*** Cancelled ***  STC Webinar:  Sketching User Experiences with Design Studio Method

Presented by Brian Sullivan

Wed, May 26.  12:00-1:00 p.m.  Free to members and non-members.

The Design Studio method is a collaborative sketching workshop, where key stakeholders work together to generate and evaluate their designs. In this webinar you will see many real-world examples of sketches that went on to become products you know. In addition, you will get an overview of the process and see a case study that goes through every stage of the Design Studio method.

Brian Sullivan is the usability principal of the Sabre Human Factors Center, which tests travel products used by Fortune 500 companies. Brian is the World Usability Day chairperson, an annual event that celebrates usable design in over 45 countries. Brian established the Big (D)esign Conference (www.bigdesignconference.com), an annual event in Dallas where experts in the field of strategy, social media, user experience, and development meet to discuss the convergence of technology on how its interplay is affecting society and individuals. Brian is the president of DFW-UPA, which has monthly meetings and quarterly workshops. Brian’s professional philosophy is to prevent usability issues rather than treat them.

Please RSVP to: board@stc4lakes.org

Meeting Location:
Phillips Medical Systems 5520 Nobel Drive Fitchburg, 2nd floor, Room 214.
Go to second floor, far left door. Someone will open the door and direct you to the meeting room.

Webinar: The Doc Side of Agile Documentation

Tuesday, April 13. 12:00-1:00 PM. Free to members and non-members.

Using any web browser, you can search for the term “agile software development” and receive a list of hits a mile long. Most of this information is very relevant if you are a member of management or a software developer. However, the bulk of that information is not relevant if you are looking at agile software development from a documentation perspective.

During this webinar we will address the following topics:

•the key concepts of agile software development
•the differences between waterfall software development and agile software development methodologies
•the composition of agile teams
•the meeting dilemma
•a look at CSG’s agile software development implementation
•the technical communicator’s role on CSG’s agile software development teams
•tips for working on agile software development teams
•a list of other resources

Deb Lockwood is an STC Associate Fellow and a volunteer with the STC Rocky Mountain chapter, currently serving as the chapter’s treasurer and mentoring manager. She is a lead content developer for CSG Systems, Inc., in Westminster, CO, where she writes software documentation. Deb holds a master’s degree in Applied Communication (Technical Writing) from the University of Denver and a bachelor’s degree in Management from Regis University.

During Deb’s 13-year career at CSG she has written guides, online help, and training materials directed toward varying audiences, and has worked with software developers using both waterfall software development and agile software development methodologies. In her spare time, Deb runs a job search networking group and performs with a vocal quartet.

Please RSVP to: board@stc4lakes.org

Meeting Location:
Phillips Medical Systems 5520 Nobel Drive Fitchburg, 2nd floor, Room 214.
Go to second floor, far left door. Someone will open the door.
Meeting room is through the door. Turn left and right to go around the cubes. Room is in a direct line view from the door.

Attend the April 2010 Meeting!

Content Management without a CMS

Presented by Sigrid Schoepel

Friday, April 16, 11:30 a.m. at Phillips Medical Systems, Fitchburg. ** Note date change **

Content Management Systems are great tools but they often lock companies into costly and limited systems. Sigrid will discuss how to get around these roadblocks yet still have an effective CMS structure.

Sigrid is the Senior Manager of Nuclear Medicine Technical Publications at Phillips Medical Systems. Her experience encompasses over twenty years of technical writing, translation, project, and people management.

You may bring a laptop. Sample files will be provided. This is a BYO lunch. Soft drinks will be provided courtesy of The Geo Group.

Please RSVP to:  board@stc4lakes.org

Meeting Location:
Phillips Medical Systems
5520 Nobel Drive
Fitchburg, 2nd floor

Happy Hour at the Jade Monkey

Start St. Patrick’s Day right by starting on Tuesday March 16th at the Jade Monkey.

The Jade Monkey Cocktail Lounge is the Midwest’s (maybe the Worlds) first “Asian Infused Retro Lounge”. They feature over 100 beers and specialty cocktails. They have games (darts, pool, shuffleboard & board games) a kick ass jukebox. Guinness on tap!

St. Patrick’s attire optional but recommended.  Prizes for the finest Irish clad attendees!

Why an Asian bar for St. Patty’s? Because it’s Madtown and we can celebrate anything any where.

109 Cottage Grove Road – Madison, WI – 608-819-8501

 

Social Media

Join us at the Great Dane-Hilldale for a Social Media presentation by Caitlin McCabe.

Caitlin is the owner of White Label Marketing, a social media marketing firm based in Madison, Wisconsin. She has worked with clients all over the country to use social media as a successful part of their marketing plans. She has spoken on the topic in many cities and has helped people to maintain their personal brands online. 

Friday, February 12, 11:30 a.m. at the Great Dane-Hilldale (dining room 3).

There is no charge for this event. The cost of the meal is at your own expense.

New STC 4 Lakes Board for 2010

Great news. The STC 4 Lakes chapter will continue in 2010. Three new board members will take over:

• Sigrid Schoepel
• Kevin Hansen
• Nancy Hunt

There are other board positions still open. Please email board (a) stc4lakes.org for more information. Stay tuned for more information.

Important information about today’s chapter meeting

The meeting will still go on, but our presenter is unable to attend. We’ll meet anyway to discuss the future of the chapter, network, and enjoy a good lunch.

The future of the STC 4 Lakes Chapter

Fellow Four Lakes chapter members:

On Nov. 20, we will meet for what may be the last time. As of this writing, no members have stepped forward to serve on the board for this chapter in 2010-11. All chapters are required to have a President, Treasurer and Secretary.

As you may already know, STC International is facing a financial crisis due to poor conference attendance and stock portfolio losses. In order to remain solvent, STC made many hard decisions, which include:

• raising dues (Renewal will be $215, plus $25 per chapter and $10 per SIG.)
• suspending pass-through funding to chapters (e.g. none of your dues will go to the chapter–no more “lunch money”)
• taking back all chapter savings (legally, all funds of U.S. chapters belong to the parent organization).

STC leaders estimate that these decisions will result in a renewal rate of 60%–in other words, a loss of 40% of members. This loss is simply devastating to small chapters like ours. If we lose 40% of our members, we will have just 36 members next year. Approximately 40% of members attend at least one chapter event per year, so we estimate just 14 “active” members in 2010-11.  Our best guess is that any given meeting would be unlikely to draw more than about 5 people.

Given this “renewal math,” none of us currently serving on the Board has chosen to renew as an STC member. We each feel that the value of the membership is simply not there without a viable local chapter. This is of course a personal decision each STC member must make. If three members choose to serve on the board, we will be happy to assist them transition to this role. However, if this does not occur, we are prepared to dissolve the chapter per STC bylaws. If this occurs, the closest STC chapter will be the Wisconsin Chapter, based in Milwaukee.

Our speaker on Nov. 20, Prof. Dave Clark, is an active member of the Wisconsin Chapter and will discuss its offerings following his presentation on Digital Literacy for Technical Communicators. (By the way, their next chapter meeting is in West Allis on Nov. 11 – http://www.stc-wi.org/newsandevents/eventdisplay.php?id=185.)

We would like to end the meeting with a brainstorming session on ways that we could all keep in touch to share ideas, job leads, and otherwise assist each other in our careers in the Madison area. Please bring your ideas for starting or joining an existing group or online presence.

Whatever happens, this is certain to be a memorable STC meeting!  RVSP by clicking “comments” below the meeting description found on this blog entry.

Sincerely,

Your STC 4 Lakes Chapter Board

Chad Beery
Mary Bertun
Amanda Byers
Amy Janczy
Mary Ellen Schutz

Another New Technical Communication Job Posting – UW Engineering Professional Development

See all the details here:

http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/pvl/pv_063046.html

New Technical Communication Job – WI Department of Corrections

You can see all the details here:

http://wisc.jobs/public/job_view.asp?annoid=39263&jobid=38778&index=true