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03/09/2016 By STC Editor

March Meeting Recap: Content Analytics for Technical Communicators

stc san diego 3-08-16 5

On Tuesday, March 8, 2016, STC San Diego held its monthly meeting for the first time at Hera Hub in Sorrento Valley. Hera Hub provided a professional yet comfortable atmosphere that was perfect for our group. 

What a great meeting! We enjoyed pizza from Times Square Pizzeria and tempting cookies. The interactive networking portion of the evening was lively; the room was abuzz with stimulating conversations. 

Afterwards, Sara Feldman and Fer O’Neil gave an informative and useful presentation on content analytics. Meeting attendees learned how they could use content analytics to help improve job security, content quality, and maintain content consistency. Everyone left with new resources, including the option of a free certification from Google and a sample article quality index (AQI).

STC San Diego at Hera Hub This was also the first meeting that was broadcast live to remote attendees. The meeting was recorded for future access; what a great resource! The Content Analytics and AQI presentation slides and Sample Article Quality Index are also available for viewing here. We will continue having our meetings at Hera Hub and online for remote attendees.

Introduction to Content Analytics

Sara Feldman presented a brief yet informative introduction to content analytics. She brought up key points for technical communicators and explained why content analytics is valuable for technical communicators. Content analyzing tools will help you to:

  • Measure content quality.
  • Get insight and discover trends to improve decision-making (budget time/money).
  • Measure user behavior against desired outcomes (determined by business objectives) are being met.

Google offers free tools: Google Analytics and a free certificate of proficiency in Google Analytics

What Is an Article Quality Index?

Fer O’Neil gave an extremely informed presentation on AQIs (Article Quality Indexes). He introduced the methodology, demonstrated the advantages of creating customized categories and attributes, and reinforced the benefits that an AQI can bring to a company, its employees, and the content. Fer’s presentation also helped meeting attendees understand how they could use an AQI to demonstrate their department’s value to the company; a situation that Technical Communicators are all too familiar with.

Highlights of Fer’s presentation:

  • AQI is a methodology for defining and measuring content
  • Create custom categories and attributes; review with management and writers so everyone agrees on criteria
  • The agreed-upon criteria are used to determine if content is meeting expectations
  • Why set content quality standards?
    • Identify trends in content quality production for individuals and teams.
    • Provide consistent feedback in work quality for everyone.
    • Set consistent work quality standards for new people.

Meeting Resources

  • Content Analytics Introduction (PDF)
  • Content Analytics Presentation (PDF)
  • Sample Article Quality Index (xlsx file)
  • Google Analytics Certification
  • Virtual Presentation (recording)
stc san diego march 2016 chapter meeting
Fer O’Neil presents at STC San Diego’s March 2016 meeting

Filed Under: Chapter Meetings, Meeting Recap, Resources Tagged With: AQI, article quality index, Content Analytics, content consistency, Content quality, Google Analytics, technical communication

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