Brochure for the 2012 STC-PMC Conference

1. Mid-Atlantic Technical
Communication Conference
March 9, 2012

2. Time Willow Grove Room Thunderbolt Room
8:45 to 10:00 Opening Session and
Keynote Presentation:
Whitney Quesenbury
(pg. 4)
10:15 to 11:15 Developing for the
Unknown (pg. 5)
Neil Perlin
11:30 to 12:30 Lunch with
Competition Awards and
Volunteer Recognition
12:45 to 1:45 Top Ten Tricks and
Tips for Getting the
Most from Captivate (pg. 7)
David Peirce
2:00 to 3:00 What Writers Don’t Know About
Translation Can Be Costly (pg. 9)
Myriam Siftar
3:15 to 3:45 Closing Session and Door Prizes
Conference Schedule
STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference2

3. Scenic Room Alps Room
An Introduction to On-Demand Web-
Based Publishing (pg. 5)
Russ Ward
Seven Communication Killers:
How to Present More Effectively (pg. 6)
Frank Felsburg
Communicating Culture: Resolving
Conflict and Leveraging Feedback
(pg. 7)
Barrie Byron and Ann Grove
Five+ Ways to Add
Interactivity to Online Help (pg. 6)
Nicky Bleiel
Customer Journey Maps: Charting a
Course for an Engaging Customer
Experience (pg. 8)
Donn DeBoard
Converting Quick
Reference Information Into Mobile
Performance Support (pg. 8)
Nad Rosenburg
At a Glance
3STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference

4. President’s Message
On behalf of the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter, I welcome our attendees and presenters to the
2012 Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference. We are pleased you can join us in this an-
nual day-long education and collaborative setting to learn, share, and network.
With additional support this year from our Event Host sponsor Adobe Systems Incorporated, and
the great facilities at the Community Center at Giant in Willow Grove, we extended significant sav-
ings and value-pricing to STC members and non-members. Appreciation and thanks to all of our
corporate donors and sponsors for their valuable prizes and donations for our closing session raffle.
Enjoy the conference!
Todd DeLuca
President, STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter
Keynote Presentation: The Power of Stories
Willow Grove Room 8:45 to 10:00
Stories are how we make sense of the world. In UX and technical communication, they let us imag-
ine an experience through our audience’s perspective. From personas to design scenarios to usabil-
ity testing, they help us create lean, global, accessible and usable products. Whitney discusses ways
stories can help us bridge the gap between‘what is’and‘what might be’– and
change the world.
Whitney Quesenbury is a user experience researcher with a passion for clear
communication. She has worked with organizations such as the National Can-
cer Institute, IEEE, Sage, Amtak, and the Open University on design research
and evaluation, and coaches developing UX teams.
She is past president of the Usability Professional Association (UPA), an STC Fellow, and served on
two national advisory committees for usability and accessibility. Her current challenge is the Acces-
sible Voting Technologies Initiative, working to help everyone vote.
Whitney is the author of Storytelling for User Experience (with Kevin Brooks) and Global UX: Design
and Research in a Connected World (with Daniel Szuc).
4 STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference

5. Developing for the Unknown
Thunderbolt Room 10:15 to 11:15
Today’s project pressures require us more and more to create content that can be used on whatever
display devices the future may bring.
Many features and technologies needed to do this have been built into our tools for years, but
haven’t been used correctly (or at all), or are little known because few people needed them. Others
are just emerging. So to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, this presentation looks at what
control features and standards we need to use to future-proof our content.
Neil Perlin has 33 years of experience in technical communication, with 27 in training, consulting,
and development for various online formats and tools including WinHelp, HTML Help, JavaHelp,
WebHelp, CE Help, Doc-To-Help, RoboHelp, and Flare.
Neil is a columnist for Intercom and a frequent speaker for numerous profes-
sional groups. He is an STC Fellow, a member of the STC New England chapter,
created and manages the Beyond the Bleeding Edge stem at the STC Interna-
tional Summit, and represented STC for the W3C (WorldWide Web Consortium)
for three years. He is also Madcap-certified for Flare and Mimic, Adobe-certified
for RoboHelp and Captivate, and Viziapps-certified for Viziapps Studio.
An Introduction to On-Demand, Web-Based Publishing
Scenic Room 10:15 to 11:15
On-demand, web-based publishing has many potential applications in the technical communi-
cations field, especially when dynamic customization of rendered content is necessary and/or
real-time updates from a continuously-changing source are required. Using real examples with
commonly-available web server technologies such as Java Server Pages (JSP) and Microsoft Active
Server Pages (ASP), this session will cater to the do-it-yourselfer who is curious about escaping the
shackles of static published content. We will include considerations for content reuse, as well as
multi-channel publishing. The session will conclude with a real-world case study of one such home-
grown system that has saved (and continues to save) one company significant amounts of money
through increases in efficiency (while simultaneously improving quality to boot).
Russ Ward is an experienced technical writer, structured technologies developer,
and avid developer of plugins for Adobe FrameMaker.
He has spent many years working with structured content to maximize efficiency
in the techcomm environment, both as an employee and as an independent con-
sultant. Russ is also an experienced trainer and speaks periodically at conferences
and other peer events.
5STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference

6. The Seven Communication Killers: How to Present More Effectively
Alps Room 10:15 to 11:15
How many times have you seen presenters“lay an egg”while speaking to an audience? They break
every rule and you, having attended, felt as if it was a waste of time. This session discusses seven
communication mistakes many presenters make while speaking in front of an audience. Learn how
to:
• Deliver more dynamic presentations
• See what not to do in a presentation
• Walk away with new-found confidence as to how to present more effectively
• Have more people come up afterwards to speak one-on-one
• Do more business
Frank Felsburg is an account executive with Magnum Group, working with or-
ganizations that want to communicate globally and optimize their international
presence. A large percentage of his clients are in the Training & Development
sector.
He is past president of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ASTD (American
Society of Training & Development), and currently serves on the ASTD National
Chapter Recognition Committee. Frank has delivered stand-up training in the ar-
eas of customer service, sales and communication skills. A graduate of Villanova
University, he is the author of numerous articles and a book on listening.
Five+ Ways to Add Interactivity to Online Help
Alps Room 12:45 to 1:45
Content is king, but adding a measured dose of interactivity to your online help will increase read-
ability and usability, as well as make it more compelling. This session demonstrates a number of
simple ways to improve your help, even if you are single sourcing:
• Discover the options available for interactivity, including expanding/collapsing text, image
maps, glossary popups, Google Maps, and more.
• Discuss how they can improve readability and usability.
• Learn how to implement them in a single sourcing environment.
Nicky Bleiel is the lead information developer for Doc-To-Help and a Doc-To-
Help trainer. She has 17 years of experience in technical communication and is a
Director At Large of STC. She has presented talks at the STC Summit, STC regional
conferences and chapter meetings, WritersUA, tcworld, LavaCon, CIDM/DITA
North America, and DocTrain.
6 STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference

7. Communication Culture: Resolving Conflict and Leveraging Feedback
Scenic Room 12:45 to 1:45
Resolving conflict and responding to feedback are core professional survival skills. Our ability to
master soft skills such as conflict resolution can be more important than mastery of technical com-
munication and project management. Barrie Byron and Ann Grove shed light on topics such as:
• Leveraging your listening and analysis skills to assess your options
• Dealing with conflict when you feel powerless
• Becoming more comfortable with conflict
• Using feedback from your coworkers to improve your performance
With more than 20 years of professional experience, Barrie Byron is a consultant
with a keen interest in new technologies and tools. She is past president of the STC
Palm Beaches Chapter, an STC Associate Fellow, and the competitions manager for
the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter.
An STC Fellow, Ann Grove is president of and lead consultant for Logical Writing
Solutions, Inc.. Ann has served as past president of the former Susquehanna Valley
Chapter and is a member of the New York Metro, Palm Beaches and Philadelphia
Metro STC chapters.
The Top Ten Tricks and Tips For Getting the Most From Captivate
Thunderbolt Room 12:45 to 1:45
In today’s fast-track project environment, project mangers and development budgets are not pre-
pared to accommodate lengthy multimedia training efforts. In this session, Dave shows some lesser-
known techniques and shortcuts to complete a project without sacrificing quality such as:
• Making the best use of templates and styles
• Using Placeholders
• Using batch processing
• Exporting and importing text
• Using a combination of capture techniques for the best image results
• Making the best use of popup and rollover captions
• Determining and using the best narration methods
Dave Peirce is a technical writer, documentation specialist and instructional designer. He has exten-
sive experience producing multimedia and computer-based training and materials using a variety
of applications.
7STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference

8. Converting Quick Reference Information Into Mobile Performance Support
Alps Room 2:00 to 3:00
Help cards, quick reference cards, and job aids have traditionally been used to assist in learning
new tasks, or as refreshers for tasks performed infrequently. The mobile platform is perfect for these
performance support tools but how do you convert them to mobile and ensure their legibility and
functionality? This session addresses a number of issues:
• How to format information for mobile devices so that information is legible and usable. Specifi-
cally how do you handle the fact that most of these documents are in a
tabular format which may not work well on a small device?
• How to edit content to reduce the amount of text needed to convey the
message.
• How mobile performance support tools can be made interactive without
much (or any) programming.
• Technological bells and whistles that can be added.
Before starting TechWRITE in 1985, Nad Rosenberg managed documentation
departments for several large corporations. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, an STC
Associate Fellow, on the Board of Directors of the Plain Language Association InterNational, and a
past resident of the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter.
Customer Journey Maps: Charting a Course For an Engaging Customer Experience
Scenic Room 2:00 to 3:00
Customer Journey Maps (CJMs) provide a visual framework that puts you in your customer’s foot-
steps when using your product or service. These maps help you understand your customer’s needs
and intentions, and helps you identify customer touch points.
In this session, we identify the general components of CJMs, and discuss how to
create and review them to design interactions or content that better supports
customer success and identify new opportunities for customer dialogue.
Donn DeBoard is an award-winning technical communicator dedicated to en-
hancing customer experiences through clear, engaging content. With 25 years
experience developing software documentation. He is a Senior Information
Developer for Vertex.
Donn is an STC Associate Fellow and is involved with the STC Community Affairs Outreach Commit-
tee (CAC) and the Usability and User Experience (UUX) SIG. He is a member of the Usability Profes-
sional Association (UPA), the Institute for Information Architecture (IAI), Philly CHI, and the Interac-
tion Design Association (IxDA).
8 STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference

9. What Writers Don’t Know About Translation Can Be Costly
Thunderbolt Room 2:00 to 3:00
With ever-increasing globalization, more and more technical materials are destined to be localized
in at least one foreign language. Preparing materials with translation in mind saves a great deal of
time and money and makes you a hero at your company or to your client.
But what does this mean? It’s not just the writing itself that is involved; the authoring tools you use,
controlled language and terminology management, organizing your materials for ease of reuse, and
choice of graphics and icons matter.
This session introduces technical writers to the nuts and bolts of the translation and localization
process, the kinds of costs that are typically involved, and to a variety of
things that they can do as authors to facilitate and help control the costs of
that process.
Myriam Siftar is the president of MTM LinguaSoft, a professional language
services company, which she founded in 2003 after a successful career as an
information technology consultant. Myriam was born in Paris and received
degrees in computer science and management in France, before coming to
the United States where she also obtained an MBA from Drexel University.
Congratulations to our 2011 Distinguished Chapter Service Award winners!
Nad Rosenberg
For your years of distinguished service, prior leadership, and continued gener-
ous support of the Philadelphia Metro Chapter.
Gary Sternberg
In recognition of your ongoing contributions to the Philadelphia Metro Chapter
as a participant, presenter, and coordinator of the South New Jersey Networking
Group.
9STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference

10. Event Host Sponsor
STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference10
Donors
STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter would like to extend our gratitude to The Community Center at Giant for hosting
this event and providing such a great facility, helpful service, and excellent catering!
www.adobe.com
www.rosenfeldmedia.com
www.madcapsoftware.com

11. 11
Closing Session Prizes
You must be present in order to win
STC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference
MadPak Suite from MadCap: Flare, Contributor,
Mimic, Capture ($1499 value)
4 free admissions to Madcap Roadshow in
Philadelphia on May11 ($99 value)
Technical Communication Suite 3.5 from Adobe:
FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Photoshop, Acrobat, Capti-
vate ($1899 value)
2 sets of the Rosenfeld Media Library Pack, consisting
of eight great books on user experience courtesy of
Rosenfeld Media ($229 value)
Use discount code MATCC for 20% off all products!

12. Brochure designed by Jacqueline Caddle using Adobe InDesign
www.mortvia.com