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An Intensive 2-day Workshop
in
Information-Driven Design
and
Communications Leadership
CHICAGO APRIL 14-15
TORONTO MAY 8-9
SEATTLE JUNE 9-10
ASK YOURSELF THIS:
Is it possible to be the best at something and still
contribute little value?
Today, many technical communicators find themselves in
this position. They have honed their writing and
organizational skills to perfection, yet their primary
deliverables - manuals, online help systems, and training
courses - go largely unread or unused.
* What is the value of an unread manual?
* What is the value of an unused help system?
* What is the value of a training course, 80%
of which is forgotten within a week?
INFORMATION ENGINEERING...
...is a revolutionary approach to technical communication
that returns our profession to its true mission.
Using information as a metric of design quality and
usability, Information Engineering (IE) provides technical
communicators with a proven set of tools for reengineering
all aspects of interaction and communication between a
product and the people who use it.
Never again will you rely on ineffective, knee-jerk
information delivery strategies to patch deficiencies in
your product's design. With Information Engineering, you
will stop information pollution at its source, and in so
doing, add value to your customers, to your company, and
to yourself.
COURSE OUTLINE
Information Engineering Workshop
Class Outline
DAY 1
The Failure of Technical Communication
--------------------------------------
Demonstrations of how technical communication has failed to
meet the needs of contemporary users.
Why Technical Communication Has Failed
--------------------------------------
The six myths of product design. Challenges of the Information
Age worker. The user rebellion.
The Costs of Failure
--------------------
What the failure of technical communication costs in terms of
wasted resources, wasted effort, and bottom-line expenses.
The ROI of EOU.
A Return to the Roots of Technical Communication
------------------------------------------------
A definition of information. Information as a metric of usable
design. The new value equation. The i bomb.
The Information Engineering Model
---------------------------------
Building a model of collaboration between a person and a product.
DAY 2
Relevance
---------
Measuring relevance. Reassigning information responsibilities
in a collaborative system to overcome user resistance and
increase relevance.
Accessibility
-------------
Contemporary information access models. How to increase the
accessibility of product functionality, user instructions, and
data.
Executability
-------------
Characteristics of the human processor. Structuring user programs
so that they will be loaded, compiled and run.
Managing the Politics of Change
-------------------------------
What must change for the IE vision to be realized. The nine
obstacles to organizational change and how to overcome them.
Bonus: Discovering the NextGen Products of Tomorrow
---------------------------------------------------
How to use the IE approach to discover the next major
design breakthrough in your product line.
The IE Workshop is a participatory experience with lots of
multimedia demonstrations and hands-on exercises. You are
encouraged to apply the techniques you will learn to your own
projects during the workshop's exercises. You will return to
work with a portfolio of paper prototypes illustrating how your
information delivery strategies can be reengineered via IE
principles.
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID....
"Your principles really snapped our efforts into
focus. IE just makes so much sense!"
"Thanks for all the good ideas. I wish I had heard
all this a year ago."
"John provided an excellent presentation of the
future of technical communication - change is good
and positive."
"I was up to 3:30 in the morning working on the
ideas from your workshop."
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
John Bowie, your instructor, is the principal architect
of the Information Engineering process. During his
fifteen-year career in technical communication, John has
worked as a writer, user-interface designer, performance
support engineer, technical communications manager, and
consultant with a Fortune 50 company. He has evangelized
IE principles throughout the world, including presentations
for the STC, the ACM, and the Economic Development Board
of Singapore.
John is the author of several books and articles on
artificial intelligence, technical communication, and
executive leadership. His latest books - "Information-Driven
Design" and "Lessons in Leadership from America's Top CEOs" -
will be published in 1997.
HOW TO REGISTER
By Fax: 970/282-1868
By Phone: 970/282-0443
By Mail: Bowie Consulting
4164 Sumter Square
Fort Collins, CO 80525
By E-mail: bowiecon -at- aol -dot- com
Attendance is limited so please register early!
REGISTRATION FORM
Please sign me up for the Information Engineering
Workshop at the location checked below.
[ ] Atlanta, Jan. 13-14 [ ] Chicago, Apr. 14-15
[ ] San Jose Area, Feb. 3-4 [ ] Toronto, May 8-9
[ ] Houston, Mar. 17-18 [ ] Seattle, Jun. 9-10
Name:
Company:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Fee: $695 ($50 discount for multiple registrations)
[ ] Check (to Bowie Consulting)
[ ] Visa [ ] Mastercard [ ] American Express
Cardholder's Name:
Card No.:
Expires:
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