Live from Congility: Human factors

Human factors: how to avoid a content strategy plane crash, by Julian Murfitt

If you prepare well, disasters can be avoided.

• 1 in 10,000,000 chance of a fatality by plane crash.
• 26% of plane accidents in the last 10 years are caused by equipment failure
• 57% of plane accidents in the last 10 years are caused by human factors
• Assuming you have
  • A content strategy
  • A DITA implementation
  • You are less likely to fail
• 70% of software project fail, due to
  • Inadequate requirements gathering (human factors)
  • Failure to engage users/stakeholders (human factors)
  • Scope creep
  • Lack of adequate systems

What makes for a good disaster plan?

• Compatible with human capabilities
• Tolerates and recovers from human error
• Makes use of the intelligence of the human brain
  • It needs to fit our mental model
  • If the mental model doesn’t fit the outside world, we don’t comprehend

DITA is a challenge

• Moving to DITA is a metamorphosis, not a migration
• DITA implementation is not a tool swap, it’s a different way of thinking

There are 3 types of long-term memory

• Semantic memory
  • Recognition is easier than recall
  • We’ll recognize something once we’ve seen it before, but can’t necessarily call it up
  • The DITA Shell requires semantic memory
• Episodic memory
  • Episodic is about connecting things with stories
  • Learning fewer things in one session is easier – episodic memory is best when focused
  • When learning DITA, the same thing applies
• Motor memory
  • Four steps: Unconscious incompetence (don’t know what you don’t know)
  • Conscious incompetence (know what you don’t know)
  • Conscious competence (know what you know)
  • Unconscious competence (don’t know what you know)
  • Examples: using a mouse, driving a car

Think/feel/know: the team

• Some people think through decisions, some feel their decisions, some just “know”
• It’s important to know who on a team is each of these
• As we’re learning DITA we need to learn new techniques, and take on new roles
• Tech authors in DITA can be all sorts
  • Developers
  • Engineers
  • Journalists
  • Content strategists
  • Content marketers
• We need to let people develop their roles and get a sense of ownership for their work
• We also need specialists who can help the rest of the team
• Need to train the team at the right time
  • Too early, and they won’t have context
  • Too late, and they won’t understand what they’re doing
  • DITA needs more than a course, it needs ongoing coaching