User stories and scenarios

Right brain vs Left brainUser Scenarios and TBW:

Hello!I AMLauraNovichI am here because I love to tell stories. You can find me at:lsnovich@gmail.com

Welcome everyone My name is Laura Novich. I am a technical writer, English teacher, and am currently writing my grandfathers memoirs. Since I was at Megacomm last year I have left Red Hat and am now at Verint Solutions . In my free time I volunteer for FIRST Robotics helping student Robotics teams in Raanana. I love working with the kids and am constantly amazed with their creativity and conviction.

The greatest art in the world is the art of storytelling~Cecile B. DeMille

For as long as people have been alive stories have been told. According to Phillip Pullman, After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world. Stories bind humans to other humans. They make us laugh, cry, understand, wonder, and question. When told with truth and conviction a story will build trust and when told falsely that same story will destroy it. Stories are what put spice in our life and meaning in our world. According to Cecile B.deMille, it is the greatest art in the world.

Lets start with the user

When you picture the people who buy and use your products, what comes to mind? Picture them in your head. (click) Are any of these people a user for your product? If they cant pay attention to eachother at dinner, how will they pay attention to your messaging? Lets face it, people are bombarded with digital media to the point of being driven to distraction We are so used to being connected, we cant stop ourselves. This sad characteristic of human nature has made it challenging for companies to develop and cultivate a loyal customer base. Unforutunately today:Consumers are less brand loyal, more brand conscious. They are quick to change brands and try something newThey use social media recommend or shun any product they love or hate.They are more likely to connect with a computer faster than with a humanThey are more comfortable communicating online then they are face to face

How much influence has social media on your product? Consumers are spending way more time online then they used to and it has infiltrated the workspace. Employers complain how much social media, games, and other outlets have made their employees distracted.

And if you think your kids are not involved, guess again.According to recent studies, 25% of kids surveyed under 10 have FB accounts76% of 13-14 yr. olds87% of 15-17 yr. oldsIf your kids were born between 1992 and 2013 they are part of the Connected Generation known as Generation C. This generation is a new social group that we as technical writers need to figure out how to address before they become consumers. If we are not ready soon, it will be too late. If you think teaching this generation is hard, writing manuals for them will be even harder.

As time goes on more and more content is added to the Internet thus adding to this distraction and bombardment. Our job as technical and marketing writers is to use any means possible to make sure customers find and use our content. As a teacher it would make me shudder that students thought YouTube and Wikipedia were reliable as primary sources of information. As a technical writer I wonder, with so many sources of data and instruction out there, does anyone read my manual anymore?

Does anyone read the manual?

Study says 64% of men and 24% of women dont even read the manual before calling tech support ~ Gadget HelplineWhy Dont People Read the Manual? by David G. Novick and Karen Ward

According to studies, most people are not reading the manual cover to cover. In a study performed by Novich and Ward

Asked Other 28%Used Online Help 28%Used Printed Manual 3%Solved Without Help 29%Gave Up 11%

Really? No one reads the manual?

QuestionHow many of you use user stories or scenarios in your documentation?

User StoriesUser Stories provide us with a way to have just enough written down that we dont forget Mike Cohn, User Stories Applied

For many years stories have been used in marketing and more recently in Agile programing. Today we will investigate how and if they should be used in technical writing.

User Stories Right Brain Used in Agile software development methodology They describe the feature from the users perspective Help developers remember who they are developing for They describe:Who the user isWhat they wantWhy they want it

And as Mike Cohn said User Stories provide us with a way to have just enough written down that we dont forget

User Scenarios Longer than user stories Use a user persona to describe the users action Contain much more detail than user stories Written in prose Used in training manuals

FactCustomers who can identify themselves in your messaging will be more loyalFactCustomers who can identify themselves in your documentation will remember moreWhy should you consider it?FactLoyal customers will recommend you to their friends, buy more products, and will even be willing to spend a bit more because of their loyalty.

Shouldnt your docs be part of this strategy?

According to research on memory and learning, the average person can only retain in their working memory 7 items +/- 2. In order to take working memory and make it long term memory it is critical that the memory is tagged together with an emotional experience.When you read something and it invokes positive emotional responses, you are creating long term memories.

How is this done?Think about a specific user cohortWrite as if you were writing about their needs and wants.Use these to help create your examples in your documentation.Edit, edit, edit until the messaging is right.

Some ExamplesMaria, (married, 25) is a busy business analyst. She wants to plan a vacation late at night, after work and while she is walking her dog. She wants to order everything on her smart phone: tickets, car, and a dog- friendly hotel. She wants to know that others have gone to the places she wants to stay in / go to and wants to only go to places that are recommended. She wants to be able to book her entire trip in 10 minutes or less and she wants to be able to book something up to a year in advance.

Bill, (retired, 75) is starting to forget basic details. His family is very concerned. Bill wants to retain his personal dignity. He needs to remember to take his medication. His family is worried he will not remember or will accidentally overdose. They want to give him some freedom but want to be able to monitor him when they are not around. They also want to monitor Bills care giver and make sure she is helping Bill.

Read the user stories. Which product(s) comes to mind?

Example with a procedureMaria, a young account manager is booking a ski trip (flight, hotel, and car) to Lake Tahoe with her husband. She decides to use the Expedia website to book her trip, because she heard from a friend it was easy to use and that she could make a user profile to assist her in future trips. She was also interested in collecting miles for her travel purhases. After navigating to www.expedia.com, Maria does the following:

As Maria wants a car, flight and hotel, she clicks Bundle deals and chooses Flight+Car+HotelShe enters her departing city, destination city, the dates for her trip, number of passengers, and clicks Search.She selects the hotel, flight, and car details, and selects continue to pay for her trip.She enters her personal information, billing information and email and when she clicks Confirm the transaction takes place and Maria receives tickets and vouchers in her email.

Of course this scenario can be delivered as print, or enhanced with a video.

Sysaid

A company I have been following for years uses scenarios with their marketing videos. This is Sysaid. anyone from Sysaid out there? Start at 0:17

QuestionHow many of you use topic based writing?

Topic Based Writing left brain

Highly structured, modular, dynamic content Consistent throughout the entire manual Content blocks are connected as needed. Can be used and reused across different content registers, genres, and products

Register Technical Manuals, Marketing Brochures, Sales Kits, Knowledge Base ArticlesOutputs HTML, PDF, Epub, help, Wiki, TwitterAcross products Versions, Expertise, OEM, etc.*CMS may be required

content type - marketing, sales, technical documentsoutput - help, web, print, pdfproducts - OEM vs home product, basic vs advanced, version 1.2 vs 2.1

There is something to be said about organization. TBW Topic based authoring, structured content, structured authoring, minimalism,are all the same idea.

Sometimes this is refered to by the tools / code it uses DITA, Author-It, and Flare writing.

FactCustomers appreciate eliminating all the fluffFactCustomers cant remember so many details (7 +/- 2) so keeping it short helps them remember.

Why should you consider TBW?FactModular content allows customers to create content on demand.FactRe-use lowers the need for maintenance and allows your writers to write! It keeps the apples with the apples.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writng ~Benjamin Franklin

Apples with apples and oranges with orangesConcept Task Reference model

REFERENCE

Example

TASK

How to peel an orange:Score the peel with a knife or citrus peeler.Remove peel and pith by pulling in a downward motion. Throw them in the garbage / compost pile.Eat and enjoy!

Related TopicsHealth benefits for oranges

QuestionCan TBW and User Scenarios co-exist in the same document?Its all about coexistence. Video didnt kill the radio star after all. ~ Ashley Highfield

Pros for ScenariosPeople identify with stories about people.Stories envoke passion, empathy, and identificationPromotes learning and long term commitment.Cons for ScenariosPeople dont want to waste their time with storiesStories create more blah blah that people dont want to readThis extra blah blah can make people angry

Pros for TBW Straight to the point.Structure is logical and highly predictable.Easy to assemble, create, and maintainCons for TBWPeople want to connect to what they readTopics when stripped of content can become too sterile, dry, and boring

Pros & Cons

Debate it!Consider if you should change your documentation strategy in either direction. Would you?

thanks!ANYQUESTIONS?You can find me at:lsnovich@gmail.com

CreditsSpecial thanks to all the people who made and released these awesome resources for free:Simple line icons by Mirko MontiE-commerce icons by Virgil PanaStreamline iconset by WebalysPresentation template by SlidesCarnivalPhotographs by Unsplash & Death to the Stock Photo (license)Dark wood background by The pattern libraryOther sourcesWhy People Dont Read the Manual http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1166329 / http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=cs_papersThe Manual https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnqbAsAA0U8 Assorted Graphics and pictures:http://informed.s3.amazonaws.com/informed/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/history-storytelling-quote.pnghttp://cdn2.mommyish.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/shutterstock_158087222.jpghttp://www.assistedlivingtechnologies.com/medication-dispensing/68-medminder-jon-alert.htmlhttp://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2013/07/22/100904809-expedia_r.1910x1000.jpghttp://www.go-gulf.com/wp-content/themes/go-gulf/blog/60seconds.jpghttps://ihumanmedia.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/time-spent-by-media-per-day-ihumanmedia-com-tel-615-678-90921.jpghttp://theberry.com/2012/11/08/take-a-berry-break-40-photos-276/#http://www.saeon.ac.za/enewsletter/archives/2013/june2013/doc02http://www.kitchenworksinc.com/Plastic-Citrus-Peeler__677931.aspx?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing%20Shopping&utm_term=1101002596133&utm_content=All%20Productshttp://idratherbewriting.com/2012/07/31/misconceptions-about-topic-based-authoring/

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