Pattern recognition for technical communicators

PATTERN RECOGNITION FOR TECHNICAL

COMMUNICATORS

Kai Weber

@techwriterkai

STC Summit, 23 May 2012

PROGRAM

1. Who am I and what do I know?

2. What is pattern recognition?

3. Why should tech communicators care?

4. The pattern recognition experience

5. Pattern recognition in technical communication

WHAT IS PATTERN RECOGNITION?

Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, 8 January 2010:

Paul Kulniszewski‘s breakfast orange on Christmas 2009http://lockportjournal.com/local/x306495538/VISION-Resident-cuts-orange-open-and-sees-image-of-Jesus-and-Mary/

http://lockportjournal.com/local/x306495538/VISION-Resident-cuts-orange-open-and-sees-image-of-Jesus-and-Mary/



WHAT IS PATTERN RECOGNITION?

Part of human perception:

1. Receive sensation and organize it.

2. Recognize patterns.

3. Formalize patterns as rules to interpret and decide.

HOW ABOUT AN EXAMPLE?

Aardvark, J.R. (1980). Ants, and how to eat them. Journal of Orycteropodidae Studies, 80, 11-17.

Barker, R. (1982). Rum babas, and what to do if you’ve got them. Reading: Goodnight From Him.

Haley, W. (1955). Rock Around The Clock. New York: Decca.

Izzard, E. (1998). Cake or Death? Gateaunomics, 10, 195-196.

Lemur, R.-T. (2010). Strepsirrhinoplasty. Antananarivo: Raft Press.

Leonard, E. (1996). Out of Sight. New York: Harper.

Shorty, G. (in press). Okay, so they got me. Los Angeles: Cadillac.

HOW ABOUT AN EXAMPLE?

Aardvark, J.R. (1980). Ants, and how to eat them. Journal of Orycteropodidae Studies, 80, 11-17.

Barker, R. (1982). Rum babas, and what to do if you’ve got them. Reading: Goodnight From Him. …

Rule set

1. Last name, initial(s). (Year of publication).

2. If it’s an article: Title, journal title, volume, pages.

3. If it’s a book: Title. City: Publisher.

We learn patterns by examples – or by rules.

WHY SHOULD TECH COMMUNICATORS CARE?

We do it anyway…

1. When we gather information Reading specs and designs Interviewing subject-matter experts

2. When we create and order information Write topics Structure topics into deliverables

WHY SHOULD TECH COMMUNICATORS CARE?

We do it anyway, so we might as well do it smartly!

If we make sense of our subject more efficiently…

If we structure better what we need to convey…

… we can provide better documentation!

THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN SPACE

Photo by Santiago Masquelet Photo by Jure Šućurhttp://www.sxc.hu/photo/1001312http://www.sxc.hu/photo/784032

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1001312



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Installation

Reference Paid version

Free version

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THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN TIME

Photo by Richard Cop




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HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?

Bottom-up processing

1. Experience and organize

2. Match similarities

3. Segment into groups

… building up a representation from elements.


What is this? How do you know?


Top-down processing

1. Know general concept and rules

2. Contextualize them

3. Apply them

… searching for confirmation by “template matching”.


Top-down

Uses prior knowledge

Concepts elements

Emphasizes context

Quick, but sometimes wrong

Bottom-up

No prior knowledge

Elements concepts

Emphasizes relations

Slow, but usually correct


Martin Boyce:Untitled, 2002.http://www.mmk-frankfurt.de/de/sammlung/werkdetailseite/?werk=2002%2F112

What is this? It’s part of a chair!

http://www.mmk-frankfurt.de/de/sammlung/werkdetailseite/?werk=2002/112



Martin Boyce: Arne Jacobsen:Untitled, 2002. Chair 3107, c.1952.http://www.mmk-frankfurt.de/de/sammlung/werkdetailseite/?werk=2002%2F112 http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/index



http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/index


Top-down

Uses prior knowledge

Concepts elements

Emphasizes context

Quick, but sometimes wrong

Bottom-up

No prior knowledge

Elements concepts

Emphasizes relations

Slow, but usually correct

PATTERN RECOGNITION IN TECH COMM

To make sense of unknown subject matter

To overcome tech writer’s block and start writing

To chunk topics

To find reuse opportunities

To help your readers navigate and understand



Scattered, unreliable, incomplete information?

Gather all pieces

Match similarities and templates

Group into segments



Structured legacy documentation?

Test structure and completeness

Analyze features


To overcome writer’s block and start writing

Incomplete, inconsistent information?

Start bottom-up with similar items as “seeds”.

To chunk topics

Similar topics?


Coffee 3000 User Manual

1. About good coffee1.1 The Coffee 30001.2 Suitable coffee roasts1.3 Water quality and temperature

2. Brewing good coffee2.1 Set up Coffee 30002.2 Make espresso2.3 Make caffe latte2.4 Make cappuccino


1. The Coffee 3000 machine1.1 Introduction1.2 Buying the right coffee1.3 Water descaling

2. Coffee maker2.1 Functions and features2.2 Espresso2.3 Foaming milk2.4 Making cappuccino

To find reuse opportunities

Similar topics?

Identify how you can segment information for reuse.


Make cappuccino

1. Make espresso.2. Foam milk.3. Sprinkle with cocoa.…





To help your readers navigate





To help your readers navigate and understand.

Segment and structure topics.

Phrase headings in a consistent, recognizable way.

Table of contents is top-down.

Search and index are bottom-up, template matching aids.

FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE AND WARNING

Patternicity: Humans are addicted to meaning.

Some patterns refuse to be recognized

Pattern recognition occurs in contexts

Creating tech comm is often a top-down process … ... but using it is often bottom-up searching!

THANK YOU! KEEP IN TOUCH!

kaiweber.wordpress.com

@techwriterkai

http://kaiweber.wordpress.com/

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Pattern recognition for technical communicators

Technology

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