Structured Writing for Single Sourcing

A JoAnn Hackos Workshop

September 16-17, 2003
San Jose, CA
Instructor: JoAnn Hackos

• How do I write modular content without knowing the context in which modules will be presented?
• What information types do we need to use for our content?
• Is it possible to have too many different information types?
• Will I lose my creativity if I just write modules instead of creating an entire book or help system?

These and more questions occur every time I talk about content-management and single-source strategies to an audience of writers, editors, and managers. Everyone wants to understand what it will be like to write in a content-management environment. People who are willing to embrace a new way of working want to know what to expect. Those anxious to expand their career options want to learn what the new options are all about. They are prepared to take on new roles like information architect and repository manager, once they understand what the new roles are.

To respond, I designed the new structured-writing seminar as an extension of my long-standing Single-Source Strategy seminar. Structured writing gets closer to the decisions that writers, editors, and project managers need to make. The emphasis is on your own materials—with much hands-on participation. From information types through content units, you discuss with teammates and other attendees what the best solutions might be. You tackle granularity and semantic markup, as well as the implications of XML.

If you want to understand how your job is changing and how to respond creatively, join me in this two-day seminar. The best course—bring a small team so that you can begin to make decisions together.

JoAnn Hackos, PhD

When: September 16-17, 2003 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
WHERE: San Jose, CA
FEE: Special rate of $825
FEE DISCOUNT: New "2 for 1" discount for CIDM members! For details visit http://www.usabledesign.com/03register/03register.htm
BOOK: This seminar now includes JoAnn Hackos's Content Management for Dynamic Web Delivery book FREE.
TO REGISTER: Online at http://www.usabledesign.com/03register/03register.htm
or by phone at 303-234-0123
INSTRUCTOR: JoAnn Hackos (see her full bio at http://www.usabledesign.com/02leaders/02leaders.htm)

Who should attend:

• Writers
• Editors
• Information Architects
• Managers

You'll learn how to

• Understand the importance of having a comprehensive Information Model with an integrated user model to meet customer needs
• Revise an Information Model to make it a usable tool for the entire
  life-cycle of the project
• Integrate information about users into the Information Model using the User Profile Matrices and other user modeling tools
• Apply the user model to make well-targeted decisions about information types and content units, writing the content units, and writing variations
• Apply minimalist principles throughout the information-development process
• Decide what information types are needed to support the Information Model, such as procedures, process, conceptual overviews, and so on
• Develop standard information types for each type of information that users require
• Create standard content units for each information type
• Learn to write content units consistently and ensure that the content is appropriate and well written
• Create standard authoring templates to produce the information types
• Learn to write variations of content units depending upon the
  single-source dimensions selected
• Learn to tag the variations with meta data tags so that information can be located for reuse and unique information can be delivered to user communities

For more information visit, http://www.usabledesign.com/01seminars/01swss.htm.