ASTC Conference 2025 - Bridging the Gap!

To make complex things simple, we Technical Communicators need to bridge the gap with our customers. We need to meet our end users where they are, perhaps by re-examining the idea of how to make their lives simpler, not how to make our content simpler?
We explore the growth of AI consumption, how that relates to the Content-as-a-Service (CaaS) concept, and the content warehouse model for hosting and delivery of information products at scale.

1. delivering fearless solutions for
unconventional problems
shakewell.agency

2. Technology, content, and workflow consultant - 15 years
Solution architect and software engineer - 25 years
Specialisation in XML authoring & publishing solutions
Gareth Oakes
Chief Technology Officer

3. We boldly brand, design, build & market disruptive digital solutions for
organisations unafraid of pushing boundaries.
Enterprise content solutions for organisations publishing at scale.
COMPANY PROFILE
ESTABLISHED
2018
EMPLOYEES
505
GLOBAL LOCATIONS
3
HIGH GROWTH

CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
.★★★★★
3

4. BRIDGING THE GAP
ASTC CONFERENCE 2025

5. Bridging the gap?
●We make complex things simple.
●Our information is valuable, trusted, and professional.
●We spend a lot of time perfecting our content.
●But users are changing how they cnd answers.
●Let’s focus on user experience, not just content.

6. Our Audiences
? End users – job to be done
? Professionals – service, maintenance, integration
? Distributors & OEMs – reuse & repurpose
❓ Others? (You tell us!)

7. The Traditional Approach
Capture → Create → Manage → Publish → Improve

8. The User-Centric
Approach
BU Start with the user journey, work back upstream
? Consider new demands and changing habits
Deliver intelligent content in context
(AI, API, web, mobile, PDF)
♿ Design for accessibility (POUR)
AJ Curate trusted content, use AI strategically
(AI / magic wand)

9. Changing Habits
● https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/a253471f-8260-40c6-a2cc-aa93fe9f142e/economic-research-chatgpt-usage-paper.pdf
● Chatterji, A., Cunningham, T., Deming, D., Hitzig, Z., Ong, C., Shan, C. and Wadman, K. (2025). How People Use ChatGPT. SSRN Electronic Journal. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5487080.OpenAI report “How People Use ChatGPT”:
?
Explosive growth in
LLM usage
?
Used for: seeking info,
guidance, writing
?
Information-seeking
is rapidly increasing

10. Incredible growth …

11. AI usage pa?erns …

12. … shifting trends

13. New content
paradigm
? Trend away from PDF to web/mobile
AC Strong trend towards AI
? How to meet users where they are at?

14. Smart, on-demand content, formatted for the task, seamlessly integrated.
Content-as-a-Service (CaaS)

15. Content
Warehouse
? CaaS assets are organised & ready to use
✅ Quality assured – accurate, current, rich
Multimodal, multilingual, accessible (even by AI)
Linked by relationships, versions, products, contexts
AU Complexity is resolved on-demand, at the point of
consumption

16. Concept: content delivery portal

17. Key
Features
? Content warehouse holds published content (only)
BQ Structured, composable ? AI-ready
? Metadata & taxonomy ? product, version, role, task
⚡ Rich content services drive dynamic experiences
CaaS ? deep integration with downstream products

18. ●Modular standards content architecture – shift from document-
centric to topic-based authoring
●Bespoke content delivery portal for CaaS
●Integrated with SA customer database to respect
subscriptions and entitlements
●Delivers both static and virtual products, and allows
users to craft their own!
Example n1 – Standards Australia

19. ●Vast amounts of product documentation for satellite
communications equipment (aerospace & defence)
●Leverages both S1000D XML and PDF content sources
●Development of a bespoke content delivery portal
●Integrated with Intelsat customer database
Example n2 - SES Intelsat

20. Product n1 - Fluid Topics

21. Product n2 - Titania Delivery

22. Product n3 - Zoomin Software (from Salesforce)

23. Conclusion
●Evolution ? architecting content experiences
●Prioritise the end user journey
●Business capability enhancements for CaaS
●Pivot from cost centre ? driver of user success
●Evaluate benects for creators, users, business
●Plan for adoption, challenges, and impact

24. Questions?