A presentation delivered as part of an action-packed session convened and sponsored by Adobe at Lavacon 2013.

1. The Technical
Communicator within
the Integrated
Product Lifecycle
Copyright © Joe Gollner 2013
Joe Gollner
Gnostyx Research Inc.
jag@gnostyx.com
www.gollner.ca
@joegollner

2. The Facts of Business Life
A Global Economy calls for
Continuous
process improvement
Maximized automation
Dynamically tailored products
Localized delivery & support
Reconfigurable supply chains
This Demands
Standardized parts
Flexible & dynamic assembly
Peter F. Drucker
The Practice of Management
(1954)
for products, services & content

3. XML Behind the Scenes
Extensible Markup Language
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Recommendation
A simplification of ISO8879 Standard Generalized
Markup Language (SGML) to enable portable web data
Massively influential on
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Technology interoperability
Electronic data interchange
Supply chain automation
Internet commerce
Social media integration
eBook publishing
Responsive web design…
Absolutely Central to the way business is conducted

4. This is not a Secret
Thomas L. Friedman
in his book
The World is Flat
specifically focused on the
levelling effects of XML
XML
Enabled
supply chain automation
The drove the ability to
massively distribute
manufacturing & distribution
(2005)

5. De
Ac
qu
isi
tio
n
What does this mean for Products?
e
liv
ry
ce
an
rn
Op
er
ve
Go
at
io
n
Product
Strategy

6. No Trade- offs Allowed


7. What does this mean for Knowledge Workers?
Specialization is
the order of the day
Not a bad thing
Not something that
can be reversed
But
It does
pose us
challenges
in how we
communicate
(1993)

8. And what does this mean for Communicators?
There is a new
and more challenging
communication problem
to be solved
Not only do we need to make
technology understandable
to users….
We need to make technology
understandable in the first place
(1932)

9. A Bigger Step than it may appear…

10. The Problem of Silos

11. Uncoordinated
Content Silos
Marketing
Whitepapers
Engineering
Specifications
Product Mgt
Requirements
TechComm
Documentation
Sales
Sales Collateral
Training
Course Materials
Support
Knowledge Base
Uncoordinated
Customer Experience
Sound Familiar?

12. Case Study: Massively Integrated Systems

13. Agile meets Lean
Market-Leading
Software Company
Embraced
Agile Methods
Embarked on
aggressive innovation
Ran straight into
the complexity of
their own product
& of their customers’
environments
Agile success led to
general failure

14. Specialization undermines itself
Specialist departments, teams, individuals find it
harder and harder to communicate to each other
Don’t understand
each others’
Language
Goals
Constraints
Approaches
It shows

15. Some Questions Arise

16. Old School Engineering
The Roots of Lean
Training Within Industry (TWI)
World War II initiative
to mobilize US industry
All about communication
Cold War engineering was
powered by these practices
Example: Avro Arrow CF105
Dissipated in the 1980s….

17. Current Practices are not Sustainable

18. The Answer
Content is
placed in the
center
of the
Integrated
Product
Lifecycle
Content
Lifecycle used
to connect all parts
of the product lifecycle

19. Remind me: What is Content Again?
Content is
potential information
It is what we create
in order to produce
• Effective information
• Effective processes
• Effective products
It is a multitude of pieces
that come together including
automation components
INFORMATION
CONTENT
This is important

20. Why is this Important?
Inukshuk-shaped
communicators
Two horizontal areas
of specialization
•
•
Writing, Illustrating,…
Usability, Analysis,…
Two technical fields
of specialization
•
•
Product discipline
Publishing technology…
“I tell my people to be well-versed in two technological fields and in two
functional areas, like design and marketing. Even in an engineering-oriented
company like ours, you can't get ahead without the ability to foresee
developments in the market.” Epson executive quoted by Nonaka & Takeuchi

21. Ascendant Specializations to Choose From
Information Analyst
Business Analyst
Taxonomist
UX Designer
Usability Specialist
Content Engineer
Cybrarian / Metador
Social Media Facilitator
Analytics Researcher
Content Strategist,…
Product Certification becoming more
and more common as an expectation

22. Is Adaptation an Option?
No – Not Really
Competitive pressures make re-integrating the
product lifecycle mandatory
Technical
communicators
will make
themselves
a visible part
of the solution
or…

23. Making Connections
Joe Gollner
Gnostyx Research Inc.
www.gnostyx.com
jag@gnostyx.com
Twitter: @joegollner
Blog: The Content Philosopher
www.gollner.ca