Documentation teams often spend too little time writing well, and at the same time, spend too much time writing little-used information. Research and professional observation suggest that not enough time is put into crafting text to be exactly the right text for a particular context. And writing resources for doing “agile” user assistance would be more readily available if writers would prioritize topic writing based on user need.
On Thursday, November 17th, Joe Welinske will discuss how “writing more” by “writing less” can result in better utility for users and can reduce the need and load on the overall documentation development process and content management. Technical communicators of all backgrounds will benefit from this thought-provoking presentation.
The meeting will be held at the Ram Restaurant and Brewhouse in Rosemont (a 10-15 minute walk from the Blue Line, Rosemont stop). Click here to register.
About the Speaker
Joe Welinske is the president of WritersUA, a company devoted to providing training and information for user assistance professionals. The WritersUA Conference for Software User Assistance draws hundreds of attendees each year from around the world to share the latest in user assistance design and implementation. The free content on the WritersUA web site attracts more than 20,000 visitors each month.
Joe has been involved with software documentation development since 1984. Together with Scott Boggan and David Farkas, Joe authored two editions of the popular and pioneering book Developing Online Help for Windows. He has also taught courses on developing online help at the University of Washington, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Bellevue (WA) Community College. Joe received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1981 and an M.S. in Adult Instructional Management from Loyola University in 1987.
Joe was the president of the STC Puget Sound Chapter from 2006 to 2008.
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