The Conference for
Software User Assistance
Professionals
Produced by:
in association with:
Technical Communicators:
UA Europe 2013 has Concluded Successfully
UA Europe 2013 took place
in Manchester, UK,
on June 13th - 14th, 2013
at the superb Hilton Manchester Deansgate.
Presentation topics included:
Finding the sweet spot between minimalism and fluff * Dynamic DITA delivery for Help * User assistance as product marketing * Collaborative authoring across global teams * Using a cognitive-based approach to user assistance * Localising screenshots * Migrating to wiki-based authoring * Enabling user comments and feedback * Making your content easier to find * Writing for re-use * Creating video tutorials for user assistance * HTML5 * How to answer users’ real questions * Indirect linking for componentised Help * Progressive disclosure * Agile user assistance
UA Europe is an annual conference for technical communicators that focuses on software user assistance and online Help. It provides a unique update on the latest industry trends, technical developments, and best practice in software user assistance.
Details of exhibition and vendor presentations now available
This year's conference features an exhibition of products and services relating to software user assistance, plus a series of exciting presentations from vendors including Adobe, MadCap Software, <oXygen/>, Mekon, and Dr.Explain. For further details, visit the Exhibition and vendor presentations page.
Adobe Day precedes UA Europe Conference
Adobe has announced a day of thought leadership and networking that will take place the day before the UA Europe Conference at the same venue. The event is open to everyone at no charge. For further information, see the Adobe Day website.
Tom Johnson ("I'd Rather be Writing")
Explains How Make Your Content More Findable
We are delighted that Tom Johnson will be presenting two sessions at UA Europe 2013, including some useful tips on how you can make your content easier to find when users either search or browse for information.
Tom is internationally well known and highly respected for his views, ideas, and comments on a range of technical communication issues. His blog posts and podcasts on ideratherbewriting.com provide an invaluable and thought-provoking source of information for user assistance professionals.
David Crystal to Deliver Closing Presentation
David Crystal is an eminent linguist, author, and broadcaster. One of his many areas of expertise is the new language styles and forms that have arisen under the influence of the Internet. He is the author, co-author, or editor of over 120 books on a wide variety of subjects, and his latest book Spell It Out: the Singular Story of English Spelling recently had the distinction of overtaking Fifty Shades of Grey in the Amazon Chart! David blogs at david-crystal.blogspot.co.uk.
David will be drawing on the themes of his latest book and answering questions from the audience. It promises to be an entertaining and informative session!
About the UA Europe Conference
This conference is for technical communicators, user assistance specialists, information architects, technical authors, software developers, documentation managers, and anyone else involved in the development of user assistance for software applications.
You'll learn the critical factors that contribute to effective user assistance, which in turn results in more successful software. The conference also provides a valuable opportunity for you to network with peers from over 20 different countries from throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
There are sessions on:
- Latest authoring tools and technologies for creating user assistance
- New developments in XML and DITA
- Current research on usability
- Case studies showcasing innovative user assistance strategies and techniques
- Developing user assistance in an Agile environment
- Content design, use of language, and effective writing techniques
- Industry trends and predictions for the future
All conference sessions and workshops are presented in English.
If you'd like to be kept informed of news and announcements about the UA Europe conference, you can:
- receive announcements by email
or - follow the UA Europe Twitter account.
Looking back at UA Europe 2012 in Dublin
UA Europe 2012 took place in Dublin, Ireland,
on June 14th - 15th, 2012 and was attended by delegates from 20 different countries throughout the world.
Topics included:
* collaborative authoring, * HTML5 for technical communicators, * single sourcing to multiple media and for multiple products, * CSS3 for Help Authors, * embedded Help, * cloud-based authoring, * all about hyperlinks, * getting feedback from users, * generating good PDFs, * mobile user assistance, * usability testing on a tight budget, * structured authoring, * localization in an Agile environment, * what is just enough documentation, and much more!
Keynote revealed
three critical keys to success
Matthew Ellison opened the UA Europe conference in Dublin by revealing his top three tips for developing successful software user assistance in 2012. These were based, not only on his wide-ranging knowledge of current tools and technologies, but also on his experience as an avid (and often frustrated!) user of Help.
The themes established in Matthew's keynote were developed by other speakers throughout the rest of UA Europe 2012.
Dr Tony Self presented closing session
We were delighted to welcome back to the UA Europe conference one of our most informative and popular previous speakers, Dr Tony Self. Tony gained his PhD in semantic mark-up languages last year, and was also the winner of the ISTC's 2011 Horace Hockley Award for his outstanding contribution to the international technical communication community.
Tony closed the conference with a session entitled Any Colour... so long as it is black in which he expanded on the theme of his feature article in the current issue of the ISTC's Communicator journal. Tony asserted that the technical communication community can learn valuable lessons from the direction that car manufacturing has taken since Henry Ford revolutionised the industry with his production line for the Model T.
