LavaCon Las Vegas 2016 Presentation

1. PLEASE FIND A PEN
AND PAPER

2. LEVERAGING
COGNITIVE SCIENCE
TO IMPROVE TOPIC-
BASED AUTHORING
LavaCon 2016
Las Vegas, Nevada

3. EFFECTIVE TOPIC-BASED AUTHORING
WITH DITA
▪ Information Typing is
truly at the heart of
DITA, yet it is one of
the most poorly
understood concepts
behind creating
effective DITA topics
▪ How DITA can naturally be extended
to accommodate enterprise
content?
▪ How can content be broken down
and organized for better
comprehension?
▪ How can we focus attention on
greater precision with our content
standards?

4. ROB HANNA
▪ President of Precision Content Authoring
Solutions Inc. and a director of AIIM First
Canadian Chapter
▪ Expert in structured authoring and content
management practices and technology
▪ Instructor at the University of Toronto School of
Continuing Studies – Metadata and Controlled
Vocabularies

5. DO WE HAVE A PROBLEM THAT NEEDS
SOLVING?
▪ 5,900,000,000 Google searches
per day (who did we ask these
questions of before Google?)
▪ 540,000 words in the English
language – 5 times more than in
Shakespeare’s time
▪ 90% of the world’s data has
been generated in the last 2
years
In the year … Human knowledge
doubled every…
1900 100 years
1945 25 years
2014 13 months
2020 12 hours
Did you know? Shift Happens 2014 Remix
– YouTube.com

6. PUT INTO CONTEXT
There is more information in a single issue
of the New York Times than a 17th century
citizen would ever see in their lifetime.

7. CAN COGNITIVE
COMPUTING SAVE THE DAY?
Perhaps …

8. CAN WATSON HELP ME USE MY
CONSUMER DEVICES?

9. WISDOM
OF
CROWDS
No problem!

10. WHAT ABOUT MASS SPECTROMETERS?

11. … NOT SO MUCH
Much smaller crowd!

13. WE NEED STANDARDS
▪ We need INTELLIGENT CONTENT that is
▪ PORTABLE ACROSS SYSTEMS
▪ USEFUL ACROSS APPLICATIONS, and
▪ FINDABLE, USABLE, and REUSABLE

14. FOUNDATIONS IN XML
A technology platform for Intelligent Content

15. XML IS
EVERYWHERE
XML defines meaningful data
structures for documents and
data. It is a human-readable file
format used to power
• manufacturing assembly lines
• medical devices
• military applications, and
• many other things.

16. SEMANTIC MARKUP
▪ Using semantic markup, we can
▪ disambiguate content
▪ search based on meaning
▪ connect to other content, and
▪ reuse or substitute new text.

17. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
DITA …

18. MEETING 2 SETS OF FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS
The Human Brain
Technology
Find
Understand
Use, and
Retain
Integrate
Search
Process, and
Reuse
Well-structured content helps

19. ORGANIZING
INFORMATION

20. LET’S PERFORM
AN EXPERIMENT…

21. YOUR INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE
EXPERIMENT
1. Put down your pen.
2. Concentrate on the list of 21 words for 20 seconds.
3. When the words disappear, pick up your pen and write down as many
words as you can remember.
4. After one minute, count the number of words you wrote down.

22. EXPERIMENT #1: MEMORIZATION
OTTOMAN brake lounge stapler
seatbelt hutch alternator wardrobe
calculators scissors ENGINE pedal
dashboard pen tables marker tape
stools starter ruler credenza
How many words can you
memorize in 20 seconds?

23. ottoman brake lounge stapler
dashboard pen table marker
seatbelt hutch alternator wardrobe
pedalcalculator scissors engine
tape stool starter ruler credenza
COGNITIVE PRINCIPLE: CONSISTENCY
1. Filter out all of the noise

24. ottoman brake lounge stapler
dashboard pen
table
marker
seatbelt
hutch
alternator
wardrobe
pedalcalculator scissors engine
tapestool
starter
ruler credenza
COGNITIVE PRINCIPLE: CHUNKING
2. Break into smaller groupings

25. dashboardalternator pedal
brake seatbeltengine starter
marker
staplerscissorstape
pen calculatorruler
ottoman lounge hutch
credenza
stooltablewardrobe
COGNITIVE PRINCIPLE: RELEVANCE
3. Organize words by similarities

26. dashboardalternator pedal
brake seatbeltengine starter
marker
staplerscissorstape
pen calculatorruler
ottoman hutch
credenza
stooltablewardrobe
Furniture Office supplies
Car parts
COGNITIVE PRINCIPLE: LABELLING
4. Classify and label groups
lounge

27. THE RESULT
Furniture Office supplies Car parts
automan stapler brake
lounge calculator seatbelt
hutch scissors dashboard
wardrobe pen engine
table marker alternator
stool tape starter
credenza ruler pedal
How well did you do?

28. THE FOUR COGNITIVE PRINCIPLES
1. Consistency 2. Chunking
3. Relevance 4. Labeling

29. EXPERIMENT #2: LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN
Vegetables Computer parts Instruments
peas hard drive violin
endive sound card harp
carrots monitor piano
spinach mouse trumpet
celery processor cello
broccoli flash drive flute
tomato keyboard guitar
Now how many words can you
memorize in 20 seconds?

30. FEED THE BRAIN
WHAT IT NEEDS
WHEN IT NEEDS IT

31. LANGUAGE ARTS
How do you want your information to be perceived?

32. LEFT AND
RIGHT
HEMISPHERES
OF THE BRAIN
Appealing to creativity or
emotion versus logic
Language Arts
for Information
(LAFI)
Language Arts for
Personal Response
(LAFPR)

33. LANGUAGE ARTS
Language Arts for Personal
Response (LAFPR)
▪ To emotionally engage the
reader
▪ Techniques:
▪ narrative style
▪ varied vocabulary & sentence
structure
▪ withholding information
▪ Writer driven
▪ Meant to be READ
Language Arts for Information
(LAFI)
▪ To convey information that
readers need to use
▪ Techniques:
▪ consistent modular structure
▪ concise, direct vocabulary
▪ use of graphics
▪ Reader driven
▪ Meant to be USED

34. IKEA INSTRUCTIONS: LAFI

35. IKEA INSTRUCTIONS: LAFPR
▪ If novelist Michael Ondaatje wrote Ikea instructions ….
“The eel-shaped talisman squirms inside the raspy recycled
box. A series of quarter turns – clock hands marking time –
bonds back to base. An alphabet of connections in English and
French. A into groove B. C slots into D. Chipboard credenza
communicating Swedish hegemony.”
▪ Author/parodist: Geoff Thomas
Globe & Mail, August 27, 2009

36. COMPARE
Resume
▪ Information intended to
be scanned
▪ Not addressed to anyone
▪ Parsed into HR database
▪ Distinct appearance
Cover Letter
▪ Information intended to be read
by the hiring manager
▪ Addressed to the hiring manager
▪ Placed in a file
▪ Looks like any other letter

37. INFORMATION TYPES
What are they good for

38. DITA INFORMATION TYPES
How do I
change the
spark plugs?
What is a traction
control system?
What are my
engine
specifications?
Concept
Task
Reference

39. TOPICS MODELLED BY FUNCTION
▪ Topic types are determined by the desired user response for
the information
▪ Types are based on how users read, comprehend, and recall
information
▪ REFERENCE topics are used when the reader needs to KNOW
something
▪ TASK topics are used when the reader needs to DO something, and
▪ CONCEPT topics are used when the reader needs to UNDERSTAND
something.

40. MAPPING
HUMAN
MEMORY
FUNCTION
• Procedural
• Working
• Semantic
Budson and Price,
2005, New England
Journal of Medicine

41. TASK TOPICS AND PROCEDURAL
MEMORY
▪ Procedural memory is the most
accessible and robust type of
memory we have
▪ By separating task information
from other types of information,
we can make it easier and more
efficient to comprehend and
retain task information

42. REFERENCE TOPICS AND WORKING
MEMORY
▪ Working memory is our short-
term, rapid-access memory we
use to hold facts as needed to
complete a task or further
understanding
▪ Reference topics are intended to
organize and present
information as and when the
reader needs it

43. CONCEPT TOPICS AND SEMANTIC
MEMORY
▪ Semantic memory is declarative
memory used to store
conceptual information that is
not based on experience but
from understanding
▪ Concept topics represent the
highest cognitive loading for the
brain as the reader is being
asked to compare and evaluate
information based on what the
reader already knows

44. A NEW CONTENT STANDARD
FOR THE ENTERPRISE
Introducing Precision Content®
It’s fun and anyone can do it!

45. CONTENT STANDARDS FOR THE
ENTERPRISE
▪ OASIS - DITA Enterprise Business Documents Subcommittee
▪ Established in 2007 by Ann Rockley and Michael Boses
▪ To develop and recommend guidance for organizations that intend to adopt DITA
for enterprise business documents.
▪ Wrapped up in 2012
▪ The subcommittee examined several models for business documents
▪ One of the models examined was the Information Mapping® model
developed by Robert Horn in the 1960s
▪ The subcommittee did not forward any formal proposals for adoption

46. FINDING BALANCE
DITA/XML is…
▪ An agnostic structured
framework for technical
communication
▪ An open standard gaining rapid
adoption
▪ Extensible across industries
▪ Lacking a consistent, robust
authoring methodology
Information Mapping® is…
▪ An agnostic structured authoring
methodology for the enterprise
▪ A tested standard with global
reach and decades of research
▪ Teachable to any audience or
practitioner
▪ Lacking modern technology
delivery framework

47. ENTER PRECISION CONTENT®
▪ The Precision Content methodology leverages the
strengths of structured, topic-based authoring using
XML technology for
▪ Broad-based content collaboration
▪ Robust content lifecycle management
▪ Content classification for rapid retrieval, and
▪ Multi-channel publishing.

48. A NEW WAY OF
THINKING ABOUT
CONTENT
Precision Content® is like software for the brain
Programmed
Learning
Instruction
al Systems
Design
Human Factors
Engineering
Documentation
Writing
Research
Message
Design
Cognitive
Psychology

49. TOPICS AND BLOCKS
▪ Precision Content
focuses writing at the
block-level within topics
▪ The Primary Block
supports the title of the
topic
▪ Every block has an
information type
Task Topic
Task title
Task body
Context
Purpose
Prerequisites
Steps
Post-requisites
Result
Primary Block
Blocks
REFERENCE
PRINCIPLE
TASK
PRINCIPLE
REFERENCE

50. STRUCTURED BUILDING BLOCKS OF
INFORMATION

51. ADAPTED DITA TOPIC TYPES AND
STRUCTURES
▪ Concept, task, and reference are
simplified but essentially the same
▪ All topics are authored using blocks and
titles
▪ New sub-blocks introduced
▪ Each block is assigned an information
type

52. NEW PRECISION CONTENT TOPIC TYPES
Process
▪ Specialized from Task
▪ Introduces
▪ Stages
▪ Actors, and
▪ Actions
Principle
▪ Specialized from Topic
▪ Introduces
▪ Principle Statement
▪ Applicability
▪ Outcome, and
▪ Resolution

53. PRECISION CONTENT TYPES LISTED BY
FUNCTION
▪ Reference
▪ DESCRIBES things the reader needs
to KNOW
▪ Task
▪ INSTRUCTS the reader HOW TO DO
things
▪ Concept
▪ EXPLAINS things the reader needs
to UNDERSTAND
▪ Process
▪ DEMONSTRATES to the reader how
things WORK, and
▪ Principle
▪ ADVISES the reader about what
they need TO DO or NOT DO and
WHEN.

54. INFORMATION
TYPES
Reference
Principle
Task
Process
Concept
“We will be flying at
an altitude of
35,000 feet.”
“Always put on your
oxygen mask before
assisting other
passengers.”
“To open the
emergency exit,
look out the
window, pull the
lever, and push out
the exit door.”
“In the event of loss
of cabin pressure,
an oxygen mask will
drop from the
overhead
compartment.”
“On the left side of the
plane you can see a
typical example of a
cumulonimbus cloud.”
Flight safety briefing

55. INFORMATION TYPE
EXAMPLES
If the goal of the information is to …
Then use the
information type …
Reference
Concept
Principle
Process
Task
Principle
Reference
Task
• list the nutritional facts for Cherry Cola
• explain what a soft drink is
• warn you not to drop a Mentos in your Cola bottle
• illustrate how Cola is bottled
• instruct you on how to safely open your can of Cola
• advise you on the best practices for recycling cans
• tell the customer this week’s sale price for Cola
• show you how you can turn your Cola can into a nifty craft project

56. INFORMATION TYPES INFORM WRITING
STYLE
▪ How topics and blocks are titled
▪ Block and topic construction
▪ Proper voice and tense
▪ Specific authoring models
▪ Rules for primary blocks/short descriptions

57. WRITING RULES BASED ON TYPE
Information Type Writing Style Writing Tense
Reference 3rd person Present/past/future tense
Process 3rd person Present tense
Concept 3rd person Present tense
Task 2nd person Present tense
Principle 2nd person Present/future tense

58. WRITING EFFECTIVE TITLES FOR BLOCKS
AND TOPICS
▪ Reference topic and block titles
▪ What is it about and what about
what its about?
▪ “Bent or damaged needles”
▪ Concept topic and block titles
▪ The term being defined in plural
form when possible
▪ “SSRI inhibitors”
▪ Task topic and block titles
▪ Command, 2nd person active-voice
▪ “Dress the wound”
▪ Process topic and block titles
▪ Activity described in gerund form
▪ “Admitting elderly patients”
▪ Principle topic and block titles
▪ Should convey the weight of the
principle such as caution or guide
▪ “Danger due to needle stick”

59. DOES IT ACTUALLY
WORK?

60. EXCERPT FROM A MEDICAL
JOURNAL...
▪ pN3 description only closely
mirrors descriptions for pN3a
+pN3b + pN3c
▪ Use of footnotes confusing
▪ “Clinically detected” and “Not
clinically detected” are not
exact opposites, and
▪ Inconsistent enumeration of
lymph nodes

61. SAME CONTENT AFTER APPLYING PRECISION
CONTENT TECHNIQUES
▪ 44.2% reduction in word count
▪ 20% reduction in passive voice
▪ 18.4% increase in Flesch Reading
Ease score
▪ 30% increase in white space
▪ Elimination of footnotes, and
▪ Addition of labels and visual
elements

62. LEARN MORE
▪ We’re giving away 2
seats to the next
public training class
in Sunnyvale,
California
▪ Visit us at Booth #6
and drop your card
to WIN