STC mobile device content consideration

Resizing Content for the Small Screen: Considerations for Single- Source Authoring for Tablet and Mobile Delivery Maxwell Hoffmann | Product Evangelist | mhoffman@adobe.com | @maxwellhoffmann© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

About Adobe  Founded in December 1982  74 Offices in 43 Countries  $4.2 billion in revenue in FY2011  Corporate Headquarters in San Jose, California  More than 10,000 employees  Adobe donates a minimum of 1% of net income to philanthropy We simplify complicated, inefficient and expensive workflows We enable more engaging, compelling content We drive greater return from digital media and marketing investments© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. 2

About Maxwell Hoffmann  Maxwell Hoffmann  Product Evangelist, Tech Comm Suite  Started with early forms of proprietary single-source publishing, grew with the industry  Product Manager for Frame Technology  15 years in translation industry, working on “whatever documents come through the door”  Extensive sales and customer training experience  Trained over 1,200 people in hands-on, scalable publishing solutions  Over a dozen years in the Field doing consulting & production© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 3

Presentation in a nut shell  Concepts, not specifics, not a SW demo  Observations about several trends that need to die  Why we do things the way we do  Guidelines for content that fits a screen you can hold in your hand  Some exercises we can use to “break” the habit of bloated content creation  Modified expectations about single-source publishing© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 4

Writer have wanted their “finger prints” in content for a long time Human hand prints from Spanish cave recently tested to be over 40,000 years old© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 6

What I Learned from over 25 years in publishing and training  Publishers (me too) are often hypnotized by new technologies or new delivery platforms  Excessive focus on tools and trends sometimes makes us forget “should this legacy data be republished?”  Legacy files are rarely “cleansed/optimized” before conversion to new delivery  Some writers still want their fingerprints on their chapters Want to “enrich” content with their personality (“unpublished” novelist syndrome)  “Less is More” has yet to catch on with content  Many gifted writers have instinctive resistance to “guided” content creation (e.g. structured authoring, topic-based authoring or simplified English)© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 8

How the landscape has changed for Content Creators  Readers:  have less time and shorter attention spans  expect the latest, up-to-date version of any content ASAP  Writers/Artists:  Fewer of us (smaller work groups)  Less times, shorter delivery schedules (magnified by target languages with localization/translation)  Workload (amount of data) often 2-3x that of 10 years ago  Increased pressure to serve Global Audience  Graphic Artist used to be a fulltime, corporate position; in some locales those skills have withered  21st Century “tech writers” struggling to gain status, recognition and influence over budget© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 9

How did we a “page-based” lens for content?  Page size or laptop/computer screen has usually been the “lens” through which we visualize delivered content  Most of us write enough words to fill up the space we are working in (e.g. “write to the bottom of the page”)  Technical content: many of us are still prone to unnecessarily bracket “critical info” in nested lists or tables  Many of us fall into “arms-length” syndrome: content looks good on computer screen  Try to read Sponsor/Logo on lamp-post banners© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 13

Why do we write more content than people can read?  We‟re subject matter experts; we know a lot, we have a lot to say  Most of us are used to describing steps rather than dynamic, visual presentation  Sometimes we are revising earlier versions of “documentation” with content that is 5 – 15 years old  We have few examples or models to work from for “reduced” content versions  Human Nature: some of us just don‟t embrace change© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 14

Historic precedents: old content on new platforms  Early television content turned to the past: Vaudeville and Radio Shows … it worked for 3 to 5 years© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 16

Historic precedents: old content on new platforms  Theatrical films on TV: the world before letter box “fat” content on a “skinny” screen© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 17

Historic precedents: old content on new platforms  Newspapers and websites: it took them over 10 years to “get it” … 2012 LA Times on web 1996 LA Times© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 18

Traditional, “fat” bullet or numbered lists are a problem 1. You have 8 to 20 screens 2. Thumbs will wear out navigating through this many points 3. Reader retention is diminished 4. Follow some guidelines from PowerPoint regarding max number of points and reader retention© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 23

Some options to consider 1. Use conditional text or filter by attributes (DITA) to reduce content if single- sourcing 2. In some cases, alternative sections for an executive summary 3. Does this lengthy tech doc manual really need to go to mobile devices?© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 26

HOW can you write content short enough for small screen?  Use WYSIWYG editing display to see how much content you have for iPhone screen as you write it  User alternate CSS style sheets with XML or XHTML content  Use alternate templates that simulate screen and font/point size ratio with unstructured content  Actually author in this mode; don‟t preview© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 28

HOW can you retune your authoring skills for a small screen? DISCLAIMER: this slide assumes that you are creating “typical” tech doc (e.g. medical devices, complex manuals)  A practice exercise: use “mailing labels” template in Word, or make “tiny page” template in FrameMaker. Do your normal writing style and see how many “screens” you fill  Scotch tape 3x5 cards to sheet of paper; fill them in on a typewriter (yes, a typewriter) … this is an exercise, you’re only going to do this once  Don‟t worry about typos  This makes you physically aware of approximate words or characters per screen  Working with physical media (construction paper and scissors) permanently plants a “gauge” of content in your mind© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 29

HOW can you write shorter sentences for a small screen?  Changing writing style to shorter word count:  (No, I‟m not kidding) – use dictation; record your text with digital recorder or Siri (even cassette tapes)  Don‟t worry about quality; you can edit later  Whatever you can say w/o taking a breath is a good gauge for memory retention on small screen© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 30

HOW else can retrain your mind to compose shorter sentences?  Read Dorothy Parker short stories  Although Parker wrote fiction, she was a master at using minimum number of words to convey profound thoughts and emotions  Find podcasts of Martha Stewart’s 90 seconds of “what you need to know”  Stewart (or her writers) was a genius at capturing all essential ingredients for a message in a radio or podcast about the length of an “elevator pitch” … and if you really want to go retro …© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 31

Find some Reader‟s Digest Reference books from „60s and „70s Disclaimer: author not a fan of R.D.’s politics  The content of one of these books doesn‟t matter  Just read part of it for the sense of sentence length, and “getting to the point” in topic sentence  Clever use of “key” graphics made good visual references  You‟re not going to copy anything that you see (style, layout, etc.) … but the staff at R.D. were highly gifted at digesting critical information down to its essentials  Note: content went downhill about 12-15 years ago (IMHO)© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 32

Controlled English - Instrumentation Quaternary Pump Quaternary Pump When turned on, the quaternary pump runs When the Quaternary Pump through the initialization starts operation, the plunger procedure to determine the moves inside the chamber. upper dead center of the Simplified This movement lets the first plunger. The first computer calculate and store plunger moves slowly a position called “Top Dead upwards into the Center” (TDC). mechanical stop of chamber and from there it moves (27 words) back a predetermined path (www.smartny.com) length. (44 words) English reduces text size by 30% Controlled© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

Some software tools to reduce vocabulary and sentence length  English language has >900K potential words  Simplified English (or STE, CE) uses from 1,000 to 2,400  There are may companion products to FrameMaker and Word that can “guide” word choice  Example: Maxit Checker by Smart Software (www.smartny.com)  AuthorAssist by SDL.com  Tools by Acrolynx.com (graphic = www.smartny.com)© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 35

One movie is worth a thousand screen shots DISCLAIMER: this slide, again, assumes that you are creating typical, lengthy tech doc with lots of screen captures (e.g. software manuals)  Make discreet use of rich media; 3D graphics, video clips or dynamic screen captures (sized for small screen)  This allows the reader to pause on one screen (or PDF page) and “get it”© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 36

HOW can you think in “chunks” for the small screen? Work with a physical story board (try this with physical media first)  Make a storyboard on manila file folder with post-it stickers  Put topics or concepts on post-it stickers  Forces your mind to think in pictures; this translates better to shorter content  This is an exercise, not a way of life … don‟t freak out. I tried it and this works© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 37

HOW can you think in “visual units” appropriate for the small screen Turn to Graphic Novels for inspiration  Good comic books or graphic novels make good use of “close up” and long shots  Wordless images are used for emphasis  Graphic novel illustration panels are similar to the real estate of small hand- held devices. http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/canadian-lit-prize-snubs-graphic-novels-graphic-artist_b8096© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 38

One more way you can hone your visual communication skills  Watch and analyze a “good” silent movie  The Artist  The Big Parade (1925)  The Last Laugh (no title cards)  Wings (1928)© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 39

Lessons from the translation industry  In some cases, “copy writing” (or rewrite for summary/mobile version) may be appropriate  Not all technical content will be suited for 100% single source publishing to full “page” output and vastly reduced “hand held” screen output  Think of portable devices as a “locale”:  You have an exotic population that has less time to absorb a message  Your target “locale” has a shorter attention span; important points must come first  Your target “locale” only has a thumb to navigate …. Content must appear in visual „chunks‟  In many cases, the reader is “standing in line” … physical comfort as well as findability are major issues© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 40

My product “wish list” …  We need an authoring solution that shows how much text you have created in different screen sizes while you are writing  Complete separation for format from content may not always work for this scenario  DITA modules can be ideal, but visual feedback on “frame fill” is needed  Authoring solution needs to be accessible to mere mortals. Not all SMEs are going to be experts at document structure or working in a “tagged” view  Author plug-ins that not only “guide” simplified English but set off a “buzzer” when you‟ve hit 1.5 screens with one paragraphs  An ability to pre-visualize final output to ePubs and mobile devices before you‟ve completed mountains of text© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 41

Contact Information Information Maxwell Hoffmann Twitter twitter.com/maxwellhoffmann Adobe Systems, Inc. Email mhoffman@adobe.com Product Evangelist Web www.adobe.com LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellhoffmann Blog blogs.adobe.com/mbhoffmann Blog blogs.adobe.com/techcomm Facebook facebook.com/adobe.tcs Slides available upon request© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 45

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STC mobile device content consideration

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