The evolution of communication design: A brief history of ACM SIGDOC
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The evolution of communication design: A brief history of ACM SIGDOC Dr. Brad Mehlenbacher Leadership, Policy & Adult & Higher Education NC State University [email protected] www4.ncsu.edu/~brad _m ACM SIGDOC ‘11,
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Presented in Pisa, Italy, at SIGDOC'11: The 29th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication.An abbreviated history of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group for the Design of Communication (ACM SIGDOC). The ACM SIGDOC has a relatively short history as special interest groups go (1975 to the present), but not in terms of the brief history and explosive growth of computer science, interface design, and the design of systems that support computer users. Indeed, interest in forming a special group focusing on systems documentation began to develop in the early 1970s. At the time, few technical writers (or few computer professionals who recognized themselves as technical writers) existed. Most systems documentation was being developed for military applications and large mainframe computer systems (such as those developed by IBM Corporation). Similar to the history of ACM SIGDOC, the field of communication design has burgeoned while simultaneously allowing increased fragmentation and distributed research initiatives across other developing fields.
Transcript of The evolution of communication design: A brief history of ACM SIGDOC
The evolution of communication design:
A brief history of ACM SIGDOC
Dr. Brad MehlenbacherLeadership, Policy &Adult & Higher EducationNC State [email protected] www4.ncsu.edu/~brad_m
ACM SIGDOC ‘11, Pisa, Italy
Overview of presentation
Providing an abbreviated history of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group for the Design of Communication (ACM SIGDOC)
Sharing resources used to compile a history
Naming ourselves Beginning at the beginning Chronicling the 80s, 90s, 00s, and now Imagining the future of ACM SIGDOC.
Brockmann, R. J. (2001) SIGDOC reminiscences. ACM Journal of Computer Documentation, 25 (2), 40-41.Mehlenbacher, B. (2011). The evolution of communication design: A brief history of the ACM SIGDOC. SIGDOC’11: The 29th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication Proceedings. Pisa, Italy: ACM, 249-256.
Adopted from:
“Understanding our rich history as an organization affords us both perspective and a deeper sense of what our professional and organizational future may hold”
(Brockmann, 2001).
Sources of information for history
Conference ACM SIGDOC proceedings from 1982 to the present
ACM Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation, from 1975 to 1999
ACM Journal of Computer Documentation (JCD), from 2000-2002.
Special Interest Group on Systems Documentation (1982-1996)
Special Interest Group on Computer Documentation (1997-2002)
Special Interest Group on Documentation (2003) Special Interest Group on Design of Communication
(2004-present).
Naming our Community
“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it”
(Winston Churchill).
Beginning at the Beginning
Rigo, J. (1974). A SIC on computer documentation? Communications of the ACM, 17 (9), 543.Rigo, J. (2001) SIGDOC reminiscences. ACM Journal of Computer Documentation, 25 (2), 31-33.
Adopted from:
Microsoft Corporation just established in 1975
During the 1970s, computer technology exploded and shrank—mainframe to minicomputers to microcomputers (IBM 360/370 to DEC PDP 8 to Apple II)
In 1974, Joseph Rigo wrote brief letter to the ACM forum of the Communications of the ACM
33 responses (e.g., U of Scranton, Canadian government, Lockhead Aircraft)
Published first issue of informal Newsletter and organized documentation session for ACM’74 Conference.
“There were few computer-related jobs outside IBM and other manufacturers”
(Rigo, 2001).
ACM SIGDOC in the 1980s
Diana Patterson took over Chairing and newsletter
First joint conference of SIGDOC and SIGOA held Los Angeles, CA, in 1982
In 1986, the Joseph T. Rigo Award for contributions to the field of documentation created by Diana Patterson (21 awards given up to the present)
ACM SIGDOC Chairs include Joe Rigo (1975-1977), Tom D’Auria (1977-1980), Diana Patterson (1980-1989), and R. John Brockmann (1989-1993).
Rigo Award Recipients (1987-present)
See http://www.sigdoc.org/awards/rigo.html
Adopted from:
The 1990s and the Diana Award
Brockmann, R. J. (2001) SIGDOC reminiscences. ACM Journal of Computer Documentation, 25 (2), 40-41.See http://www.sigdoc.org/awards/diana.html
Adopted from:
In 1994, the Diana Award instituted for an organization, institution, or business for long-term contributions to the field of communication (15 awards given up to the present).
Nina Wishbow (1993-1997) and Kathy Haramundanis (1997-2003) follow Brockmann (1989-1993) as Chair.
“When I began as President after Diana, SIGDOC was still pretty much THE only game in town”
(Brockmann, 2001).
ACM SIGDOC in the 2000s Kathy Haramundanis (1997-2003), Scott Tilley (2003-
2005), and Brad Mehlenbacher (2005-present) as Chair ACM Portal to Computing (ACM Digital Library) released Membership dropped slowly from 350 members (in 2003)
to 197 members (in 2010) New website developed (http://www.sigdoc.org), in
addition to numerous social media spaces: Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/41639381965/ (109 members), LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=1969844&trk=anet_ug_grppro (151 members), Slideshare at http://www.slideshare.net/group/acm-sigdoc (5 members), Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/sigdoc (113 followers), and Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIGDOC (viewed ~200 times during 2011).
ACM SIGDOC for a New Century
ACM SIGDOC has a well-established history of publications cited and downloaded via the ACM Digital Library (35 years).
ACM SIGDOC Bibliometrics: Publication History (1975-2010)
Multidisciplinary, International Reach
Since 2005, ACM SIGDOC has expanded reach beyond North America to the UK, Portugal, Brazil, and Italy; institutional affiliations, as well, highlight its multidisciplinary reach.
ACM SIGDOC Top 25 Institutional Affiliations by Paper Count
ACM SIGDOC Authors and Books (I)
ACM SIGDOC Authors and Books (II)
The Future of ACM SIGDOC Attracting and maintaining long-term members? Understanding the role of professional
associations in academic and non-academic professional development?
Distinguishing between communication design and interface/web design?
Developing an elevator speech that captures our profession?
Internationalizing ACM SIGDOC: challenges and opportunities?
Cultivating a new generation of communication designers?
