By, Rajdeep Gupta

STC India Bengaluru Regional Conference was conducted on 6th August, 2016 at NetApp. The conference sessions were based on technical writing, industry, and education. The annual regional conference was a good mix of technical writers, user experience researchers, technologists, and industry representatives who are experts in technical communication. The event turned out to be a strategic think tank, where participants had a constructive dialogue and collaboration on themes pertaining to technical writing.

NetApp hosted this year’s STC India Bengaluru Regional Conference. As always, NetApp was an extremely gracious host. 60+ participants attended the event.

The event started with a presentation on Content Localization. Ashwathama Gudugunti’s session helped authors learn how they could prime the content for “L10N”. Next, Shashi Prabha and Divya Philip demonstrated the Use of Relationship Tables in XMetal. Participants got a hands on demonstration on how to identify topics for cross-references, create, update and add a “reltable map”, and publish it to different outputs.

Following refreshments, was Amit session’s on Aircraft Maintenance Manuals (AMM). It was a new topic for a lot of technical writers. Amit shared his views on the use of AMM in the Aviation industry, how to develop AMM, the standards followed, and so on. Varunish Garg gave a power-packed session on Documentation Management for service based companies. He explained how companies can be CMMi L5, ISO, and ITIL certified by maintaining and managing the service based documentations.

The networking lunch sponsored by STC India was enjoyed by everyone. Everyone assembled for a group photograph after lunch. Sadhana Suresh continued the learning sessions momentum with her session User- Balancing, which was about user generated content with company documentation. Sadhana showcased the importance of User Experience on Product Documentation and how it impacted business areas. The conference had a finance angle too. Chartered accountant, Dinesh Ranka, gave tips to participants on How to Make Financial Investments and take care of their income tax returns.

Dhanya Nair and Anjali Anantharamau’s presentation reflected on the Current Disruptive Technology Trends. Their discussion included, how technical writers can seize this opportunity, harness the knowledge, and investigate different ways to create and deliver better information products.

The final event of the day was a Panel Discussion moderated by Rajdeep Gupta. The topic of panel discussion was Reflections/Directions in Technical Communication.

The conference ended with a vote of thanks and prize distribution. Certificates were awarded to all the participants and speakers. The event provided an excellent opportunity to network, share thoughts, and exchange ideas. It was a good learning experience. Overall, it was an event worth attending!

Rajdeep Gupta
STC Bengaluru City Representative – 2016

About the Author

Rajdeep Gupta

Rajdeep is the Managing Director of Blue Dots Consultancy Services. He is a former STC India President and currently manages the STC Bengaluru city activities. You can write to him at md@bluedotsconsultancy.com.