Communicate the Future PROCEEDINGS HYATT REGENCY ORLANDO 20–23 MAY | ORLANDO, FL and Summit.Stc.Org #STC18
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Communicate the Future PROCEEDINGS HYATT REGENCY ORLANDO 20–23 MAY | ORLANDO, FL www.stc.org and summit.stc.org #STC18 SOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION 1 Efficiency exemplified Organizations globally use Adobe FrameMaker (2017 release) Request demo to transform the way they create and deliver content Accelerated turnaround time for 70% reduction in printing and paper customized publications material cost Faster creation and delivery of content 50% faster production of PDF for new products across devices documentation 20% faster development of Accelerated publishing across formats course content Increased efficiency and reduced 20% improvement in process translation costs while producing multilingual manuals efficiency For a personalized demo or questions, write to us at [email protected] © 2018 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. The papers published in these proceedings were reproduced from originals furnished by the authors. 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Murphy and Allison Gisinger ii 2018 STC Technical Communication Summit Proceedings 2018 STC Technical Communication Summit 20–23 May 2018 • Orlando, Florida © 2018 Society for Technical Communication Table of Contents 2018 Society for Technical Communication Summit .................... vi Overview ....................................................................................................................... vi Conference Committee ................................................................................................. vi Accessibility: Future-Proofing Your Web Content ......................... 1 Shadi Abou-Zahra Fueling Your Future: STC Experience Builds Professional Leadership Skills ............................................................................... 7 Bethany Aguad, Crystal Brezina, Nick Ducharme, and Alex Garcia Give in to the Power of the Dark Side: Marketing and TC are Converging! ...................................................................................... 13 Bernard Aschwanden Plan for Tomorrow: Project Management and Technical Communications Fundamentals .................................................... 16 Bernard Aschwanden Teaching Technical Writing to Engineers—What Works? .......... 19 Noel Atzmiller LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Exploring Video Basics for Non- Production Professionals ............................................................... 23 Darcy Beery and Stacy Barton Won't You Please, Please Help Me Find a Path to Leadership? . 29 Alisa Bonsignore Case Study: Grab the Wheel and Drive Your Content to DITA ... 31 Susanna Carlisi, Tom Aldous, and Adobe iii Table of Contents Your Mind is the Most Valuable CMS: Deeper Working Independent of Technology ............................................................ 37 Kim Chmielewicz Policies and Procedures—Communicate the Future................... 39 Dawnell Claessen, Emily Kowal, and Ann Marie Queeney Moving Content through the Workflow: Frustrations and Fixes 41 Erica Cummings Using Regular Expressions with Madcap Flare: Putting Your Searches on Steroids ...................................................................... 45 Robert Delwood Dethrone the Content King! Culture is the True King.................. 52 Jamie Gillenwater Can You Hear Me Now? Podcasting as a Teaching Tool ............ 56 Jennifer Goode Scoped Out! ...................................................................................... 59 Sarah Kiniry Science-Based Page Design for Technical Communicators ...... 68 Tina M. Kister UI/UX Design Crash Course ............................................................ 83 Jessica Kreger They’re Coming! Combining Teams and Cultures ....................... 85 Larry Kunz All I Know About Collaboration I Learned from Rock & Roll ...... 89 Aiessa Moyna iv 2018 STC Technical Communication Summit Proceedings Table of Contents From Open Source Volunteer to Full-Time Tech Writer .............. 92 Gale Naylor Creating and Training Your Own AI Instance Using DITA .......... 96 Vishal George Palliyathu PICTURE PERFECT! How to Turn Words and Data into Powerful Graphics .......................................................................................... 102 Mike Parkinson Lessons Learned: What Harry Potter Professors Teach Us About Instructional Design ........................................................... 106 Jamye Sagan From Technical Writer to Content Strategist .............................. 113 Melanie Seibert A Method for the Madness: Managing Complex Documentation Projects................................................................ 118 Jennifer Shumate An Information Experience (IX) Maturity Model for Organizational Transformation .................................................... 125 Sudhir Subudhi Artificial Intelligence and Content................................................ 129 Val Swisher How Tech Writers Will Support SMEs in Writing Technical Content .......................................................................... 131 Søren Weimann The Introvert in the Workplace: Becoming an Influencer and Leader ...................................................................................... 134 Ben Woelk 2018 STC Technical Communication Summit Proceedings v 2018 STC Technical Communication Summit 20–23 May 2018 • Orlando, Florida © 2018 Society for Technical Communication 2018 Society for Technical Communication Summit Overview The 2018 Technical Communication Summit takes place from 20-23 May at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, Florida. This 65th annual Summit offers more than 60 education sessions over three full workdays with topics covering all aspects of technical writing, editing, graphic design, information design, usability, project management, and publication production. Practitioners, professors, researchers, and students at all levels of experience convene to learn from expert presenters and from each other. Conference Committee The Conference Committee builds the conference program by managing the call for proposals, reviewing the proposals, and selecting speakers who can present information on a wide variety of topics of interest to attendees. Phylise Banner David Caruso Track Manager Conference Chair Learning & Design Louellen Coker Deborah Krat Track Manager STC Education Manager Career Development Toni Mantych Liz Pohland Track Manager STC Chief Executive Officer Technology & Development Bobbi Werner Marilyn Woelk Track Manager Program Manager Writing & Communication vi 2018 STC Technical Communication Summit 20–23 May 2018 • Orlando, Florida © 2018 Society for Technical Communication Accessibility: Future-Proofing Your Web Content Shadi Abou-Zahra, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) The Web has come a long way from its static and document-oriented origins to today’s highly rich and dynamic web-based applications. Yet there is much more to come. Advances in natu- ral language processing allows for increased voice-based and multi-lingual interactions, and artificial intelligence applications allow for on-the-fly adaptations and personalization of web content. At the same time, web-based virtual-, augmented-, and mixed-reality applications are emerging and rapidly evolving. These technological advances provide unparalleled opportuni- ties for people with disabilities. At the same time, ensuring accessibility of your web content to- day facilitates its uptake by the emerging technologies of the future. Background—What is Web Colors with Good Contrast Accessibility Some people have Web accessibility means that people with disabilities different color percep- can use the Web equally. That is, people can navi- tions, and cannot dis- gate, access, and interact with the web content tinguish certain com- without barriers due to auditory, cognitive and neu- binations of fore- rological, physical, speech, or visual disabilities. For ground and back- example, this includes captions for audio content, ground colors. It is particularly the case for a large functionality that is easy to use and information that number of adult men. Ensuring good contrast allows is easy to understand, functionality that can be op- more people to accurately perceive the content. erated through keyboard, voice, and other input mo- This includes people with some types of visual disa- dalities, and text alternatives for images and other bilities. It also benefits people in bad lighting condi- visual content. The following examples of are from tions, such as glare when they are using a mobile the video series “Web Accessibility Perspectives” device in the sun. (W3C, 2016). Clear Layout and Design Keyboard Compatibility Most people are over- Some people cannot whelmed and con- use the mouse. This fused by overly com- includes people