Sarah O'Keefe keynote from TCUK 2013, Bristol, UK. Discusses how technical writers need to understand their organization's business to succeed in their jobs.

1. Fame,
Glory,
and
…
Tech
Comm??
flickr: theodorescott

2. Image: wallaceandgromit.com

3. Photos: wikipedia and jkrowling.com

4. Photo: qaronline.org

5. Source: Wikipedia

6. Flickr: skinnylawyer

7. Flickr: hmomoy
Tech
comm’s
place
in
the
enterprise

8. Famous
technical
writers…

9. Flickr: ahmedrabea

10. Flickr: digitalwallpapers
What
is
the
purpose
of
tech
comm?

11. The Oxford comma?
Two spaces or one
space after a period?
Page breaks? Line
breaks?
No.
No.
No.

12. Flickr:
Tech Comm.
It’s all about the user.
W
RONG

13. Support
the
organization’s
business
goals
using
information
and
information
products.

14. Too
often,
technical
communication
products
do
not
support
the
organization’s
business
goals.

15. Flickr: brittanyg

16. Know
your
business.

17. Align
your
business
goals
with
your
tech
comm
efforts.

18. Increased
focus
on
international
markets

19. Style
guides
and
terminology

20. Automated
formatting

21. Reuse
Flickr: brittanyg

22. Flickr: valeriebb

23. How
should
tech
comm
contribute
to
the
business?

24. http://www.designboom.com/technology/audi-a3-car-manual-enhanced-by-augmented-reality-app/

25. Flickr: charliekwalker

26. Flickr: lizhenry

27. 1. Understand
business
objectives.
2. Develop
content
strategy
that
supports
business
objectives.
3. PROFIT.

28. Flickr: hmomoy
Focus
on
users
and
business.

29. Meets user needs
Meets business needs

30. Meets user needs
Meets business needs
Lovingly handcrafted

31. Meets user needs
Meets business needs
Cheap

32. Meets user needs
Meets business needs
Crap on a page

33. Meets user needs
Meets business needs
Effective tech comm

34. Meets user needs
Meets business needs
Effective tech comm
Crap on a page
Cheap
Lovingly handcrafted

35. Flickr: lorenjavier