Sunday, June 1 - Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Microsoft Content Publishing Institute

This institute will include sessions on the guiding principles for content publishers at Microsoft, case studies that highlight business challenges and opportunities for content publishing teams, Agile/Scrum methodology, Microsoft Sharepoint, and how internal Microsoft teams are using this tool to build Web sites and ways that content teams can build the value proposition for content within the enterprise.

Tuesday, June 3, 9:00-10:00am

Building the Business Case for Technical Communications
Joe Holliday

This presentation explores the ways that technical publications, content, and publishing teams within Microsoft build the value proposition for their work within the enterprise. How do you articulate the business value? How do you represent business value to upper management and executives? How do you think about return on investment, and the importance of building teams that support the effort?

Tuesday, June 3, 10:30-11:30am

Scrum: An Agile Approach to Managing Technical Publications Projects
Julie MacAller and Ann Beebe

Come learn how to use Scrum and other Agile methodologies to manage your content deliverables. Microsoft has managed writing teams that have successfully integrated into software-based Scrum teams. And Microsoft writing teams have adopted Scrum to manage their own deliverables. Learn both the good and the not-so-good of Agile techniques, both in how teams adapt to them and what happens to projects managed under them. Learn tips and tricks to get the most out of these techniques as well as for avoiding pitfalls.

Tuesday, June 3, 1:30-2:30pm

Guiding Principles for Content Publishers at Microsoft
Suzanne Sowinska

Four years ago Microsoft organized all writers, editors, site managers, production engineers, and content project managers into a single, cohesive professional discipline within Microsoft. This presentation explores the three-year vision that has evolved to guide the work of this new professional discipline. The presentation includes video showing some of the ways teams at Microsoft have responded to Web 2.0.

Tuesday, June 3, 3:00-4:00pm

More than Glossaries: Managing Terminology at Microsoft
Robin Lombard

Learn how terminology management practices at Microsoft grew out of simple glossary creation. The session will describe how content publishing professionals discover, document, and manage terminology at Microsoft and explore key issues, such as why terminology should be managed, how it should be managed, and the return on investment for managing terminology.

Tuesday, June 3, 4:30-5:30pm

Business and Management Challenges for Content Publishing Teams at Microsoft
Alex Blanton

Microsoft has created a series of case studies that are used as a performance support tool inside Microsoft to strengthen teams and build management skills for those doing technical publications, content, site management, or publishing work. Each case study walks managers or others through a hard business problem and how it was resolved. In this session, we will review three case studies—one on outsourcing, one on localization, and a third on globalization.