WritersUA Conference | Main Page

Join us at the next WritersUA Conference! Scenes from the conference venue

The 17th Annual WritersUA Conference for Software User Assistance will be held in Seattle, Washington at the Westin Seattle, March 29 - April 1, 2008. Seattle offers a great environment for city enjoyment and nearby outdoor exploration. Our primary goal is to continue to provide an event with the most comprehensive and timely information specifically designed for user assistance professionals. Attendance has surpassed 8,500 people in the 16 years of the conference's existence!

Registration for the Conference opens November 1^st with early registration discounts. This web site will contain all of the details about the event including session descriptions, speakers, and agenda.

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The 16th Annual WritersUA Conference took place in Portland, OR, March 16-19. Over 500 user assistance professionals attended from throughout the world.
   • Supplemental Materials
   • Pro Booster Recipients
   • LaunchPad Graduates
   • Photos from the Conference

Comments from the 2008 Attendees

Great location; very useful information. I feel light years ahead of where I was. — Stephanie Stout, Nokia

This conference consistently delivers high-quality content. Thank you! — Cherie Lorenzo, Eos Group, Inc.

The best dollar & information value in conferences. Period. — Chris Thiessen, Emerson Process Management

The whole conference was wonderful! Great selection of topics. Thank you for a great experience. — Jodie Boedigheimer, Infor Global Solutions

This is the best-organized, smoothest-running, classiest professional conference I have attended. It exceeded my expectations. — Judith Harris, CheckFree Corp.

Excellent as usual. — Frank Palinkas, Opera Software

One of the best things I see, having been coming for a number of years now, is the continuity of presenters, all of whom keep up to date and ahead of the 'rest of us'. I've really come to trust them, and totally value the way they make themselves freely available by phone or email during the year for questions. Just Amazing! — Anne Bradbeer, Philips Medical Systems

I haven't been to one of your conferences in 'several' years. You've grown substantially and done an excellent job. I'll definitely not wait so long! — Phyllis Voight

You guys rock! As usual! Thanks again! — Sue Heim, PGP Corporation

This conference was far more focused on what I want to do and where I want to go in my career. The organization behind this conference was amazing. Thanks for making it so easy. I am definitely sold on the conference. If I find that I can only attend one conference next year, it will definitely be WritersUA. — Edward VanArsdall, EVIDD

I think this was the best WritersUA conference that I've attended. It's been an amazing three days and I've received a lot of information that I can use back home. — Laura Katajisto, Nokia

Truly outstanding conference! My first but certainly not last. — Michael Diederich, Fluidigm

Best conference in years. Variety of topics, speakers and location were superb. — Elissa Hannam, Real Time Logic

I've been to many conferences that could learn a great deal from WritersUA. — Geoff Hart, Videotron

Extremely well-run conference! Great variety of sessions. — Robert Siebens, Sabrix

WritersUA is always excellent. — Paula Crockett, Harland Financial Solutions

I loved the hands-on sessions. Listening to other UA people talk about their challenges on the job was great too. — Steven Sanderson, Netsmart Technologies

What does the Conference cover?

The Conference is all about cutting-edge education from the top people in our field. Session content includes tips and techniques, design and construction tricks, case studies, roundtable discussions, and more. Practical, hands-on information on everything related to user assistance. Here are some of the topics you'll learn about at the Conference:

Subject area	Topics covered	Benefit
Web-based Help	WebHelp, context-sensitive Help, embedded Help, Active Server Pages, database-resident content	Learn how to provide user assistance using a dynamic, server-based delivery model.
Usability and UI Design	Interface design, human factors, usability testing, interviewing, surveys	Improve product usability and get involved in the design process earlier.
Tools	Help authoring tools (RoboHelp, Flare, AuthorIT, WebWorks), web design tools, graphic tools, conversion utilities, and more	Get unbiased tool evaluations, plus learn how to make them work for you.
Information Design	Structured authoring, topic access, information taxonomies, assessing user needs, metadata, system design	Understand how to best craft the organization, presentation, and delivery of your information.
Technologies	Web technologies (such as CSS, JavaScript, DHTML, XML, and AJAX) plus key user assistance technologies (including embedded Help, cross-browser support, and context-sensitivity)	Get a jump start on sometimes baffling, always alluring technologies.
User Assistance Standards	Breaking news and techniques for DITA, Vista Help, JavaHelp, Apple Help, Oracle Help, DocBook and other major platform standards.	Know the ins and outs of developing user assistance for a variety of development environments.
Content Development	Writing, editing, indexing, localization, graphics, single-sourcing, and system design	Write better documentation faster and cheaper.