The Hairball of Content - Lightning Version

Presentation © 2012 Ray Gallon all rights reserved

Content is just stuff we write, isn’t it?


!   I bet, in addition to tech comm, you are also doing...

!   Content Strategy

!   Information Architecture

!   User eXperience and/or interface design

!   Marketing

!   Etc…

“Content is a hairy, Complicated Beast”��-Kristina Halvorson, introducing Erin Kissane’s “The Elements of Content Strategy”


Designing User Assistance - Experience is More Important than Taxonomy

!   Problem #1: with 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...


Designing User Assistance - Experience is More Important than Taxonomy

!   Problem #1: with 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.

!   For software, the obvious next step was to embed the user assistance in the product itself.

!   Minimalism + Structured Authoring make this doable.


Let’s Look at Minimalism

!   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

!  STEP 1!!  STEP 2!!  STEP 3!

DON’T DO THAT!

NOTE:!

WARNING!!

!   Is memorizing a procedure by rote

necessary for competency? !   If co

ncepts are im

portant,

how do we include the

m

without “wasting

users’

time?”

!   How do I know if I need to do this? ?!


Double Embeddedness

!   We want to give the user all the information s/he needs and only the information s/he needs.

!   For the most part, we’ve assumed that means procedures. Concepts are out -‐ too long, too messy, too irrelevant. The user wants to meet her or his contingent need.

!   But John Carroll didn’t say that – he said, most people learn better by doing something than by reading something. Cognitive science says the same thing.

!   Why not embed conceptual information in procedures?

!   So here’s the

problem:


Double Embeddedness: ��UA in UI and Concepts in Tasks

Right now, you a

re probably sa

ying, “this gu

y is NUTS!” Didn’t anyone tell

you that’s a basic tech comm 101 no-‐no?

NEVER mix procedures and concepts! That’s what amateurs do!

Why do you think we have different DITA topics for them?

Get a haircut! Get a job! A REAL job!

DITA actually does have mixed topics

Give them a bit of decision support and they’ll do the rest!

The DITA Step element includes stepresult and info subelements


Going Beyond: Empowering the user

BY EXTENSION, S/HE CAN ALSO...!

!   Intensify knowledge levels for personal

interest !   Pursue related information as a hobby

!   Extend professional competency independently !   Look to past experiences to find out

what s/he may have forgotten


Going Beyond: Empowering the user

A culture o

f information

sharing an

d knowledge

building, in

side and ou

tside the o

rganisation

.

What I do can be useful for others, and what others

do has an effect on what I can use -‐ for example, if a

YouTube post has good tags or not.

This changes how we react to our environment, and has social and ethical implications

This is know

n as

cognitive de

velopment


Cognition and Context

Context is everything!

!   Concept topics remain abstract. Their application seems distant to the user.

!   A conceptual sentence or two in context (while performing a task) reinforces knowledge acquisition and integration.

!   Tasks should also explain why it is interesting to do them – Decision Support


Cognition and Context

Context is everything!

!   Concept topics remain abstract. Their application seems distant to the user.

!   A conceptual sentence or two in context (while performing a task) reinforces knowledge acquisition and integration.

!   Tasks should also explain why it is interesting to do them – Decision Support Lots of detail does

not necessarily mean more knowledge


Having Lots of Resources is not always a solution...

… IF YOU DON’T HAVE ADEQUATE KNOWLEDGE OF THEM

Hidden User Assistance is no Help at all!


Integrated Competency Learning

Adapted by Dr. Neus Lorenzo from Phil Ball & Keith Kelly (2009) Ref: http://ow.ly/dLK8g & http://goo.gl/Ul3A2

+ Individually significant contextualisation (contingency)

+Socio-‐cultural construction (information sharing, mentoring)

+Procedural Memorisation

+ Cognitive construction and process reasoning

+Code: Mastery of the language, interface, iconography...

+Thematic knowledge (SME)


...AND WHEN????!

Integrated Competency Learning

Adapted by Dr. Neus Lorenzo from Phil Ball & Keith Kelly (2009) Ref: http://ow.ly/dLK8g & http://goo.gl/Ul3A2

+ Individually significant contextualisation (contingency)

+Socio-‐cultural construction (information sharing, mentoring)

+Procedural Memorisation

+ Cognitive construction and process reasoning

+Code: Mastery of the language, interface, iconography...

+Thematic knowledge (SME)

WHERE IN THIS SPACE DO YOU WANT YOUR

USERS?!

Presentation © 2012 Ray Gallon all rights reserved COGNITIVE-‐SYMBOLIC COMPLEXITY

RICH

NES

S OF TH

E CO

NTE

NT

+!

+!-!

To Encourage Learning we ��must stimulate cognitive demand

Adapted from a scheme by Dr. Neus Lorenzo

Presentation © 2012 Ray Gallon all rights reserved COGNITIVE-‐SYMBOLIC COMPLEXITY

RICH

NES

S OF TH

E CO

NTE

NT

+!

+!-!

To Encourage Learning we ��must stimulate cognitive demand

Bloom’s Pyramid

Adapted from a scheme by Dr. Neus Lorenzo

Are we having fun

yet?!


Dimensions of Competency

Integrated Learning

Literal Content

Communication

Cognition

Community

Complexity

Criteria Selection

Beginner

Basic

Threshold

Functional

Advanced

Mastery Quantity

Qua

lity

Interfaces, hardware, software, user assistance, hands-‐on and conceptual combined


Dimensions of Competency

Integrated Learning

Literal Content

Communication

Cognition

Community

Complexity

Criteria Selection

Beginner

Basic

Threshold

Functional

Advanced

Mastery Quantity

Qua

lity

Quantity of information > contingent need learner gets confused, sense of chaos Can’t keep track of it all

In moving from contingent need to confusion, we still learn more.

Interfaces, hardware, software, user assistance, hands-‐on and conceptual combined

COMPLEXITY ≠ CHAOS!


THE HAIRBALL OF CONTENT!

!   Technical communication

!   Content strategy


!   User Experience

!   Interface Design

!   Localization

!   And many more...

CONTENT WORK


!   Learn by doing -‐ Double Embeddedness: !   Integrated procedures and user experience

!   Embedded user assistance

!   High added Value

!   Single, holistic process !   Interface

!   User Assistance

!   Design


Cognitive Integrated Development

OH!!


Thank You! email: [email protected]

Twitter: @RayGallon LinkedIn: Ray Gallon Google+: +Ray Gallon

Member, Board of Directors

RAY GALLON C U L T U R E C O M

Check out my blog, « Rant of a Humanist Nerd: »

http://humanistnerd.culturecom.net

NOW GO OUT AND KEEP MAKING GOOD CONTENT!

Portions of t

his presentat

ion based on

research by

the Transfo

rmation Societ

y

working group

.

The Hairball of Content - Lightning Version

Technology

Transcript of The Hairball of Content - Lightning Version