Conference 2008 - Technical Communication: Past, Present and Future
Based on the overwhelming feedback given after last year’s ISTC Conference, those of you who attended came away thoroughly pleased with what you learned, the fellow professionals you had a chance to meet and the products and services exhibitors you could investigate. Certainly a memorable event, and a highly successful one for the ISTC. The now established midweek timing certainly contributed to a significant increase in the numbers of delegates and exhibitors.
ISTC Conference 2008 will be the largest UK event for technical communicators this year. The format has changed significantly to reflect delegate feedback from last year and the changing needs of our Members and affiliates. The key features are:
- Two full days (Wed + Thurs) with a choice of more than 30 presentations
- Additional pre-conference day (Tues) of detailed tools workshops
- Key note address on Wednesday morning by Matthew Ellison
- Modern, purpose-built conference venue, in stunning surroundings
- Includes the ISTC AGM
- Exhibition throughout the Conference of the leading tools and services providers
- Plenty of time to meet and network with other technical communication professionals
- Gala Dinner on Wednesday evening including the presentation of the Horace Hockley Award and the UK Technical Communication Awards
The 2008 ISTC Conference will be at Eastwood Hall, set in 26 acres of landscaped grounds in the Nottinghamshire countryside. Just 5 minutes from junction 26 of the M1, Eastwood Hall has been purpose built to provide the very best in 21st century residential conference and training facilities. The programme details will be decided over the next few months, and keep an eye out for our call for presentations, workshops and training sessions.
Dramatic changes are taking place within many of the industries in which we work, and in the technologies and approaches we have available to use.
Some believe the prospects for technical communicators in the UK look poor, others believe the opportunities have never been better.
Certainly though, there are lessons to be learned and ideas to be discussed, and that is what Conference 2008 is all about.
This year’s theme of Technical Communication: past, present and future provides a framework within which the twenty or so speakers will develop their ideas. Their responsibility is to provide useful and expert insights, clear and engaging information, ensuring you leave Conference 2008 better informed, better prepared and, perhaps even, inspired.
Download the booking form, print out the 2nd page, fill in the form and fax to Joanne Penney, the Conference 2008 organizer.
If you would like to attend Conference 2008 and are not yet an ISTC Member, Student Member or Associate Member, this is the time to apply to join. You will more than recoup your first year’s membership costs in the discounted Conference rates that ISTC members pay. Applying to join the ISTC is easy (you can download the form at http://www.istc.org.uk/Membership/join_the_istc.htm). As long as we know your application for membership has been submitted to the ISTC office, you will only need to pay the Member-discounted Conference rates.
Click on one of the links in the following list for details (to be populated as the conference planning develops) on various aspects of the 2008 ISTC Conference.
The venue
Eastwood Hall - Nottingham , about 5 minutes from junction 26 of the M1 and within easy reach of historic Nottingham.
Mansfield Road
Eastwood
Nottingham
NG16 3SS
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The theme
Technical Communication: Past, Present and Future: How professional technical communication has changed over the years and what can be expected in the future.
Keynote speaker
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We are very pleased to announce that Matthew Ellison will be the Keynote Speaker at this year’s Conference. Matthew has established a reputation as an expert communicator about how technical authoring, its approaches and tools, are changing. As a technical author, trainer and online help consultant he has spent the last 20 years working with large organizations to help them provide the most effective assistance possible for the users of their software and web-based applications. He has spoken at conferences all over the world and each year organizes and delivers the European User Assistance Conference (formerly, the European Online Help conference). He is a creative and engaging speaker and we welcome him as our Keynote Speaker for ISTC Conference 2008.
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Presentations
Conference 2008 will include quality contributions from more than 20 speakers, working in industries including banking, telecoms, software, localization, electronics and engineering. Profiles of more confirmed speakers will be posted here soon. The confirmed topics and draft schedule are listed below:
| Pre-Conference Workshops – Tuesday 23rd September |
| Time |
Workshop Room 1 |
Workshop Room 2 |
10.00am –
1.00pm |
Technical authoring in an XML publishing environment – how it all fits together
Peter Li - Principal Specialist for Arbortext Solutions at PTC |
The new Adobe Technical Communication Suite
Speaker TBC - Adobe |
2:00pm –
5:00pm |
Information Mapping for experienced Technical Authors
Andrew Jackson – Director at Pacific Blue |
Controlled Language, how to write clear documentation for a global market.
Berry Braster – Director at Tredopres |
| Wednesday 24th September |
| Presentation Room 1 |
Presentation Room 2 |
9am - Welcome to ISTC Conference 2008
Simon Butler, ISTC President |
Key Note address
Matthew Ellison |
How the Royal Bank of Scotland manages its online portfolio of process documentation
Chris Clenton: RBS |
Extreme content makeover - Migrating content to DITA
Marc Speyer: Stilo |
Break |
Experiences of developing award-winning technical intranet content for customer help-desk teams
Audrey Philbrooks: Alliance and Leicester |
Documentation 3.0 – the next phase in technical communication
Kees van Mansom/Thei Geurts: Ordina Consulting |
Remote management of technical authors in China and India for Motorola Networks
Peter Newsom: Documentation Consultant |
Developing a business case for investment in a content management system
Andrew Simpson: Raymarine |
Lunch |
ISTC AGM |
Getting In
James Bromley: QOSL Ltd |
Report and discussion about a recent global technical authoring survey
Sophie Hurst: SDL |
How Technical Authoring UK can compete in the global marketplace
Paul Ballard: 3di Information Solutions |
What makes a proposal persuasive?
Hazel Sales |
Break |
From Document-Centric to Data-Centric: How Specifications have Influenced the Evolution of Technical Data Delivery.
A review of the ASD S1000D standard – how it evolved and how it’s used.
Charlie Cartwright: Principal Specialist, PTC |
Change management: Challenges for the Lone Writer in an SME-rich Environment
Anthony Davey: STC UK Chapter president |
5pm - End of Wednesday sessions |
7.15pm Drinks Reception
8.00pm Gala Dinner
Presentation of Horace Hockley Award 2008
Presentation of Technical Communication Awards 2008
Prize raffle |
| Thursday 25th September |
| Presentation Room 1 |
Presentation Room 2 |
Opportunities for discounted access to OU courses under the ISTC partnership with their Continuing Professional Development programme.
David Robinson: CPD Programme Manager, Open University |
Developing a bespoke, DITA-based xml authoring environment and publishing system at Lexis Nexis
Mike Holt: Documentation Consultant |
Session content TBC |
Controlling your language – an assessment of tools and processes for achieving more consistent, controlled written content.
Mike Unwalla – TechScribe |
Break |
Session content TBC
Neil Johns |
Session content TBC |
Towards an ISO standard for technical communication – ISTC proposal to develop a Publically Available Specification (PAS) with BSI.
Simon Butler: ISTC President |
Managing the black hole – how to get the most out of your CMS.
David Jones: Documentation Manager at Martin Dawes Systems |
Lunch |
Single source publishing to different media
Phill Barratt: Ovidius |
Getting to know your wiki
Katja McLaughlin: Sumerian |
Documenting for Developers - The Symbian Story
David Black: Head of Documentation, Symbian |
Scientific and Technical Communicators – how ISTC membership has changed and who will be members in future?
ISTC Membership team |
Closing session
Web technology update
Joe Welinske - President of WritersUA, formerly known as WinWriters |
4pm End of Thursday sessions
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