Content as a Business Asset:
Reducing Costs, Generating Revenue, and Improving the Customer Experience Through Better Content

Our 2024 program included over 70 sessions and optional hands-on workshop on how to plan, manage, and implement content initiatives. Check back soon for the 2025 Call for Speakers.

In the meantime, here is a summary of our 2024 closing panel discussion on the Future of Content (AI generated):

The closing panel of LavaCon 2024 brought together four industry leaders for a forward-looking discussion about content strategy and artificial intelligence. Led by Jack Molisani, the panel included Dipo Ajose-Coker (MadCap Software), Rahel Bailie (TWi), Larry Swanson (Independent Content Architect), and Scott Abel (Heretto). The conversation revealed how quickly the industry’s focus areas have evolved—from micro content to chatbots to the metaverse, and now to artificial intelligence (AI).

 

The panelists emphasized that unlike previous trends that faded quickly, AI is here to stay, though its implementation needs careful consideration. Dipo Ajose-Coker highlighted that while many are focused on AI’s generative capabilities, the real value lies in content access and intelligence—how AI can help organizations better understand and utilize their existing content. Rahel Bailie built on this by discussing the growing importance of structured content, particularly in light of new regulations like the EU AI Act and right-to-repair initiatives.

 

Larry Swanson brought a human-centered perspective to the discussion, reminding attendees that while AI is a powerful tool, human creativity and understanding remain irreplaceable. Scott Abel emphasized the critical need for precision in content management, warning about potential security risks and the importance of proper content backup and governance.

 

Environmental concerns emerged as a significant topic, with panelists acknowledging AI’s substantial energy footprint while also suggesting that AI could help reduce content redundancy and waste. They discussed how data centers’ energy consumption poses a serious environmental challenge, but also how intelligent content management might help mitigate these issues.

 

Looking to the future, the panel agreed that success with AI will require organizations to focus on structured content, clear governance, and ethical considerations. They emphasized that while AI brings significant changes to content management, the human element remains crucial in ensuring ethical, efficient, and effective content strategies.

 

The session concluded with Jack Molisani’s powerful call to action, encouraging attendees to take initiative in their organizations and seize opportunities to lead change. His message was clear: Don’t wait for opportunities to be given—create them, measure their impact, and return next year with success stories to share.

 

7:00am–5:00pm

Registration in Galleria South
Coffee (breakfast on your own)

8:00am–Noon

Design AI Prompts and Workflows to Improve User Journeys
Noz Urbina, Omnichannel Strategist, Urbina Consulting

They Already Sent a Poet, and It’s You!
Carol Hattrup, Manager, Client Learning, Netsmart
(Free workshop)

User Research For Content Teams: Hands-On Testing Techniques
Bridget O’Donnell, Senior Content Strategist, Alibaba Group (AliExpress)

Noon–1:00pm

Lunch on your own

1:00–5:00pm

Building and Maintaining a Prompt Library as a Business Asset
Jason Kaufman, Principal AI Content Strategist, Irrevo

Optimizing Content Operations: Calculating the ROI of your Production Pipeline
Rahel Bailie, Content Solutions Director, Technically Write IT

Building Taxonomies to Leverage Content
Heather Hedden, Taxonomy  Consultant, Hedden Information Management

5:30–6:30pm

Welcome Reception
23rd Floor

7:30–

Registration in Galleria South
Continental Breakfast in the Grand Ballroom Foyer

8:30–9:00am

The Welcome to LavaCon!

9:00–10:00am
Featured Speakers
(three sequential 18 minute TED-like talks)

Building Influence: A Roadmap for Content Expertise and Leadership
Melinda Belcher, Executive Director, Experience Design, JPMorgan Chase

Metamorphosis: Empowering Our Craft’s Evolution in the Dawn of GenAI’s Era
Fawn Damitio, Sr. Manager of AI Infrastructure, Meta
and Peggy Sanchez, Sr. Manager, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Are Your Canaries Still Singing? An Optimist’s Guide to Designing for Failure
Relly Annett-Baker, Head of UX Content Strategy, Google

10:15–11:00am

Five breakout sessions

How We Saved $57K in Deflected Support Cases in Five Months
Pam Noreault, Principal Information  Architect, Ellucian

Stop Imposing Your Org Chart Onto Your Customer Experience
Sara Feldman, Director of Member Engagement, Consortium for Service Innovation

Modernizing Content Strategy: Workday’s Agile Transformation
Stefan Gentz, Global TechComm Evangelist, Adobe and
Kevin White, Director, Information Development, Workday

Evaluating AI: Best Tools for Your Content Team
Gavin Austin, Principal Technical Writer, Salesforce

Transform Your Content into a Strategic Business Asset:
How a Usability Lab Validates Impact for Humans and AI
Rob Hanna, CEO and Co-founder, Precision Content

11:15am–Noon

The Unlikely (But Necessary) Marriage of Content and Engineering
Joe Gollner, Managing Director / Principal Researcher, Gnostyx Research Inc.

Creating a Truly Customer-centric Content Experience
Laura Miles, Senior Director, Customer Success Operations, NAVEX

Integrating Subject Matter Experts Into Structured Authoring Ecosystems
Dipo Ajose-Coker, Product Marketing Manager, MadCap Software

The Beauty and the Beast: A Relationship with ChatGPT
Jennifer Swallow, Sr. Technical Content Manager, Splunk

Data Models for DITA Systems
Jim Tivy, CTO , Bluestream Software

Noon–1:30pm

Networking Lunch followed by Coffee in the Exhibit Hall and
Comfort Dogs in the Grand Ballroom Foyer

1:30–2:15pm

Deflect & Delight: Achieving Customer Success Through  Self-Service Support
Patrick Bosek, CEO, Heretto and
Barbara Green, UX Content Lead, ACS Technologies

Are You My Customer?
Dawn Stevens, President, Comtech Services

Metrics Madness: From Content Chaos to Data-Driven Delight
Kat Reierson, Manager, Product Documentation, DocuSign

The Truth about GenAI and Content Delivery: Promises vs. Real-life Use Cases
Fabrice Lacroix, CEO, Fluid Topics

Building Your Own Content Design System From Scratch
Andrew Dubrov, Head of CX Content Design, Verizon

2:30–3:15pm

Content is THE Most Strategic Asset for Unparalleled Customer and Business Success
Bernard Aschwanden, Principal AEM Guides Technologist, CCMS Kickstart

Operationalizing Generative AI
Jean Bezek, Senior Solutions Consultant, Acrolinx

Extensible Help: Scalable Content for an AI World
Mark Johnson, Documentation Manager, Securonix

Beyond the Hype: How Docs Teams are Leveraging AI to Actually Make a Difference
Joe Gelb, Co-founder & CEO and
Tom DeBeauchamp, Director of Customer Success, Zoomin

Programmatic Loves Structure:
Why You Need a DITA-first Headless Strategy
Jim Edmunds, President & CEO and
Nathan Eggen,VP Product Development, Ingeniux

3:15–4:15pm

Snack Break in the Exhibit Hall

4:15–5:15pm
Featured Speakers
(two sequential 18 minute TED-like talks)

The Business Case for Content Operations
Sarah O’Keefe, CEO, Scriptorium

Writing for a World that Doesn’t Read
Eric Kuhnen, President , GlobalLink CCMS

The Story of Cathy Content
Stefan Gentz, Global TechComm Evangelist, Adobe

5:15–6:45pm

Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall

8:00–10:00pm

Annual Storytelling Event
Location: Kelly’s Olympian

From poetry to stories and stand-up, grab your beverage of choice and hang out with your LavaCon peeps as we “talk story” (as they say in Hawaii).

They’ll be a place to sign up if you want to participate (five minutes per person).

No prior speaking experience required!

7:30–8:30am

Registration: Exhibit Hall Foyer

Continental Breakfast: Grand Ballroom Foyer

8:30–9:30am
Featured Speakers
(three sequential 18 minute TED-like talks)

Truth Collapse: The AI Meta-Crisis
Noz Urbina, Omnichannel Strategist, Urbina Consulting

Shining a Light on Internal Documentation’s Extensive Impact
Michelle Irvine, Technical Writer, Google

The Unseen Challenges and Hidden Costs of Adopting Markdown for Technical Documentation
Scott Abel, Content Strategy Evangelist, Heretto

9:45–10:30am

The Ultimate Practical Guide to Measuring the Impact of your Technical Content
Joe Gelb, CEO, Zoomin

The Transformative Power of Component Content Management
Bernard Aschwanden, Principal AEM Guides Technologist, CCMS Kickstart and
Stefan Gentz, Principal Worldwide Evangelist, Technical Communication, Adobe

Building a Phenomenal Content Community of Practice
Christi Guzik, Lead UX Content Strategist, Rocket Companies

Content and Context and AI, Oh My!
Eeshita Grover, Sr. Director, Content Design and Strategy, Cisco Systems

DITA Conversion: DIY vs Outsource? An Oxford Style Debate
Marianne Calilhanna, VP Marketing,
Christopher Hill,  Technical Product & Project Manager, Data Conversion Laboratory, and Bryan Tipper, CEO, Stilo

10:45–11:30am

The IDC and Quark CCMS Survey: How AI, Microsoft Integration and Workflow Automation Is Shaping Enterprise Content Strategy in Highly Regulated Industries
Emerson Welch, VP Global Marketing, Quark Software

Evolution of Technical Writing: Transforming to a UX Content Design Team
Kelsey Drillen, Director Content Design, PointClickCare

The Horror of Modernizing Content
Janet Zarecor, Director of Clinical Systems Education Mayo Clinic, and
Alan Pringle, Chief Operating Officer, Scriptorium

Combining Corporate Language with GenAI: Treat or Threat?
Michael Mannhardt, President and
Torsten Machert, Senior Consultant , Congree

Bot Parenting 101: Raising the Bot Right
Rashmi Ramaswamy, Chief Information Strategist, Innovatia

12:00–12:30pm

Lunch and Learn: Introducing the Component Content Alliance: A Resource for Content Professionals
Marianne Calilhanna, Data Conversion Laboratory,
Rob Hanna, Precision Content, Sarah O’Keefe, Scriptorium, and
Alvin Reyes, RWS

12:00–1:30pm

Vendor Demos and Coffee in the Exhibit Hall
Comfort Llama(s) in the Grand Ballroom Foyer!

1:30–2:15p

Using the Whole Box of Crayons: Conscious Leadership in Uncertain Times
Katherine Brown-Hoekstra, Principal, Comgenesis LLC and Andrea Ames, Customer Success/Retention Strategist, Idyll Point Group

Monstrous Mutations: Content Creators in the Mysterious Realm of Developer Experience
Rhyne Armstrong, Senior Manager, Technical Writing, Pismo

2000 to 1: Surviving and Thriving as the First Writer
Jared Bhatti, Sr Staff Technical Writer, Alphabet (Waymo)

Navigating AI: Real Tales from Content Frontiers (A Case Study)
Amber Swope and Joe Gregory-DeBernardi, DITA Strategies
Lief Erickson, Intuitive Stack

Out of Many, One: Building a Semantic Layer to Tear Down Silos
Guillermo Galdamez, Principal Consultant and Nina Spoelker, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Knowledge

2:30–3:15pm

Goal-oriented Content Delivery: Beyond AI, Search, and “One Right Answer”
Alvin Reyes, Senior Business Analyst , RWS

Personalization at a Global Scale: Multilingual Content to Reach Local Markets
Kristy Sakai, CEO , WE ARE VERY

Writing a Book on ContentOps: It Takes a Village of Experts
Carlos Evia, Associate Dean and CTO, Virginia Tech, Sarah O’Keefe, CEO, Scriptorium,
Rahel Bailie, Content Solutions Director, Technically Write IT, Patrick Bosek, CEO, Heretto,
Moderated by Scott Abel, Content Strategy Evangelist, Herreto

Taxonomies in the Age of AI: Are they still Relevant?
Rebecca Schneider, Executive Director, AvenueCX

Best Practices for Implementing Your Content Management and Content Automation Initiatives
Alex Masycheff, CEO, Intuillion Ltd.

3:15–4:15pm

Snack Break in the Exhibit Hall

4:00–4:45pm

The DIY Revolution: Crafting a Content Experience to Drive Revenue and Save Support Costs
Alisa Conboy, Director, Content Experience, DocuSign

Focus on Content Experience for a More Sustainable Web
Jackie Pysarchuk, Enterprise Content Strategist, American College of Cardiology

Navigating Change Management for Content Teams
Kevin White, Director, Information Development, Workday

Unleashing the Benefits of GenAI in Content Management and User Support
Lingxia Song, Documentation Engineer, Meta Docs@Scale Co-Lead and
Marla Azriel,Documentation Strategy Lead, Meta

Conquering Content Chaos: The Legendary Quest of Content Auditing and Maintenance
Emma Pindera, Content Strategist, PointClickCare

5:00–5:20pm

Phantoms of Content Strategy: The People Who Help and Hurt Content Projects and What You Can Do About It
Michael Haggerty-Villa, Director of Content Strategy, Teradata

5:20pm–6:00pm

Vendor Receptions in the Exhibit Hall

6:15pm

Chinese Dragon Parade

7:00pm–11:00pm

Annual Karaoke Night
Location: Kelly’s Olympian

8:00–

Continental Breakfast
Grand Ballroom Foyer

8:30–9:15am

Navigating The Generative AI Era: What Do You Need To Do To Keep Yourself Relevant?
Alexander Lum, Director – Global Product Content Development
and Richard Kung, Senior Manager, GPC Development, Ciena

From Chaos to Clarity: How to Surface Strategic Insights from Content Inventories and Audits
Vanessa Stuivenvolt Allen, Director Content Strategy, Resolute Digital

Lessons Learned in Scaling Up the Login.gov Contact Center
Rachel Houghton,Login.gov User Support  Lead, General Services Administration

Preparing Your Content for AI: Curation, Creation, and Cultivation
Val Swisher, CEO, Content Rules, Inc.

How to Set Up (and Improve) a Documentation Portal
Allie Proff, Senior Technical Writer and
Christopher Stice, Technical Writer, Airbus Robotics

9:30–10:15am

Sellsword: Life as a Successful Mercenary Contractor
Jayme Perlman, Senior Technical Writer, GitHub

From Content Vision to Content Project: A True Story
Alan Porter, CEO, The Content Pool, and
Mike Dickerson, Content Project Lead, ACIG

Mastering Interpersonal Dynamics: Navigating Difficult Personalities
Jackie Damrau, Product Owner, Cathedral Plumbing of Texas

Transforming Technical Communication with ChatGPT: More Real-World Applications and Demonstrations
Jason Kaufman, Principal AI Content Strategist, Irrevo

Getting it WRONG : Lessons Learned from Building a Web Content Audit Tool
Paulo Fernandes,Co-founder, Lead Web Developer, Luscious Orange

10:30–11:15am

Estimating for More Fun and Greater Profit
John Hedtke, Principal Consultant, Double Tall Consulting

11:30am–12:15pm

Closing Panel Discussion: The Future of Content
Jack Molisani, The LavaCon Conference (Moderator)

1:00–5:00pm

Accessibility in Content Strategy
Jennifer Lee, Instructional Designer and Content & Design Lead, NIKE Inc.

8:00p–

Closing Social
Location TBD