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2024 KnowledgeBase (KB) User Group Meeting
Our annual KB User Group Meeting will take place the week of July 29-August 2, 2024. We will host a week of virtual sessions spanning a range of topics related to the KB, including content strategy, accessibility, process improvements, and more.
Note
All Zoom session links require a passcode to join, which will be sent to registered attendees prior to the start of the User Group Meeting. If you plan to attend one or more sessions, please register here.
Agenda
Monday, July 29
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30am - 10:00am (30 mins.) |
Welcome to the 2024 KB User Group Meeting | The KB team will provide a quick overview of the events for this week, how to join them, and methods for connecting with others in the KB user community. This will include some time for Q&A. | The KB Team | |
| 10:15am - 11:00am (45 mins.) |
KB Community Networking | Join us for a fun breakout session to kick off the week! We'll set up rooms for you to meet others who work with the KB and get to know each other. This is intended to be an informal discussion and an opportunity to meet your fellow KB admins and authors. | The KB Team / Group activity | |
| 1:00pm - 2:00pm (60 mins.) |
Enhancing KB Search: Strategies for Improving Content Findability | The KB search is entering a new era! Come learn more about how the new semantic search engine works, as well as ways to optimize your content to maximize searchability. | Weizhong Wang (KB Team) | |
| 2:15pm - 3:00pm (45 mins.) |
See It For Yourself! Live Semantic Search Testing | Want to dip your toe into the KB's semantic search before diving in on your own site? In this interactive session, we'll perform live testing of the new semantic search using a series of test scenarios and your own search suggestions. | The KB Team / Group activity |
Tuesday, July 30
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00am - 10:30am (30 mins.) |
U of I Gies Teaching & Learning KB Implementation Project Recap | Learn about the effort within the Gies Teaching & Learning unit to drive adoption of the KB among their users. A follow up from last year, we'll learn how it worked, the implementation steps, the KB process they developed, and the training documentation they created for various roles in the KB. | Julia Sabin (University of Illinois Gies College of Business) | |
| 11:00am - 12:00pm (60 mins.) |
The UW-Madison Digital Accessibility Policy and You | How familiar are you with the UW-Madison Digital Accessibility Policy? In this session, we'll discuss how changes to the policy timeline make it more important than ever to start paying attention to accessibility in the KB content. We hope you leave confident in your ability to make your documents accessible for all users. | Leah Scheide (KB Team) | |
| 2:00pm - 3:00pm (60 mins.) |
Birds of a Feather Breakouts | Come ask questions and share your own experiences with fellow KB admins and authors. Breakout topics include:
|
The KB Team / Group Discussion |
Wednesday, July 31
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00am - 10:45am (45 mins.) |
Migrating From the Wiki to the KB: One Group's Experience | Due to UW-Madison DoIT retiring the Confluence wiki service, the DoIT Departmental Support group chose to move their documentation from the wiki to the KB. This session is about our experience with the KB's import tool for wiki content, establishing the team's plan for migration, and our next steps. | Noah Fairchild & Dana Gerber-Margie (DoIT Help Desk) | |
| 11:00am - 12:00pm (60 mins.) |
AI and Knowledge Management: Risks, Rewards, and Opportunities | It's hard to go more than a day without hearing something new about AI. In this free-flowing discussion, we'll chat about our own experiences dabbling in AI tools, and we'd love to hear about yours! Whether you're still an AI skeptic or you're all in, let's talk about what the future might hold. | The KB Team / Group Discussion | |
| 1:00pm - 2:00pm (60 mins.) |
Say Cheese: Plain Language Workshop |
Let's write some "gouda" technical documentation! In this interactive workshop, we'll take confusing, jargon-filled instructions for a fictional cheese-making machine and turn them into clear, user-friendly guides. Learn and practice plain language techniques to make your documentation accessible and enjoyable for everyone. |
Elisabeth Trenta (Client Engagement) | |
| 2:30pm - 3:00pm (30 mins.) |
KB Website Customization: A Guide to Using CSS Variables |
Join us and explore the future of KB website customization! This session is particularly beneficial for KB Administrators responsible for institutional branding and style. In this workshop, discover the power of CSS Variables, designed to simplify the customization of KB websites with colors, fonts, and other design elements to match institutional branding and style. |
Sergio Elahi (KB Team) |
Thursday, August 1
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00am - 11:00am (60 mins.) |
Implementing Knowledge Centered Service (KCS) and Linking Documents to Incidents | Learn how the DoIT Help Desk integrated their KnowledgeBase with their IT Service Management tool to implement Knowledge Centered Service (KCS) into their support process. We’ll explore the technical integration via the KB’s API, the structure of Knowledge expressed in our ITSM tool, and the KCS methodology as applied to the Help Desk. | Will Crickman, Brian Gratrix, & Dana Gerber-Margie (DoIT Help Desk) | |
| 1:00pm - 3:00pm (2 hours) |
Do's and Don'ts of KB Document Creation | Whether you're an experienced hand or a newly-minted Knowledgebase editor, it never hurts to understand what some of the basic needs of article design to attend to. In this session, we'll discuss some general concepts as well as a few more advanced ideas to create more concise, accessible, and usable articles within your group spaces. | Matt Goins (KB Team) |
Friday, August 2
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00am - 12:00pm (60 mins.) |
How Your Feedback is Helping Us Redesign the Document Edit Screen | Did you know that we're redesigning the KB's document editing screen? We've been listening to your feedback and conducting user research over the years, and we're ready to show off our new design prototypes. This session is your opportunity to get a sneak peak at the future editing interface! | Allie Carlson / The KB Team | |
| 1:00pm - 1:45pm (45 mins.) |
Wrap-up and Q&A | This will be a panel-style session during which the KB Team will answer any service-related questions that have been submitted throughout the week. | The KB Team | |
| 3:00pm - 5:00pm | In-Person Gathering at the Memorial Union Terrace | Join us for a casual outdoor gathering at the Memorial Union Terrace to close out the week. You are welcome to drop in at any time and stay as long as you'd like. We will move indoors in the event of inclement weather. | N/A |