Minimalism Doesn't Mean No Concepts

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Presentation$©$2014$Ray$Gallon@RayGallon
Minimalism Doesn't Mean  
No Concepts
Member, Board of Directors
Ray$Gallon

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
The only thing we know about the future 
is that it will be different
-Peter Drucker
Our job is to help people use our
products well and wisely, which
means they learn to adapt,  
and cope with changes in
technology and society.
“User” is passive, to me – 
you’ve been handed something, use
it – whereas I think what people
are doing is much more actively a
matter of ownership and
appropriation and coming to
control a new tool in a newenvironment…"
- John Carroll

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
“Users” are Learners
“…‘learners’$focuses$on$the$human$development$and$appropriating$new$
knowledge$and$skill,$which$I$think$is$really$more$the$essence$of$what’s$going$on.”$
1 0 0 B 0 0 3 3 - , B C 0 -2- 0 0 -

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
eLearning:$InstructionNfocused$learning,$presenting$content$that$the$
learner$must$remember$or$practice,$conducted$via$electronic$media,$
typically$on$the$Internet$
eKnowledge:$Information$you$can$look$up$
User$Assistance:$Guidance$that$helps$you$start$
doing$real,$useful$work$as$quickly$as$possible.$May$
include$eKnowledge.
But User Assistance is NotTraining

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Two$common$ideas$about$
minimalism:$
Don’t$waste$user’s$time$with$unnecessary$
detail,$especially$concepts$
Save$money$in$production$and$localization$
with$reduced$content
Procedures Aren’t Enough
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
DO
THIS
DON’T DO THAT
WARNING!
NOTE:
Is$memorizing$a$procedure$by$rote$
necessary$for$competency?
If$concepts$are$important,$how$
do$we$include$them$without$
“wasting$users’$time?” How$do$I$know$if$I$need$to$do$this?

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Not Just Minimal – Minimal and Meaningful
Minimal$and$meaningful:$one$task$helps$
us$understand$many$related$tasks.
Minimal$and$meaningful:$one$quick$look$
tells$us$we$don’t$need$to$bother$with$this$
(or$that$we$do).
People$best$learn$about$product$use$by$
doing$something$and$making$connections$
in$the$process.$
Learn$by$doing$–$put$the$concepts$where$
they$will$be$useful$and$remembered.

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Provide Decision Support
User$assistance$that$is$limited$to$
procedures$cannot$help$people$with$
contingent$needs.$
People$with$contingent$needs$are$not$
going$to$wade$through$long$conceptual$
texts.$
Modern software’s complexity, features, & power
can leave users perplexed – often just when they
have some immediate, contingent need:
“I$need$to$get$this$done,$and$NOW!.”

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
In$traditional$“static” documentation,$the$product$gives$meaning$to$the$docs.$
Users’ experience$with$the$product$takes$them$from$the$abstract$realm$of$ 
reading$about+the$product...$
Experience is More Important thanTaxonomy

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
In$traditional$“static” documentation,$the$product$gives$meaning$to$the$docs.$
Users’ experience$with$the$product$takes$them$from$the$abstract$realm$of$ 
reading$about+the$product…$
to$the$reality+of+performance.
Experience is More Important thanTaxonomy
The$real$meaning,$then,$is$embedded$in$the$realm$of$action!

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Get$straight$to$procedures$
Don’t$waste$user’s$time$with$unnecessary$detail,$especially$
concepts$
Procedural$information$must$be$separated$from$conceptual$
information.
Everything We Know…
IS WRONG!..

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Double Embeddedness
Embed$procedural$ 
User$Assistance$directly$
into$the$Interface
Embed$simple$concepts$
directly$into$the$ User$Assistance
Cognitive$Science$$(and$John$Carroll)$backs$this$up$

Presentation$©$2014$Ray$GallonThe$Transformation$Society
@TransformSoc$@RayGallon
Active Learning: Learning by Doing
Roger$C.$Schank’s$Schema$N$We$remember$independent,$selfN
contained$scripts,$or$Memory$Organization$Packets$(MOP’s)
Restaurant Airplane Clothing$Shop
Pay
Being$
seated
Eat
Choose
Romantic$
Conversation
Pay
Being$
seated
Eat
Choose
Pay
Choose
Fasten$
Seatbelt
Try$on
MOP’s$are$
composed$of$scenes,$
which$can$be$
generalized$from$
one$MOP$to$another
Serve$
wine
REF:$http://cogprints.org/637/1/LearnbyDoing_Schank.html

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Active Learning: Learning by Doing
Restaurant Airplane Clothing$Shop
Pay
Being$
seated
Eat
Choose
Pay
Being$
seated
Eat
Choose
Pay
Choose
Fasten$
Seatbelt
Try$on
MOP’s$are$
composed$of$scenes,$
which$can$be$
generalized$from$
one$MOP$to$another
Serve$
wine
REF:$http://cogprints.org/637/1/LearnbyDoing_Schank.html
Networks$of$Scenes
Choose$Network
Pay$Network
Eat$Network

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
We$want$to$give$the$user$all$the$information$s/he$needs$and$only$the$
information$s/he$needs.$
We$want$to$deliver$that$information$when$s/he$needs$it$–$which$implies,$at$
the$moment$s/he$has$real$work$to$do.$
The$logical$conclusion$is$that$user$assistance$needs$to$be$embedded$in$the$
software$itself,$in$such$a$way$that:$
The$user$can$ﬁnd$it$immediately,$without$excessive$searching,$if$ 
s/he$needs$it.$
If$s/he$doesn’t$need$it,$it$stays$out$of$the$way.
Kanban Information:  
Help Users LearnYour Software Fast

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
The Place to Learn Concepts is
When Performing Tasks

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
We$often$use$concepts$to$introduce$&$lead$into$multiple$tasks:
Blending Concepts andTasks:  
Kanban Information meets DITA
We$don't$know$how$else$to$do$it,$but$this$is$an$inappropriate$use$of$
conceptual$information:$
Not$good$cognitive$development$
Not$good$Kanban
$Concept:This$concept$
explains$what$this$
element$of$the$interface$is$
all$about.$It$is$used$in$the$
following$tasks:
Task$1
Task$2
Task$3
Task$4

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
<task>$Topic$
General$conceptual$information$using$<context> 
Includes$decision$support$
Step$1$
<cmd>$
<stepresult>$–$What$happens$after$execution$–$can$include$why
Step$2$
<cmd>$$
<info>$–$Use$when$there$is$no$result.$Embeds$concepts$pertinent$to$the$step.$
Should$relate$to$the$task,$and$be$generalisable$to$other$similar$tasks,$if$appropriate
Why$not$use$the$DITA$Task$topic$structure$to$deliver$conceptual$
information$where$it$will$do$the$most$good$and$be$best$remembered?

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Semantic$structure$of$the$XML$is$maintained$
Users$are$served$
This$example$not$speciﬁc$to$DITA$–$GENERALIZE$IT!

RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
20$years$in$technical$communication$with$major$companies$such$as$G.E.$Healthcare,$Alcatel,$IBM,$etc.$
Member,$board$of$directors,$Society$for$Technical$Communication$(STC)$
Past$president,$STC$France$
AwardNwinning$radio$producer$and$journalist$–$CBC,$NPR,$France$Culture,$etc.$and$former$programme$
manager,$WNYCNFM,$New$York$Public$Radio
I’m Ray Gallon -The Humanist Nerd
Research$collaborator$and$principal,$The$Transformation$Society,$a$new$research$and$training$institute$
in$Barcelona,$Spain
Owner/Consultant,$Culturecom$–$specialist$in$$$business$process$improvement$through$communication

Presentation$©$2014$Ray$Gallon@TransformSocThe$Transformation$Society
What We Do
Analyse$your$needs$and$help$you$get$a$jump$on$complexity$
Help$you$design$and$architect$a$content$strategy,$user$information$
systems,$communication$
Work$with$you$to$capture$value$from$your$users$
Workshops,$webinars,$or$training$to$help$manage$and$adapt$to$
change
The$Transformation$Society

Thank
Email:$ infodesign@culturecom.net
Google$Plus:$$$+Ray$Gallon$
Twitter:$$@RayGallon$
LinkedIn:$$$$$$Ray$Gallon
RAY$GALLON
C U L T U R E C O M
Pass$me$your$business$card 
Let’s$talk!
Blog:+Rant+of+a+Humanist+Nerd+
http://humanistnerd.culturecom.net
Portions+of+this+presentation+based+on+research+by+
the+Transformation+Society+Research+group.

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