tekom - Europe

tcworld conference 2019 in Stuttgart: Experts share their knowledge in technical communication with around 4,550 inquisitive visitors

Kiriaki Kampouridou

From terminology and mobile documentation to software documentation and standards, there was relevant and applicable knowledge for almost every topic area of technical communication for the participants in our international community. In addition, Arena UX took place for the first time.

Arena UX

In addition to the already established arenas for "learning media" and "service information", the topic of user experience was put on the agenda at the same time as UX Day and was also co-designed in English by international experts in the arena. Visitors gained insights into brain research and usability aspects and learned, for example, how customer-oriented innovation can lead to more success in the experience economy. 

Popular topics and lectures

After evaluating our statistics, we have identified some favorites among the presentations: 
In "The Psychology of the User Experience – Approaches to User Testing and Product Design", presented by Kirk St.Amant, participants gained insight into how the mind processes information and the related implications for user expectations for design and usability. The presentation introduced models that technical communicators can use to understand such processes, providing strategies for researching user expectations based on the mental processes affecting user expectations.

Legal aspects of technical communication were also popular with participants, such as the lecture "Is It/Will It Be Legally Allowed to Publish Documentation Online?" given by Ferry Vermeulen. The focus of this presentation was on current legal aspects of product documentation as, for many products, placing user instructions solely online is now allowed. He also explained that new standards for instruction for use, such as the new IEC 82079 and EN ISO 20607, would offer new opportunities, and that, in most cases, supplying the full manual in the packaging is no longer required. He discussed how it is possible to legally digitize the product information, for which products you can publish your documentation online, and which products still require print. 

As of now, you can download the presentation slides!

By the way, some of the lectures were brought into a visual format by an artist – following the concept of "graphic recording". 

We are tekom!

The concept of community received special attention this year thanks to filming by our participants. Positioned in front of a photo wall, visitors to the conference and trade fair made a brief statement about tekom as an association and their impressions of the event. 
The delegates from tekom Europe also immortalized themselves here!

In addition, the technical editor's job description was recently filmed and presented at the conference. Have a look at the video on YouTube and share it in your network!

158 exhibitors at tekom fair 2019

In addition to the tcworld conference, the tekom fair, with 158 software manufacturers and service providers from all over the world, was also a magnet for visitors. It offered technical communication specialists, primarily technical editors from almost all branches of industry, a unique opportunity for a comprehensive overview of the market.

Learning should also be fun

After so many exciting lectures and workshops, celebrating and networking of course should not be neglected! There were plenty of opportunities for this on both evenings: On the first evening, our community celebrated at the Welcome Party; on the second evening, the tekom Allstar Band provided the finest live music. City walks, yoga sessions and a company tour rounded off the conference.

The next tcworld conference

Save the date: The next tcworld conference will be held again November 3–5, 2020 at ICS, Messe Stuttgart.