker and has presented at seminars and conferences in NZ, Australia, the US, China, India, and Canada. She is the past president of the New Zealand STC Chapter and is a winner of the STC Gould Award for teaching excellence. Recently, she chaired an STC Summit committee that aims to establish closer links between information design academics and industry practitioners. |
How communicating Europe helped me get my dream job
Presenter: Victoria (Vici) Koster-Lenhardt, Communications Manager Global IT, The Coca-Company
Download presentation (0.7Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/Vici_HowCommunicating...MyDream_v2.ppt
Vici has been "communicating Europe" and helping others to do so for nearly 15 years, most of that time within the STC community. She is now being asked by her employer to join global, cross-functional teams to share her insight and opinions, and providing her with the opportunity to contribute her technical communication skills in a wider context.
In this session, Vici describes how she has come to realize just how well her volunteering for STC helped prepare her for the career changes she has made in the past year. She explains how technical communicators working in Europe have skills and perspectives that are unique to communicating Europe to global companies and non-profit organizations, and why these skills are valued and important for a company’s success. She will also discuss why there are certain strengths and weakness of European technical communicators that need to be recognized, addressed, and used, if communicators are going to be successful in communicating Europe in the future.
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About Vici Koster-Lenhardt Vici has a B.A. in Journalism from New York University. She was the founding president of the STC TransAlpine Chapter and served as the first non-North American STC board of director from 2003-2006. She has been a speaker at several STC annual conferences and various chapter meetings since 1998. She currently lives in Vienna, Austria, with her husband, who she met on the Brooklyn Bridge 25 years ago. |
Technical communication today: what do employers really want?
Presenter: Alison Reynolds, Project Manager, Information Design Centre NZ, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
Download presentation (0.5Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/ParisJobSkills_AlisonReynolds.ppt
The STC’s one day Academic-Industry Leaders Summit in Houston, 28 Sept, 2007 aimed to develop concrete initiatives concerning the often sensitive relationship of academic and industry practitioners and to “encourage collaborations between STC communities and academe”.
Alison, who was the sole international STC representative at the Summit, will present the findings of her Job Skills committee who researched the following critical questions:
- What do hiring managers really want: short term skills such as tools expertise or long-term assets such as business knowledge and leadership skills, or both?
- What do practitioners wish academics knew? What basic and more advanced competencies would they like to see in graduates of TC programs? Who might teach/train to these competencies?
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About Alison Reynolds Alison's qualifications include: Master of Business Management (Communication), Graduate Diploma of Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching (University of London). She pioneered online education delivery in New Zealand thirteen years ago when she led a project to develop a virtual GDID to meet the needs of organisations that required highly skilled information designers. In 2006, Alison established New Zealand's only information design centre and usability testing laboratory (IDCNZ). The IDCNZ ensures that information and products are designed and tested to meet user needs. Alison is a highly sought after speaker and has presented at seminars and conferences in NZ, Australia, the US, China, India, and Canada. She is the past president of the New Zealand STC Chapter and is a winner of the STC Gould Award for teaching excellence. Recently, she chaired an STC Summit committee that aims to establish closer links between information design academics and industry practitioners. |
Addressing information quality issues: a holistic view
Presenter: Andrew Bredenkamp, CEO, Acrolinx
OPERA GARNIER SPONSOR
This talk will look at the process of setting and deploying information quality standards (including writing standards, style, terminology, etc.) across the whole range of product information. In addition to classic technical documentation this also includes increasingly pre-sales and marketing material, "in-product" information such as software or console messages, as well as support databases and maintenance manuals. We will show how companies are bringing all this product information together under a holistic view of information quality and outline some of the benefits this approach brings.
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About Dr. Andrew Bredenkamp
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Sharing best practices through Information Mapping®
Presenter: Luc Bouquet, Senior Consultant, Information Mapping Europe
The management of Océ’s Wide Format Printing Systems division called on Luc Bouquet to help their operating companies in 27 different countries to share their best practices.
In this session, Luc will explain how he used the Information Mapping® methodology to analyze each of the best practices and establish a structured, modular approach to describing them in terms of structure, process, principle, and procedure.
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About Luc Bouquet Luc began his career as a technical writer and trainer in 1982. He worked for Océ Technologies and Wang Europe. In 1989 he started his own company, ATEK. He sold ATEK in 2002 to fully concentrate on IMAP training and consultancy. Luc is past vice-president of STC France and co-founder and past president of STC Belgium. |
Living multiple lives: The new technical communicator
Presenter: Noz Urbina, Senior Consultant, Mekon Ltd.
Download presentation (2.2Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/2008_noz_stc_france.ppt
This session provides a look at the development of the field of Technical Communications and how the role of the Technical Communicator has been rapidly and fundamentally evolving.
The world is becoming increasingly tech-savvy by the picosecond. More savvy means more demanding, and an organisation's ability to balance internal and external management of supporting technical information while delivering quality tech comms has gone from being a burdensome nuisance, to a central and strategic must for market competitiveness.
This presentation takes a low-tech, cross-industry look at why strategies are changing and how organisations are adapting to these challenges. Best practices for approach, organizing teams, planning for change, DITA/XML, and departmental integration will all be addressed.
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About Noz Urbina Previous to working with Mekon, Noz worked in the Blast XMetaL team as Partner Manager, facilitating the growth and cross-pollination of a pan-European partner network of content solutions and tool providers, and has held a number of business development, technical services, and sales positions where he was able to develop his expertise in a cutting-edge, efficiency-driven, business context. |
Managing multilingual content in Europe
Presenters: Jeff Allen, Business Development Director, Translations.com. Hans Fenstermacher, Vice President, Translations.com
Download presentation (0.7Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/STCFrance_TDC-JeffA-HansF...v100.ppt
Content is an inseparable part of user experience, and the number of languages we must provide to multilingual users continues to grow. But methods for managing multilingual content vary. In this session, Hans Fenstermacher and Jeff Allen will focus on proactive approaches, including best practices, processes, and technologies, such as:
- Controlling content volume and achieving maximum reuse to minimize costs and make the process faster as the content is multiplied by the number of languages
- Anticipating translation requirements in technical documentation by optimizing the multilingual content development process
- Addressing cultural requirements in consumer websites by performing multicultural studies
- Identifying technologies (translation memory, authoring memory, authoring systems, translation management system, terminology management tools, etc.) that can facilitate this process
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About Jeff Allen Jeff Allen is a Business Development Director at Translations.com (part of the TransPerfect Global Group). He holds undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in languages and linguistics. He has worked in the technical authoring and translation fields for over 15 years on a variety of language technologies, has published extensively (over 100 publications) on the topic and is also on the advisory board of MultiLingual Computing & Technology magazine. He has presented previously to STC France members on the topic of language technologies. |
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About Hans Fenstermacher |
Closing keynote: Communicating the EU - Mission Impossible?
Presenter: Joe Hennon, Spokesperson for Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy
Download presentation (4.8Mb): http://www.stcfrance.org/files/JoeHennonSTRParis.ppt
How has the Commission approached the task of communicating with 500 million people in 23 official languages? What are the main pillars of its communication strategy? What is the role played by the media and new technologies? How can civil society be involved? This presentation will provide an understanding of the scale of the problem faced by a small institution tasked with communicating to millions of citizens across multiple national and linguistic barriers, as well as the efforts being made by the Commission to improve communication, and how you can get involved.
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About Joe Hennon |