Technical communicators often take a lead role in shaping the user experience. Sessions in this track should explore techniques for delivering information in highly usable and accessible formats, evaluating the usability of documentation, products, and services, and promoting attention to usability and accessibility at all levels within an organization. We welcome proposals addressing the following topics:

• User-centered design techniques for effectively presenting information in different formats and displays, including the Web, mobile devices, and print
• Techniques for ensuring product and documentation usability and accessibility for all audiences, including the young, the elderly, those with low literacy skills, and those with other special needs
• Techniques and methods for conducting usability assessments
• Technology and tools for assessing usability, such as eye-tracking software and tools for tracking and analyzing usability studies
• Legal and social issues around usability and accessibility
• Research studies and results in readability and usability studies
• Techniques for increasing awareness of and devoting resources to usability and accessibility efforts
• Options and approaches for technical communicators to contribute to usability and user-centered design efforts within an organization.

For more information about this track, consult the track manager for your track of interest

Management of people and projects are both crucial skills and logical career paths for many technical communicators. Proposals in this track should address techniques, methods, and best practices for effective management of people and projects. Specifically, we seek proposals on topics such as:

• Effective management of people and teams
• Project management practices techniques
• Staffing and hiring
• Management of virtual teams
• Management of people and projects in the face of challenging circumstances
• Technology aids for people and project management
• Managing “upward”; meeting the needs and expectations of upper management
• Building business cases to justify new projects or initiatives
• Techniques for positioning technical communication as a revenue center, instead of a cost center

For more information about this track, consult the track manager for your track of interest

Writing, editing, and visual communication are the technical communicator's core competencies. Sessions in this track should present best practices for developing clear and effective communication, provide practical information on using different media to communicate information, and address issues in writing for diverse audiences. We welcome proposals addressing topics such as:

• Modular writing and writing for reuse
• Considerations and techniques when writing for internationalization and localization
• Conducting audience analysis
• Working effectively with subject matter experts
• Developing content for specialized fields, including, but not limited to, journalism, marketing and human relations, business, government, technology, medical, scientific, and legal fields
• Writing for the Web and for small-screen devices
• Creating indexes and other navigation aids
• Techniques for creating effective user assistance
• Using non-verbal communication effectively, including graphics, audio, video, and animation
• Authoring in structured environments

For more information about this track, consult the track manager for your track of interest

Choice of appropriate design and architectures can improve the efficiency, usability, and quality of an organization's technical publishing. This track explores issues in information design and system architectures for publishing, with particular emphasis on systems and solutions for organization-wide publishing. Suggested session topics include:

• Visual communication, integrating text and graphics, page layout
• Single-source publishing, for multiple delivery formats, multiple purposes, and multiple audiences
• Methodologies and solutions for content management
• Comparing and selecting delivery formats
• Issues in structured authoring and publishing, including migration, design, and deployment
• XML-based publishing
• Using industry-standard publishing architectures, such as DITA
• Accommodating localization workflows in the publishing process
• Moving unstructured content to structure

For more information about this track, consult the track manager for your track of interest

Business success depends upon keen communication and interpersonal skills, including listening, motivating, and negotiating. Sessions in this track will help you find methods to improve the effectiveness of your interactions with subject matter experts, managers, and others in your organization. We seek proposals on topics such as:

• Expanding or improving communication and interpersonal skills
• Techniques for improving your interaction with subject matter experts and other information resources
• Using creative techniques to improve your interactions with team members

For more information about this track, consult the track manager for your track of interest

New tools, technologies, and approaches are blurring the boundaries of technical communication and training. Sessions in this track should educate technical communicators on the tools and techniques of education and training, expose opportunities for synergy and collaboration, and enlighten conventional technical communicators about alternative approaches for delivering information. Possible topics include:

• Tools and techniques for all phases of the training content lifecycle, including content authoring, learning management, and delivery
• Best practices and new developments in education and training
• Opportunities for synergy and collaboration between technical communication and training professionals.

For more information about this track, consult the track manager for your track of interest

Your career is a personal asset worthy of attention, planning, and management. Sessions in this track will help you to maximize your value within an organization, identify opportunities for professional growth, and expand your career options.

For more information about this track, consult the track manager for your track of interest

The World Wide Web has had a transformative effect on the delivery of technical information and user assistance. Sessions in this track will illuminate the underlying technologies that make the Web work. Possible topics include:

• Languages for markup and styling, including HTML, XML, CSS, and XSLT
• Languages for interactivity, including JavaScript, AJAX
• Web-based delivery formats for user assistance
• Web-enabled techniques for delivering information, including social networking, Web-based video, and other Web 2.0 approaches.

For more information about this track, consult the track manager for your track of interest

These half-day pre-conference workshops (15 May 2011) are for people seeking a shorter learning experience than the 2-day certificate sessions. You are invited to submit proposals that complement the tracks offered in the conference program.

Tutorials (lecture and discussion for in-depth exploration of a topic with limited hands-on activity) or workshops (lecture and discussion with significant hands-on activities) plans may be submitted.

For more information contact Lloyd Tucker, Director of Education & Membership, STC
Lloyd.tucker@stc.org

These two-day pre-conference certificate sessions (14-15 May 2011) are for attendees seeking to explore a subject in-depth over the course of the conference. Participants who complete the program earn a certificate of attendance and are expected to attend several topic-related conference sessions as selected by the speaker. This combination of seminars and sessions is intended to help develop skills and expose the attendee to the broad range of thinking in the subject area.

For more information contact Lloyd Tucker, Deputy Executive Director STC
Lloyd.tucker@stc.org