STC Montreal

Your role as a technical communicator is destined to change. Are you ready?

From March 27-29, the Toronto chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) is presenting a three-day hands-on workshop series on Preparing for the Content Management Tipping Point. Several of the best-known industry experts and luminaries will lead us through half-day sessions on information design, architecture, and technologies needed for managing technical content.

Day One

The first day helps us to consider our written information and how it is prepared for content management. Saul Carliner, of Concordia University, kicks off the series with an exploration of information design. Saul is an STC Fellow, author, and respected researcher in the field of technical communication. His workshop looks at how content and design affect the delivery and consumption of information. Jim Purdy, of Communicare in Toronto, looks into the well-established best practices of Information MappingR. Jim is Vice President Training at Communicare and a Master Trainer in the Information Mapping methodology. This workshop takes us through the process for structuring content for usability using Information Mapping.

Day Two

The second day of workshops focuses more on the technologies used to manage content. Michael Priestley, of IBM, sets aside the morning to walk us through the intricacies of DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture), an approved standard for managing XML content. Michael is a lead DITA Architect at IBM and one of the standard’s original authors. Scott Abel, the Content Wrangler, dedicates the afternoon to examining many of the peripheral technologies that will impact the way content is collected, managed, and distributed. Scott is a founding member and Vice President of Content Management Professionals (CM Pros) and a sought-after speaker on many advanced technical communication subjects.

Day Three

On the final day of the series, we look at how content management is implemented. Ann Rockley, of the Rockley Group, helps us develop a content management reuse strategy. Ann is an STC Fellow and a true pioneer in the field of online communication and single-source publishing. Her book, Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy, is the definitive source for planning and implementing content management solutions.

CM Pros Sponsored Event

The afternoon program is hosted by CM Pros (Content Management Professionals) and features: Content Management - Doing it right. A variety of speakers will cover such topics as building a business case, DITA-based content management tools, getting started with content management and more. CM Pros is a non-profit organization established in 2003. The event is open to all members of the community but is limited to no more than 40 participants.

Registration and Fees

Advanced registration closes March 10. Members of either the STC or CM Pros enjoy significant discounts on registration. Visit http://www.stctoronto.org/conference.htm to register online or call us at +1 (416) 941-8383 x 13826. VISA, check or money order, and PayPal accepted. Money raised by the conference will be used to support the Toronto STC chapter.