Precision Content speaking about the future of technical communications at ConVEx 2021
For the second year running, the ever-popular DITA North America conference hosted by the Center for Information-Development Management is going wholly virtual as ConVEx 2021, and Precision Content has several key presentations. Please join us online between April 26-28 for three sets of talks designed to get you thinking seriously about microcontent and the future of structured technical communications.
How ConVEx works is that once you have purchased access, you can view the pre-recorded video presentations at your leisure, beginning four weeks prior to the actual conference (so they are available right now). I typically like to watch them during lunchtime, and I know other people who watch them at the end of their workday. And the videos are available online for a year, so you can come back and rewatch a favourite presentation anytime, or focus in on a particular subject and watch them all.
With a virtual conference there’s no longer any problem about clashing presentation times or missing out on a particularly interesting talk you only heard about afterwards, as you can catch it anytime you like. But there are events happening during the time of the conference, including scheduled times to talk to the speakers directly about their presentations.
Precision Content has three sets of speakers at this year’s ConVEx, each pairing some of our more senior people with our new Associate Information Architects who have done a lot of research into their topics. Please join our speakers at the following times as they discuss their presentations:
| Tuesday April 27 | GMT | EST | CST | MST | PST |
| Understanding the content ecosystem to map microcontent by Rob Hanna and Peihong Zhu | 4:00 PM | 12:00 PM | 11:00 AM | 10:00 AM | 9:00 AM |
| Wednesday April 28 | GMT | EST | CST | MST | PST |
| DITA isn’t for everyone (and here’s why) by Keith Schengili-Roberts and Josh Anderson | 10:30 AM | 6:30 AM | 5:30 AM | 4:30 AM | 3:30 AM |
| A fit for microcontent by Joyce Lam and Kathryn Torriano | 4:00 PM | 12:00 PM | 11:00 AM | 10:00 AM | 9:00 AM |
Here’s what to expect from each talk (and don’t forget, so long as you have admission, you can listen to them anytime):
Understanding the content ecosystem to map microcontent
This talk from Precision Content co-founder Rob Hanna and Associate Information Architect Peihong Zhu examines one of the least-explored areas for Information Architect: the relationships between different types of information. Most often this is left to the devices of the author or the arcane arts of the taxonomist to determine what is related to what. Even if we can manage relationships between topics with some skill, managing the relationships between fragments of microcontent become exponentially more difficult. This session will explore the enterprise content metamodel to understand how information behaves in a larger ecosystem and map out a universal content model across any enterprise.
DITA isn’t for everyone (and here’s why)
In this presentation from Senior Content Strategist Keith Schengili-Roberts and Associate Information Architect Josh Anderson focus on the relative strengths and weaknesses of DITA in the current business environment. There are companies and technical writing groups that are leaving DITA, and they report on how other technology options are coming into play and successful DITA teams are moving away from using the standard. They talk about why DITA is not for everyone, where DITA works best, and where it does not. The presentation provides an overview of where DITA is today and the challenges it faces.
A fit for microcontent
Information Architect Joyce Lam and Associate Information Architect Kathryn Torriano talk about how microcontent will open new channels for content while improving delivery across existing channels. AI-powered cognitive content solutions perform best with content designed to be read by humans and processed by intelligent technologies. Microcontent isn’t just how we write, it’s about the structure, organization, categorization, and metadata. Joyce and Kathryn discuss what happens when a microcontent strategy is poorly executed, how to define success, and how to reach those objectives. This presentation explores the challenges, unknowns, and possibilities with microcontent.
Connect with us at ConVEx
In addition to the scheduled presentation talks, there’s also a dedicated Slack channel where people can meet and greet each other, do some networking, and tap the experience of other people on how they tackle the types of issues you are facing, just like at a real conference. (Look for the Precision Content attendees by the company logo attached to their name).
There is still time to register for ConVEx 2021! Follow this link to purchase your tickets. We hope to see you (virtually) at ConVEx 2021.
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