The STC France Workshop Series continues in May with a full-day professional workshop covering the fundamentals of topic-based authoring led by experienced technical communications consultant Linda Urban.

Linda is offering this workshop through STC France at a discounted rate, so don't miss this great value opportunity to learn this essential skill and try your hand at applying a topic-based approach to some of your own existing content. 

Topic-based authoring is a technique for writing content as discrete, stand-alone pieces (“topics”) that can be combined and reused in different ways. The technique has been getting a lot of attention recently because it is an integral part of DITA (the Darwin Information Typing Architecture) and other XML-based solutions. However, topic-based authoring has actually been around for quite some time, and does not require DITA or XML.

This hands-on workshop provides an overview of topic-based writing concepts and principles, and then lets you try your hand at using a topic-based approach. We will define key concepts (such as topic, information type, and element), look at examples of different types of topics, and discuss pros and cons of a topic-based writing approach.

You will get a chance to work with actual content, as you:

• Identify and define information types
• Chunk linear information into topics
• Assess what kinds of changes are required to make individual topics work effectively for users
• Consider how to connect and cluster topics, to provide a cohesive collection of information for users, even when content is complex

Along the way, we will touch on related questions such as:

• How long should a topic be?
• Can a topic-based approach work for complex, highly-technical information?
• What’s the difference between topic-based writing and structured writing?
• Do you need to use the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) to benefit from topic-based authoring? Do you need a content management system?
• What benefits can you realize by following topic-based writing principles?
• When might you benefit from the assistance of additional tools and technologies?
• Just how hard is the shift to a topic-based approach?

You are invited to bring a sample of some of your own content to consider during the workshop (10 to 15 pages or topics, printed single-sided).

Please Note:

The workshop will be conducted in English.

Registration includes refreshments, lunch, and printed workbook (in English)

A laptop computer is NOT required.

About Linda Urban

Linda Urban has over 20 years experience in technical communication. As a consultant, Linda designs and develops documentation, training, and online help systems. She focuses on providing solutions that meet user needs and company goals, and her work has received local and international STC awards. Linda also works with writers and teams to improve the quality of their documentation, focusing on both usefulness and usability.

Linda is an Instructor at the UC Berkeley Extension and UC Santa Cruz Extension. She teaches classes in technical writing, developing online help, usability, and information architecture.

Linda has a BA from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a Senior Member of the STC, a member of UPA, SIGCHI, and the Information Architecture Institute. Her company is Linda Urban Communications, LLC, and her website is http://www.urbancreations.com.