The problem with "feature first"
\\From Beta to Bedrock: Build Products that Stick.
https://alistapart.com/article/from-beta-to-bedrock-build-products-that-stick/ #ux #techcomm #productdesign
(Liam Nugent via A list apart)
#TechComm
Is "intelligence type" missing from your personas?
\\The Many Facets of Intelligence: Designing User Experiences and Documentation for Diverse Minds
https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2025/04/the-many-facets-of-intelligence-designing-user-experiences-and-documentation-for-diverse-minds.php
#techcomm #uxdesign #ux
(@samiksha Chaudhuri via @uxmatters)
Wieso finde ich auf https://www.tekom.de/services-unsere-angebote/publikationen/fachzeitschriften keinen prominenten Link auf
https://technischekommunikation.info/ sondern erfahre erst durch eine Suchmaschine, dass es die Zeitschrift auch digital zu lesen gibt? :det_surprised:
#techcomm #tekom
When I was working at the Toronto Stock Exchange I had to create some large documents with content that was being shared with another writer. I did not trust Word's Master Document feature so came up with my own solution. It took a bit more effort than using Master Documents but was stable. I've published my guide to working with multi-file Word documents on my blog in the hope that it may help others.
https://coredump3.blogspot.com/2025/03/working-with-multi-file-word-documents_7.html
Another day in the life of a documentarian. #writethedocs #techcomm
If you're a technical writer, today is a sad day. The Society for Technical Communication has filed for bankruptcy.
Wow. After some 60+ years the Society for Technical Communication (STC) has folded. I’ve been a member for more than 20 years.
This is a reflection on the importance (or lack thereof) of documentation particularly in the software industry, but also hardware, manufacturing, etc. This was once seen as crucial for customer support, but now it’s just an expense to spend as little on as possible.
#enshittification #RIPSTC #techcomm #documentation #racetothebottom
Since I joined Mastodon in 2022, I haven't taken the time to write an #introduction. With #HelloQuitX and the current shitshow, now is probably a good time !
I'm a linguist & painter who found a calling working on digital information architecture. With age, I'm turning into an ecofeminist witch.
I've been practicing #yoga & #meditation for 20 years, trained as a teacher but I'm weary of new-age bullshit being a cover for capitalism investing our bodies. So I teach #TechComm instead.
1/2
📅💊 Highlights of the work day:
- Reviewed a big PR with significant content updates + a new guide that should clarify an important concept and help users establish some best practices when using the products
- Great Q&A session with the product manager as part of the kickoff meeting for a new docs project
- Spent some time troubleshooting the GH Action from yesterday; still reconsidering the current approach
📅 😷 Highlights of the work day:
- Worked on automating the process of creating release notes with GitHub Actions
- Updated the plan and prepared action items for a new documentation project
- Reviewed updates to an OpenAPI document. Figuring out the best approach for using a schema as a base, extensible model
"Similar to Wood’s conviction that AI’s transformative potential doesn’t come from simple tasks like writing emails, tech writers will likely find conviction when they go beyond fixing simple grammar errors to using AI for developing conceptual articles, generating release notes, or understanding connections across disparate API products.
One of my colleagues compared using AI like learning to play an instrument—it’s one thing to have an intellectual understanding about the instrument and notes, but knowing how to play an instrument well is entirely different. It takes practice, experimentation, learning, diligence, and time. Maybe too many tech writers feel that AI should provide a push-button solution to creating documentation effortlessly (a misguided perception based on too much AI hype). When pushing that button doesn’t magically produce great docs, perhaps they become cynical and dismissive?"
https://idratherbewriting.com/blog/trends-predictions-2025-tech-comm
#AI #GenerativeAI #TechnicalWriting #TechnicalCommunication #APIs #APIDocumentation #PromptEngineering #TechComm
Only a couple of weeks left to get your documentation related talk proposal in for the next Write the Docs conference, held May 4-6 Portland.
Work today has been filled with so many questionable, last minute changes. For example, I was asked to add the following to some user instructions:
"The end user must take suitable precautions to prevent exposure to chemicals which may damage the materials used in the construction of this component."
I pushed back against this for being too vague. "Chemicals" could literally be anything and everything so some examples should be provided. And the responsible engineer still could not see the issue with providing the reader with inadequate information.
There are times that I think that I've inadvertently entered "The Place That Drives You Mad" from the film, The Twelve Tasks of Asterix...
I got asked to add a "hose loop" to a document. After checking, it appears that the item is sold with a description of, "hose clip". To add insult to injury, the official name of the item according to the company terminology dictionary is, "hose retaining flap".
#TechnicalCommunication #TechComm #TechnicalWriting #Terminology
I was searching through my company's Confluence space yesterday and stumbled upon this page titled "Technical writing explained" and this was the entirety of the content that was on the page.
Part of me was incredulous. Like, how dare they reduce my entire field in this over-simplistic way! And another part of me was like, eh, they're not _entirely_ wrong.
I explain what I do in descending order of specificity, situation-dependent:
- I write UI and API docs for a cybersecurity company.
- I’m a software tech writer.
- I’m a “tech writer.” I write software manuals. No, not furniture manuals.
- I work in tech. No, I’m not a programmer, but I know some. They’re nice. Sometimes.
- I work in tech.
- I work with computers.
The attached Calkearns (with alt-text) is better for some of these.
Hi technical communicators and editors/translators in technical documentation, I'd like to point you towards an open TC textbook that I've been made aware of: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/opentc/ (free PDF or available in print for small money - in the US). It's CC-BY licensed, too!
Strange O/S message: "Your computer ran into a success."
❔
Twenty years ago at IBM, the company's commitment to user-focused content led to the decision to develop a standard way of structuring content for multiple #TechComm channels. Michael Priestley led the effort to create the new standard that became #DITA. A fascinating journey down Memory Lane in this conversation.
Client Info
Server: https://mastodon.social
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