STC-Phila. Metro Chapter

Society for Technical Communication

Reframing Accessibility for the Web

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Every one of us needs the internet to be accessible. Our needs may not surface today, but they will in the future. Do we know enough about what accessibility needs look like — beyond the stereotypes of people with disabilities that we’re all too aware of? And how do we get from “I know my site has problems” to “I know how to approach them?” This talk, based on Anne’s 2014 articles “An Alphabet of Accessibility Issues” and “Reframing Accessibility for the Web,” will frame accessibility through the lens of 26 people who need accessibility considerations. It will also identify three top concerns in accessibility, and approaches to handling them. Register NOW. $5 for members. $10 for non-members.

Presenter:

Anne M. Gibson is a UX designer and general troublemaker just close enough to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to think a wander through a revolutionary battlefield is not noteworthy. She’s best known for writing An Alphabet of Accessibility for The Pastry Box and Reframing Accessibility for the Web for A List Apart. In addition to designing websites, she writes science fiction and fantasy, runs a small publication about web design, plays competitive pinball, and watches the Jack Russell terriers destroy things.

STC-PMC Holiday Event – Getting Comfy in Conshy!

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Thanks to all of you attended our event at Flanagan’s Boathouse on December 7th in Conshohocken, PA. It was a fun night at a fun place, and our group photo is below!

As we celebrate the holidays, and enjoy time with family and friends, I often think how a well-crafted instruction manual – or video – or online help article – has the power to make or break the gift experience. Imagine that grateful parent who followed “training wheel” assembly instructions (shown below) on Christmas Eve! As we head into 2023, let’s remember how vital technical communicators are in the overall customer experience.

Please contact stcpmc.president@gmail.com to share any valuable instructions you have encountered this holiday season!

Happy holidays and hope to see you in 2023!

Rob

Meet up in Cherry Hill – Saturday 11/12 at 1 pm

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Thanks to those who joined us at Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing Company in Cherry Hill on 11/12! I really loved two of the beers in my flight, including “Miss Nomer.”

If you have an idea for a location to meet up in the Philly/NJ area in 2023, please let me know at president@stcpmc.org!

Rob

And if you want to visit Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing Co, it’s at 1940 Olney Ave, Suite 100, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

Recap: Oct 26 Webinar: Building the Customer Experience

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Today’s tech writing teams can strengthen their content if they craft proper learning objectives to ensure that documentation really addresses audience needs. Tech writers must also work closely with UX designers to make sure that in-product user assistance meets the same objectives.

During this STC-PMC event, held on October 26th, members of the team behind the book The Product is Docs shared their insights into developing effective learning objectives and discuss how to drive closer collaboration with product designers.

Authored by Christopher Gales and the Splunk Documentation Team, The Product is Docs is one of today’s most practical and definitive guides to the cross-functional work it takes to create great documentation and user assistance in a software development environment. Christopher Gales, Robin Pille, Matt Ness, and Mike Glauser presented some highlights from the book, such as crafting smarter Learning Objectives and working with the UX Team. For example, Robin encouraged tech writers to embed learning objectives with “action verbs” rather than using “understand” or “read about”, leverage more goal-oriented verbs such as “backup,” “locate,” “send,” and “optimize.”

Interested in viewing the webinar recording? Contact us at president@stcpmc.org

Recap: September 2022 Webinar: Getting Executive Buy-In for Technical Communications

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Note: thanks to all who have registered and attended this valuable webinar, held on 9/28.  Please e-mail president@stcpmc.org if you would like a link to view the recording. Here’s a summary of the event:

Psyched up about all of the great tools, software, and practices out on the tech comm market – but unsure how to get any of it funded? Or are you fighting an uphill battle to get the minimum and keep your team whole? Is “but you don’t bring in sales” a common refrain when referencing tech comm in your company?

In this webinar, we discussed process steps that moved the conversation in a company from “can we make do with less tech comm” to “what can we do to support tech comm” in months. In this webinar we learned how to:

  • “Show” rather than “Tell” your value to the company;
  • Use your communication skills to get the support you need;
  • Change the tech comm narrative;
  • Articulate value for post-sales content.

Presenter: Amanda Patterson, Technical Communications Manager at Hunter Douglas


After several years teaching college-level writing, Amanda ‘fell into’ her first tech writing job. And it was love at first manual! Amanda has spent much of her tech writing career building and deploying automated assembly equipment in the manufacturing industry. Currently, she is the Technical Communications Manager at Hunter Douglas, where her foci are on internal and external product documentation for luxury window coverings and growing her rockstar team. Outside of the office, Amanda is the current Programs Manager for the Rochester chapter of the Society of Technical Communication, a role she loves because she connects with exciting people and helps share their work with the tech comm community. Her Ph.D. is in Comparative Literature with a specialization in Sci-Fi and the human experience of the future. Feel free to ask her if she thinks she’s a robot today.

 

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