Policies and procedures as an API

Here’s a trend that didn’t make our list of predictions for 2017 – having company policies and procedures accessible via an Application Programming Interface (API). API is a term used to describe mechanisms that allow an application to access data or functionality provided by another application, system or service. For example, if your policies and procedures were… Read more »

Predictions for technical communication in 2017 and beyond

Our predictions for 2017 are…the same as they were for 2016! Having said that, there are a few adjustments we can make to the comments we made last year. Below, you’ll see our 2016 predictions In italics and some thoughts for 2017: As documentation becomes to be seen more as part of product design, so… Read more »

Writing documentation in an Industry 4.0 world

Industry 4.0 must be one of the “words of 2016′. We’re seeing a number of discussions on how this will impact on instructional design and User Assistance. Ray Gallon has blogged on the question, what role should you have in machine-machine information?, exploring the differences between automatic, programmed dialogues, and non-programmed ones. Sarah O’Keefe has also blogged… Read more »

Documentation as an API – the docsbot

In a recent presentation, Twilio’s Jarod Reyes and Andrew Baker mentioned their plans to make Twilio’s developer documentation available as an API. They plan to start with an API for code samples, stored in a github repository. Making documentation available as an API means means users can create or remix their own versions of the documentation. For example, they could… Read more »

Thyssenkrupp to make HoloLens goggles available to field-service staff

Thyssenkrupp is making Microsoft’s HoloLens goggles available to field-service staff, to assist them in diagnosing and repairing elevators. “HoloLens with Skype capabilities enables over 24,000 thyssenkrupp technicians to receive remote assistance by subject matter experts who can provide visual and audible advice using HoloLens’s mixed reality capabilities. These remote subject matter experts can see what… Read more »