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Kai Weber - Addicted to Meaning - tcuk 130925 - public
- 1. ADDICTED TO MEANING MENTAL MODELS FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS Kai Weber @techwriterkai #TCUK13 25 September 2013
- 2. PROGRAM Intro: Who am I and what do I know? 1. What is meaning… … and why should technical communicators care? 2. How does meaning work in communication… … and why does it still fail in tech comm? Semiotics 3. How and why we create meaning… … and how to create meaningful documentation? Mental models
- 3. WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?
- 4. WHAT IS MEANING? Wisdom Knowledge Information Data Don‘t put into fruit salad. It‘s a fruit.
- 6. WHAT IS MEANING? Wisdom Knowledge Information Data Nothing lasts... Used to be File menu Open, Save, Print Office 2007
- 7. WHAT IS MEANING? Wisdom Knowledge Information Data Nothing lasts... Used to be File menu Open, Save, Print Office 2007 MEANING
- 8. WHAT IS MEANING? Can be in information, more valuable in knowledge Allows us to “connect the dots” Answers “why should I care?” and “what should I do?” Turns information into relevant & applicable knowledge
- 9. WHY SHOULD TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS CARE? It’s what we do: Turn information into relevant & applicable knowledge Know your audience! Task-oriented documentation
- 10. HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION Shannon & Weaver (1949) – process theory Omits meaning!
- 11. Sender Receiver Fiske (1990) – semiotics HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION Messages Conventions Media
- 12. Fiske (1990) – semiotics HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION Messages Conventions Media In semiotics… In tech comm… Represent “stuff” arbitrarily Clarify w/ definitions & glossary Include or exclude groups Can ensure comprehensibility Allow or restrict feedback Invite feedback & collaboration
- 13. WHY DOES MEANING FAIL IN TECH COMM? Aren’t message, conventions, and media clear? von Foerster (1949ff.) – radical constructivism There is no meaning but the one created by the reader. Each individual situation is a new beginning, another page one …which is why FAQs fail.
- 14. HOW WE CREATE MEANING We compare each individual situation… … with personal past experience… … by matching… Mental models Semi-consciously selected, incomplete images What (we think) we understand of the world How we face the world: Options? Solutions? Confidence?
- 15. HOW WE CREATE MEANING
- 16. HOW WE CREATE MEANING
- 17. HOW WE CREATE MEANING Imagecredit:jwarletta
- 18. HOW WE CREATE MEANING
- 19. HOW WE CREATE MEANING Mental models Flexible and adaptable, within limits Support meaningful knowledge How we approach a task How we react to a problem How we look for help Inert, uncontrollable
- 20. HOW WE CREATE MEANING Mental models Flexible and adaptable, within limits Support meaningful knowledge How we approach a task How we react to a problem How we look for help Inert, uncontrollable In tech comm: Designer vs. user Norman (1988)
- 21. WHY WE CREATE MEANING We are addicted to meaning! Conspiracy theories Pop lyrics, “mondegreens” Logos Janoff (1977) Image credit: Marcin Wichary
- 22. WHY WE CREATE MEANING We are addicted to meaning! Because we want to understand and do stuff: What does this mean? How does this work? Because we seek order: How does this hang together? How to connect the dots?
- 23. WHAT IS MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE? 1. Relevant to user, applicable to situation 2. Or a way ahead, a workaround 3. Or an explanation 4. Or even understanding and sympathy
- 24. HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE Meaning needs understanding (cognition and empathy) 1. Understanding your audience 2. Understanding semantics 3. Understanding mental models
- 25. HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE Understanding your audience 1. Help users connect the dots. 2. Beyond information, deliver applicable knowledge. 3. Beyond the “how”, include the “why”.
- 26. HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE Understanding semantics 1. Messages are best clear and consistent. 2. Conventions are best inclusive. 3. Media are best serving people’s communication. 4. Receivers need “random access”.
- 27. HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE Understanding mental models 1. Translate designer’s model into users’ models. 2. Observe diverse audiences. 3. Support with options, solutions, and confidence. 4. Invite to explore; don’t teach to control.
- 28. BETTER GRASP ON MENTAL MODELS...?
- 29. FURTHER READING AND SOURCES 1. DIKW Pyramid 2. Shannon & Weaver’s process theory (1949) 3. Fiske on semiotics (1990) (chapters 3 & 4) 4. Mental models in user interfaces Norman: The Design of Everyday Things (1988) 5. Mondegreens in pop lyrics; Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight” 6. Janoff, designing the Apple logo (1977) 7. Carroll on minimalism (1998), (esp. chapter 2)
- 30. THANK YOU! KEEP IN TOUCH! kaiweber.wordpress.com @techwriterkai