Hear about trends that are shaping the technical communication (#techcomm) profession, discover the skills you'll need to succeed in the new world of #techcomm, and find out how your day-to-day work is changing.

1. The Future of
Technical Communication
(#techcomm Trends)
June 2013
Larry Kunz
lkunz@sdicorp.com

2. About Me
• More than 30 years in Tech Comm
– Software documentation
– Marketing
– Project management
– Consulting
• Fellow, Society for Technical Communication (STC)

3. What We’ll Cover Today
• New trends affecting the profession
• New skills you’ll need
• New ways of working

4. New Trends
Technical writing as an
emotional experience
• Instilling confidence
• Cultivating trust among readers
• Building the brand experience

5. New Trends
Collaboration
• Breaking down barriers between
parts of the organization
• Cultivating trust among different
groups
• Content from many sources

6. New Trends
Content strategy
• Information as a unified whole
• Information supports the
organization's objectives
• Breaking down barriers between
parts of the organization

7. New Trends
Content strategy
Recommendations about how to
create, deliver, and govern web
content
-Kristina Halvorson
...aligning content to business
goals, analysis, and modeling
- Rahel Bailie

8. New Trends
Mobile platforms
Not just laptop computers but also….
• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Who knows?
“Smart” content

9. New Trends
Agile development
• Driven by customer requirements
(user stories)
• Short development cycles

10. New Skills
Structured authoring
• Positions you well for mobile
• Makes your content more flexible

11. New Skills
Content strategy
• Information as a unified whole
• Information supports the
organization's objectives
• Breaking down barriers between
parts of the organization

12. New Skills
Business know-how
• Understanding the business
justification for tech comm
• Thinking like the executives
• Making a business case

13. New Skills
Business know-how
Two kinds of business case:
• Revenue enhancement
• Cost avoidance

14. New Skills
Information architecture
• Define rules for structured
authoring
• Set overall organization
• Determine how output looks

15. New Ways of Working
Distributed teams
• Worldwide
• Across the whole
organization
− Marketing
− Tech Support
− etc.

16. New Ways of Working
Short, focused projects
• Deliver only what customers need
• Prioritize tasks
• Understand business goals
• “Good enough to ship”

17. New Ways of Working
Tools
• Structured
• Cloud-based
• Collaborative

18. Summary: The Future of Tech Comm
• Things are changing fast
• These will increase in value:
– Structured authoring
– Content strategy
– Business know-how
– Information architecture
• New ways of working

19. References
Anne Gentle
Conversation and Community
Rahel Bailie & Noz Urbina
Content Strategy
Ann Rockley & Charles Cooper
Managing Enterprise Content
Sarah O’Keefe and Alan Pringle
Content Strategy 101

20. Links to the Blog Posts
1. An Emotional Experience
http://bit.ly/12B34Y6
2. Collaboration
http://bit.ly/125Qslx
3. Content Strategy
http://bit.ly/12J54xt
4. Going Mobile
http://bit.ly/1cqxAmg
5. Good, Not Perfect
http://bit.ly/19xGjXD
6. Epilog: Inhabiting the New World
http://bit.ly/13adSNc