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How to use Use-Lab in assessments

You can assess your information products in a myriad of ways, depending on what you want to know – regulatory compliance, aesthetics, understandability? In this meeting we’ll deep-dive a few methods that Use-Lab often uses in assessments to better understand how to get the most out of an evaluation. We look forward to an interactive session in which participants vote for the methods they are most interested, or perhaps the aspects of the information products they most want to evaluate, and then look at those methods. Stephanie will bring examples to the session, but participants are welcome to come with examples of their own as well.

As a project manager at Use-Lab GmbH, Stephanie Schwenke designs studies to help manufacturers learn how well "real people" can work with their products and what they can do to make those products better. A strong love of the written word has a led to a special focus on technical documentation and in particular instructructions for use; a background in psychology (B.Sc., Universität Freiburg) and cognitive science (M.Sc., Universität Freiburg) proves useful in developing methods for testing documents in a way that keeps participants engaged and provides useful information for the authors.

Navigating the documentation requirements of the EU AI Act: How ISO/IEC 42001 can assist moving towards compliance

The EU AI Act promotes the uptake of trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), which, among other things, requires the sharing of comprehensible information along the AI value chain on how AI technologies have been developed and how they perform, for demonstrating compliance with this regulation. All AI documentation, including instructions for use, needs to contain meaningful, comprehensive, correct and clear information, that is relevant, accessible and comprehensible to each category of stakeholders. While these information attributes can be mapped to the information quality characteristics of the international standards on information for use, IEC/IEEE 82079-1 and ISO/IEEE 26514, respectively, the AI management system (AIMS) standard, ISO/IEC 42001, represents a structured framework that defines and documents an organization’s overall processes, procedures, and controls for ensuring trustworthy and responsible AI.

In this talk, we will unpack the documentation requirements of the EU AI Act, review some of the documentation best practices for AI, such as model cards and data sheets, and take a deep dive into ISO/IEC 42001 as a management framework to help facilitate compliance with the regulation. Within this framework, we will explore the role of technical communicators as AI change agents in helping an organization handling the AI documentation requirements towards meeting regulatory requirements as well as stakeholder expectations.

Dr. Thomas Zschocke currently serves as a research associate of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), with headquarters in Indonesia and Kenya, respectively. He has nearly 25 years of experience in knowledge management, technical communication, research data management, and capacity development working for the United Nations and other international organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He earned his doctoral degree in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, and received a master's degree in oriental studies from the University of Cologne, Germany.

Where are we with AI in technical communication? A practitioner's perspective and ideas for an AI framework for technical writers

Gianni Angelini is an Italian technical writer with 15 years of expertise across diverse industries, including machinery, software, fire systems, fintech, and medical devices. He currently works as a Senior Labeling Specialist at Boston Scientific.

Gianni lives in Ireland, where he earned a Master’s degree in Technical Communication from the University of Limerick. He is a member of tekom Ireland, where he actively collaborates to organise events for technical writers.

He has published a beginner’s guide on the knowledge and skills required for modern technical writing, specifically aimed at an Italian audience. Gianni is now working on his second book on technical communication, intended for an international audience.

Understanding the Economics of AI: A Perspective for Technical Communicators

Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents a large and unwieldy topic that is positioned to effect the modern economy in many ways.  The better technical communicators understand economic trends related to AI, the better they can prepare for them in to maintain future job security.

This talk would provide an overview of AI in terms of economic – primarily business – practices.  The speaker will also explain how technical communicators can use their understanding of these economic trends to position themselves for future career success.  Included in this presentation would be a discussion of AI-related economic/business trends for technical communicators to follow and strategies for how technical communicators can address these trends effectively. 

The objective of the talk is to provide attendees with a foundation for understanding and addressing AI at an economic level within professional practices and educational contexts.    

Kirk St.Amant is a Professor and the Eunice C. Williamson Chair in Technical Communication at Louisiana Tech University where he serves as the Director of Louisiana Tech’s Center for Health and Medical Communication (CHMC) and oversees the Center's Health Experience Design Usability Lab. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Health and Medical Communication with the University of Limerick in Ireland and a Research Fellow in User Experience Design with the University of Strasbourg in France. His research focuses on usability in international health and medical contexts, global health literacy, and developing health and medical products patients in different cultures can use easily and effectively.