User adoption, or how to make users fall in love with your product

So, you say you have developed a new cutting-edge app, and now you want it to rock the tech world? Don’t want to dash your hopes, but it takes more than that to succeed. Let’s take a closer look at one of the TechCom trends–user adoption. Once you finish this article, you will understand what user adoption is, why it is so important, and how it can boost your production.

User assistance and accessibility

As an Information Developer, I often ask myself what our biggest fear is. In my opinion, that’s the fear to create useless technical content that no one reads, miscommunicate information, or fail to assist your readers when they need help the most. This fear may come true when we don’t analyze deep enough who our readers are, their needs, and how they access our content.

In this article, I would like to have a closer look at how writers create accessible content and a multisensory experience for readers with disabilities.

TechComm handy resources: Free images

We all strive to bring our projects to life with high-resolution images that inspire, excite, and propel audience to action. But where do you find high contrast images rich in beautiful detail that can make your project memorable and inspiring?

Here is a list of searchable photo repositories for commercial use with no attribution.

Ideas for quality content (summary + video)

Here in Lviv, we were lucky to invite Patrick Keegan, Principal User Assistance Developer at Oracle, and enjoy his talk “Free your mind! And your docs will follow”. It took me some time to digest the whirling ideas and grasp the insights.

In this post, I would like to share two approaches Patrick discussed during his presentation and how I plan to adopt them in my routine as an Information Developer.

Here we go.

Handing a documentation project to another Technical Communicator: tips & tricks

The phases of project initiation and project closure are substantially covered in blog posts, talks, and other resources across the TechComm society. Today, I would like to address a less frequently discussed phase – replacing a technical communicator in a project team.

Documenting APIs: Open-Source Tools Review

Have you ever been assigned a task to write API documentation, and then you got lost in tools for creating it?

If yes, I would like to share with you amazing research by Diána Lakatos who analyzed loads of info to provide us with a magnificent overview of open-source tools for documenting APIs.

Storytelling techniques for product documentation

Is storytelling the same as writing well? How to write a concise yet interesting API guide? Is there a way to keep a help system offhand and casual without using humor? All this and much more in my presentation!

Documentation as a prerequisite for successful CSIS

Complex System of Information Security (CSIS) comprises a set of organizational and technical measures aimed to ensure the protection of information circulating in the system from disclosure, leakage, and unauthorized access (c).

If your company is implementing the CSIS, it’s in for reinforced credibility and boosted sales. And you as a Technical Communicator are in for a bumpy ride. 😊

Let’s take a look at a grueling journey of meticulously described processes, roadmaps, and guidelines that need to accompany every stage of the System development.

TechComm handy resources: Free fonts

From a TechComm newbie to a well-experienced pro, we all have hundreds of useful resources saved to our browser bookmarks, read-it-later apps, and bookmark managers. The series of posts TechComm handy resources is a humble try to organize my resources into a single easily accessible depository.

Myths about information development: Busted

People tend to create stereotypes about things they don’t have much insight into. I broke into information development from a different industry, and I’d like to share my own experience of mythbusting. 

Before starting my career as an Information Developer, I was a translator and had little awareness of the role and its responsibilities. As a philosopher once said, “Theory without practice is empty”, and I’m glad I got a chance to fill the void and break my stereotypes during the first month of practical experience. Let me share some of them with you.