The Milwaukee User Experience

STC Meeting: Showcasing Southeastern Wisconsin's Technical Communicators

The next STC Milwaukee meeting is Tuesday, April 12 at the MSOE Alumni Partnership Center in downtown Milwaukee.

The topic is “Showcasing Southeastern Wisconsin’s Technical Communicators.”  This is a joint trade show with WORDS, allowing you and your organization to exhibit your user manuals, online help, quick reference cards, e-learning modules, and other materials to your colleagues in the industry.  This is a terrific way to network, find out what others are doing, and learn more about the possibilities for your own work!

The meeting is a joint meeting with WORDS (Wisconsin Organization for Documentation Specialists). 

To sign up for an exhibition table, please complete the form below and return it by Tuesday, March 29. (More information below.)

To RSVP for the meeting, please respond by Friday, April 8 before midnight! (Again, more information below.)

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Schedule:
5:30 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. Networking
6:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. Dinner
7:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. Announcements and Viewing Trade Show Exhibits

Location:
MSOE Alumni Partnership Center
1120 North Broadway (just south of the intersection of Juneau and Broadway)
Milwaukee, WI
Parking is available in the lot next to the APC. We will need your car’s make, model, and license plate number, so include that in your reply message.

Meal:
The meal will be a delicious and bountiful buffet, so bring your appetite.

Cost:
*$15 for members of WORDS or STC attending the full program but NOT exhibiting in the trade show ($10 for student members)
*$7.50 for members of WORDS or STC attending the full program AND exhibiting in the trade show ($5 for student members)
*$20 for nonmembers of either group attending the full program
*$2.50 no dinner

Reservations:
To sign up for a table, please complete the form below and return it by Tuesday, March 29.  If you have questions, please contact Susan Duncan at [email protected] or 414-365-4755.

RSVP to the meeting either by e-mail to [email protected] or via the STC telephone reservation line at 414-299-0048.  When you reserve, please let us know your name, member status, telephone number, your car’s make, model, and license plate number, and whether you will be having dinner. The deadline for reservations is Friday, April 8. If you are unable to attend and have not cancelled your reservation by the Friday deadline, you will be expected to reimburse the chapter for the cost of your meal.

Don't forget-to win a chance for the drawing on June 14th:
1) attend a meeting (nametag gets put into drawing at end of meeting)
2) bring a nonSTC member guest to a meeting
3) volunteer to help a board member

Upcoming STC Phone Seminar

If there is enough interest, the chapter will plan to sponsor the Wednesday, March 23 web-telephone seminar "Breaking into e-learning". Go here to read more about this seminar. Email the chapter at [email protected] by Friday March 11 if you would be interested in listening to the presentation. If they have five or more interested people, they will sponsor the event. Compuware has already offered to be the host site.

STC Meeting: The Business of Tech Comm - Tools, Trends, and Bridging the Value Gap

When: Tuesday, October 12, 2004, at 5:30 P.M.
Where: the MSOE Alumni Partnership Center - 1120 North Broadway (located just south of the intersection of Juneau and Broadway) Parking is available in the lot next to the APC (southside)
Featured Presenter: Jim Romano, Prisma International

Meeting Summary
Our profession suffers from what might be called a “value gap,” the difference between the value that we produce as technical communicators, and the perceived value of its worth by employers and senior managers.

As a result, many of us feel undervalued and underrespected, even though the work we manage and produce is more complex and “valuable” than ever. We have new tools and means of measuring value, including Six Sigma-level metrics to gauge and track our value; yet, turning that into a business case for increased salaries or budgets remains elusive.

Jim’s presentation will focus first on defining and describing tech comm’s value gap. He will then provide concrete strategies for bridging it in our everyday work life, and will explore how to define, measure, and communicate the value of the technical communication work we produce, as well as enumerate some trends and strategies for remaining viable in our fast-evolving profession. Finally, Jim will describe some of the ways STC is transforming itself in order to support its membership in these changing times, and answer questions about the STC Transformation Team’s work.

Jim Romano
Jim Romano is Director-Sponsor for Region 6, as well as President and CEO of Prisma International, a global business communication firm located in Minneapolis. At Prisma, Jim’s work has encompassed most tasks and positions, including translator, project manager, account supervisor, editor, diplomat, peace keeper, coffee maker, plumber, and a few others. The common thread running throughout is the commitment to a global view of technical communication that starts with the end user and works backward to figure out how to meet their needs within the client’s parameters of budget, schedule, and quality.

Jim has been an active STC member since the early 1990s, and has served in the Twin Cities Chapter as Program Manager, Conference Manager, Vice President, and President. He also serves on the advisory board of the technical communication program of the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and works closely with their STC student chapter. In addition, he is an active participant in several translation and localization professional organizations (LISA, Upper Midwest Translators and Interpreters Association), as well as associations in the medical regulatory and financial fields, all connected under the umbrella of technical communication.

A resident of Minneapolis, Jim’s degrees are in linguistics and languages: a B.A. and M.A. from Columbia University, and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Jim may be reached at [email protected].

Meeting Details
Be sure to make your reservation by Friday, October 8, 2004, at 12:00 P.M.

Schedule:
5:30 P.M. – 6:00 P.M. Networking
6:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. Dinner and Brief Announcements
7:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. Presentation

Meal Options:
Chicken Princess, rice, mixed greens with dressings, fresh fruit platter, butternut squash,
Vegetarian Option: Tomato stuffed with Spinach and Cheese, and assorted Pies, coffee, water, and milk.

Cost:
$5.00 no dinner
$10.00 member with dinner
$15.00 nonmember with dinner

Reservations:
Reserve either by e-mail to [email protected] or via the STC telephone reservation line at 414-299-0048. When you reserve, please let us know your member status, your telephone number, your license plate number and car description, and your entrée preference. The deadline for reservations is Friday, October 8, 2004, at 12:00 P.M. If you are unable to attend and have not cancelled your reservation by the Friday deadline, you will be expected to reimburse the chapter for the cost of your meal. NOTE: If no one requests the vegetarian option, we will cancel it.

Don’t forget—to win a chance for the drawing on June 14th:

1) attend a meeting (nametag gets put into drawing at end of meeting)
2) bring a nonSTC member guest to a meeting
3) volunteer to help a board member