Käyttäjän Laura Katajisto blogi

Fall seminar 09 – invest in yourself!

Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto Ke, 10/07/2009 - 14:20

The deadline for registering for the fall seminar 09 has been extended until Monday October 12.

Participation this year is challenging for many of us, with companies’ focus being on many other things than training. For some of us, this means attending the seminar on our own time and budgets, maybe for the first time.

On the other hand, it is exactly times like these that make you realize the importance of investing in yourself and your own development. Taking the time to focus on that, get a broader view of the industry, and network with important contacts is a very wise use of your time and energy, and an investment that could pay back in the long run.

These are the reasons the seminar planning committee decided to tailor this year’s seminar to the times. We did that by lowering the price, shortening the seminar to 1.5 days, and adding a focus on personal development as a side theme.

One of the most exciting things on offer is a workshop sponsored by 2 of the biggest professional unions of our industry, KAJ and Specia. The target group of the workshop is anyone who is interested in actively nurturing their personal career, no matter if they are currently looking for a new job or not. The workshop, called Oman uran navigointi, will be conducted by a professional career coach, and note that it is in Finnish. More information here: Syysseminaari 2009: Uranavigointi-työpaja

Participation in the workshop is covered in the seminar fee, making this a good opportunity to maximise your investment. There are still spots available so act fast!

Registration: http://www.stvy.fi/node/211

Seminar organising committee

Syysseminaari 2009: Sami Törmä ja Kari Juntunen

Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto Ma, 09/28/2009 - 19:10

John Deere Forestry päätti siirtyä rakenteisen XML-pohjaisen dokumentaation tuottamiseen vuonna 2005. Tänä päivänä John Deere Forestry tuottaa yhdellä prosessilla kaiken tarvitsemansa sisällön perinteisistä paperimanuaaleista e-learning-kokeisiin. Esityksessään Sami Törmä, John Deere Forestryn Dokumentointipäällikkö, ja Kari Juntunen, CCC:n asiakasvastaava, kertovat yhdessä hankkeen etenemisestä, haasteista sekä onnistumisista - asioista, joita John Deere Forestry Oy on kohdannut matkan varrella.

Syysseminaari 2009: Tanja Koikkalainen ja Laura Katajisto

Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto To, 09/17/2009 - 19:10

Social media is one of the buzzwords born out of the web 2.0 discussion. While there are several definitions, most of them contain the following elements: the social media services include content which is produced by users who belong to the community formed around the service.

For technical communication, social media offers exciting possibilities to connect with the end users. Traditional technical communication is typically one-way activity; professional technical communicators are producing communication that is received by end users. The relationship between the technical communicator and the end user remains distant, and the available feedback channels may not carry the end users' opinion all the way to the technical communicator, who would need it to enhance and improve the content. Social media offers tools for interacting with the end users directly and getting their input, even in the form of concrete support content. Social media services could be a “format” that is included in the company’s technical communication portfolio.

However, no company should plunge head first into social media services just because they are the "new hot thing", but do thorough analysis first. At the same time, the companies should remember that an increasing number of their prospective end users are using social media services and there are many ways they can introduce social media to their portfolio. As we will explain, social media in technical communication does not suit every company or every product: to use social media services, internet access is required, and internet in general needs to be a convenient support context for the product’s end users. The end users should also include those users who are known to be more likely content producers (typically assumed to be younger and male).

We will give a brief overview of the various social media channels, such as blogs, wikipedias, discussion boards, and give some examples how they are used or could be used in technical communication. We will wrap up the presentation with some recommendations how to get started with social media.

Syysseminaari 2009: End-user Documentation as an Extension to Product Design

Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto To, 09/17/2009 - 19:01

We are surrounded by products. Many of them are so simple that we just use them, but surprisingly many have documentation that we simply don't notice. Whether simple or complex, products require documentation, but what makes sufficient documentation?

In this presentation, Mladen Zagorac looks for answers to questions such as why documentation experience is important but neglected, why and in what manner the technical writer must pay attention to user experience, and why technical writer's knowledge of end-user base will contribute to success of the product.

Even though in our daily work, technical writers often need to justify their indispensability, even though the technical writer's role in terms of whether the product will succeed or fail is right next to that of the product designer. Zagorac will also explain how documentation can assist in revolutionizing industries, how end-user's requirements evolve with technological development, and why technical writers need to follow closely the shifts in these requirements.

In Zagorac's presentation, we will find out the key ingredients of successful user-centered documentation and hear many concrete examples, use cases and anecdotes.

Mladen speaks on Tuesday from 9 to 9.45 in B3116.

Syysseminaari 2009: Brigit van Loggem

Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto To, 09/17/2009 - 18:51

Brigit van Loggem will speak to us on an always topical theme "Can Practice Be Made To Make Perfect?" on Monday.

Brigit is a partner in Byte Ryte, a small company providing documentation services. After some two decades in the profession, she is currently working towards a PhD with the University of Twente. She aims to investigate new approaches to software documentation that she expects to help users obtain real expertise in the use of complex software.

Expert usage of complex software is a skill that does not simply develop over time. No amount of practice makes perfect automatically. Even experienced users exhibit under-use, ineffective use and/or inefficient use of software. This state of affairs has serious consequences: in terms of user dissatisfaction, of man-hours wasted, of incorrect or invalid results which may have serious
repercussions, of reduced acceptance of the system after implementation, and of the simple fact that what has been paid for is only partially utilized.

When given an instruction manual, very few software users would read the text in its entirety, much less patiently work through any exercises provided. They have better things to do: they want to get a job done, not to sit down and study. So, if we cannot force-feed instruction, can we perhaps drip-feed it, without asking those being instructed to sit down and study? What Brigit is hoping to do is find ways to set up practice so that it does make perfect.

In her research, Brigit first developed a model that describes the use of complex software in real-life situations. The model rests on a number of theoretical approaches, and also it matches Brigit's observations during her years as a practicing documentation developer. Then. looking at a well-known paradigm of instruction known as "cognitive constructivism", she then noted that the various guidelines following from it seemed to closely match key points in her model. Encouraged by this discovery, Brigit adapted those guidelines to software documentation rather than to intentional instruction.

Currenly, Brigit is preparing a number of experiments aimed at testing such “constructivist” documentation, and bases her work on a mix of theory and practice. During her presentation, Brigit will share and discuss her model for Computer-Mediated Activity and the way it underlies the design of constructivist documentation.

Brigit's session is on Monday, from 12.15 to 13.00, in room B3107.

Syysseminaari 2009: Irmeli Sinkkonen

Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto To, 09/17/2009 - 18:36

Toinen seminaarimme pääpuhujista on Irmeli Sinkkonen.

TL, FM Irmeli Sinkkonen on käytettävyyden tutkimuksen ja opettamisen pioneeri ja alan keskeisimpiä asiantuntijoita Suomessa. Ennen eläköitymistään syksyllä 2009 hän toimi kehitysjohtajana, konsulttina ja osakkaana Adage Corporation Oy:ssä. Hän on aiemmin kirjoittanut mm. menestysteoksen käytettävyyden psykologiasta ja vastikään on ilmestynyt "Helppokäyttöisen verkkopalvelun suunnittelu" yhdessä Esko Nuutilan ja Seppo Törmän kanssa.

Irmeli Sinkkonen päättää seminaarin toisen päivän puheellaan aiheesta "Myyttinen loppukäyttäjä: miten siitä voi mitään tietää".

Suunnittelutyössä unohtuu usein, että tuotteen käyttäjä on tunteva ja rajalliset tiedonkäsittelyresurssit omaava ihminen. Erityisesti ohjeistuksessa tulisi ymmärtää, mitä käyttäjä tietää ennestään ja mitkä hänen tavoitteensa ovat. Tässä esityksessä kerrotaan ihmisen tavoista hahmottaa asioita, toimia ja oppia sekä hyväksi havaituista menetelmistä, joilla näitä asioita selvitetään ja tiivistetään projektin käyttöön.

Irmeli esiintyy tiistaina 11.30-13.00 huoneessa B1097.


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Etusivu Abstraktit ja puhujaesittelyt Mitä on tekninen viestintä? Tietoja yhdistyksestä Liity jäseneksi! Jäsenmaksun maksaminen Blogi Seminaarit ja koulutukset Kansainvälinen yhteistyö Yhteystiedot	Käyttäjän Laura Katajisto blogi Fall seminar 09 – invest in yourself! Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto Ke, 10/07/2009 - 14:20 The deadline for registering for the fall seminar 09 has been extended until Monday October 12. Participation this year is challenging for many of us, with companies’ focus being on many other things than training. For some of us, this means attending the seminar on our own time and budgets, maybe for the first time. On the other hand, it is exactly times like these that make you realize the importance of investing in yourself and your own development. Taking the time to focus on that, get a broader view of the industry, and network with important contacts is a very wise use of your time and energy, and an investment that could pay back in the long run. These are the reasons the seminar planning committee decided to tailor this year’s seminar to the times. We did that by lowering the price, shortening the seminar to 1.5 days, and adding a focus on personal development as a side theme. One of the most exciting things on offer is a workshop sponsored by 2 of the biggest professional unions of our industry, KAJ and Specia. The target group of the workshop is anyone who is interested in actively nurturing their personal career, no matter if they are currently looking for a new job or not. The workshop, called Oman uran navigointi, will be conducted by a professional career coach, and note that it is in Finnish. More information here: Syysseminaari 2009: Uranavigointi-työpaja Participation in the workshop is covered in the seminar fee, making this a good opportunity to maximise your investment. There are still spots available so act fast! Registration: http://www.stvy.fi/node/211 Seminar organising committee Syysseminaari 2009: Sami Törmä ja Kari Juntunen Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto Ma, 09/28/2009 - 19:10 John Deere Forestry päätti siirtyä rakenteisen XML-pohjaisen dokumentaation tuottamiseen vuonna 2005. Tänä päivänä John Deere Forestry tuottaa yhdellä prosessilla kaiken tarvitsemansa sisällön perinteisistä paperimanuaaleista e-learning-kokeisiin. Esityksessään Sami Törmä, John Deere Forestryn Dokumentointipäällikkö, ja Kari Juntunen, CCC:n asiakasvastaava, kertovat yhdessä hankkeen etenemisestä, haasteista sekä onnistumisista - asioista, joita John Deere Forestry Oy on kohdannut matkan varrella. Syysseminaari 2009: Tanja Koikkalainen ja Laura Katajisto Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto To, 09/17/2009 - 19:10 Social media is one of the buzzwords born out of the web 2.0 discussion. While there are several definitions, most of them contain the following elements: the social media services include content which is produced by users who belong to the community formed around the service. For technical communication, social media offers exciting possibilities to connect with the end users. Traditional technical communication is typically one-way activity; professional technical communicators are producing communication that is received by end users. The relationship between the technical communicator and the end user remains distant, and the available feedback channels may not carry the end users' opinion all the way to the technical communicator, who would need it to enhance and improve the content. Social media offers tools for interacting with the end users directly and getting their input, even in the form of concrete support content. Social media services could be a “format” that is included in the company’s technical communication portfolio. However, no company should plunge head first into social media services just because they are the "new hot thing", but do thorough analysis first. At the same time, the companies should remember that an increasing number of their prospective end users are using social media services and there are many ways they can introduce social media to their portfolio. As we will explain, social media in technical communication does not suit every company or every product: to use social media services, internet access is required, and internet in general needs to be a convenient support context for the product’s end users. The end users should also include those users who are known to be more likely content producers (typically assumed to be younger and male). We will give a brief overview of the various social media channels, such as blogs, wikipedias, discussion boards, and give some examples how they are used or could be used in technical communication. We will wrap up the presentation with some recommendations how to get started with social media. Syysseminaari 2009: End-user Documentation as an Extension to Product Design Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto To, 09/17/2009 - 19:01 We are surrounded by products. Many of them are so simple that we just use them, but surprisingly many have documentation that we simply don't notice. Whether simple or complex, products require documentation, but what makes sufficient documentation? In this presentation, Mladen Zagorac looks for answers to questions such as why documentation experience is important but neglected, why and in what manner the technical writer must pay attention to user experience, and why technical writer's knowledge of end-user base will contribute to success of the product. Even though in our daily work, technical writers often need to justify their indispensability, even though the technical writer's role in terms of whether the product will succeed or fail is right next to that of the product designer. Zagorac will also explain how documentation can assist in revolutionizing industries, how end-user's requirements evolve with technological development, and why technical writers need to follow closely the shifts in these requirements. In Zagorac's presentation, we will find out the key ingredients of successful user-centered documentation and hear many concrete examples, use cases and anecdotes. Mladen speaks on Tuesday from 9 to 9.45 in B3116. Syysseminaari 2009: Brigit van Loggem Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto To, 09/17/2009 - 18:51 Brigit van Loggem will speak to us on an always topical theme "Can Practice Be Made To Make Perfect?" on Monday. Brigit is a partner in Byte Ryte, a small company providing documentation services. After some two decades in the profession, she is currently working towards a PhD with the University of Twente. She aims to investigate new approaches to software documentation that she expects to help users obtain real expertise in the use of complex software. Expert usage of complex software is a skill that does not simply develop over time. No amount of practice makes perfect automatically. Even experienced users exhibit under-use, ineffective use and/or inefficient use of software. This state of affairs has serious consequences: in terms of user dissatisfaction, of man-hours wasted, of incorrect or invalid results which may have serious repercussions, of reduced acceptance of the system after implementation, and of the simple fact that what has been paid for is only partially utilized. When given an instruction manual, very few software users would read the text in its entirety, much less patiently work through any exercises provided. They have better things to do: they want to get a job done, not to sit down and study. So, if we cannot force-feed instruction, can we perhaps drip-feed it, without asking those being instructed to sit down and study? What Brigit is hoping to do is find ways to set up practice so that it does make perfect. In her research, Brigit first developed a model that describes the use of complex software in real-life situations. The model rests on a number of theoretical approaches, and also it matches Brigit's observations during her years as a practicing documentation developer. Then. looking at a well-known paradigm of instruction known as "cognitive constructivism", she then noted that the various guidelines following from it seemed to closely match key points in her model. Encouraged by this discovery, Brigit adapted those guidelines to software documentation rather than to intentional instruction. Currenly, Brigit is preparing a number of experiments aimed at testing such “constructivist” documentation, and bases her work on a mix of theory and practice. During her presentation, Brigit will share and discuss her model for Computer-Mediated Activity and the way it underlies the design of constructivist documentation. Brigit's session is on Monday, from 12.15 to 13.00, in room B3107. Syysseminaari 2009: Irmeli Sinkkonen Kirjoittanut Laura Katajisto To, 09/17/2009 - 18:36 Toinen seminaarimme pääpuhujista on Irmeli Sinkkonen. TL, FM Irmeli Sinkkonen on käytettävyyden tutkimuksen ja opettamisen pioneeri ja alan keskeisimpiä asiantuntijoita Suomessa. Ennen eläköitymistään syksyllä 2009 hän toimi kehitysjohtajana, konsulttina ja osakkaana Adage Corporation Oy:ssä. Hän on aiemmin kirjoittanut mm. menestysteoksen käytettävyyden psykologiasta ja vastikään on ilmestynyt "Helppokäyttöisen verkkopalvelun suunnittelu" yhdessä Esko Nuutilan ja Seppo Törmän kanssa. Irmeli Sinkkonen päättää seminaarin toisen päivän puheellaan aiheesta "Myyttinen loppukäyttäjä: miten siitä voi mitään tietää". Suunnittelutyössä unohtuu usein, että tuotteen käyttäjä on tunteva ja rajalliset tiedonkäsittelyresurssit omaava ihminen. Erityisesti ohjeistuksessa tulisi ymmärtää, mitä käyttäjä tietää ennestään ja mitkä hänen tavoitteensa ovat. Tässä esityksessä kerrotaan ihmisen tavoista hahmottaa asioita, toimia ja oppia sekä hyväksi havaituista menetelmistä, joilla näitä asioita selvitetään ja tiivistetään projektin käyttöön. Irmeli esiintyy tiistaina 11.30-13.00 huoneessa B1097.