by Shufrans Techdocsin BlogComments Off on Do you struggle to communicate technical information to your audience? Here are 9 Simplified Technical English best practices.
Simplified Technical English (STE) is a controlled language that is used in the aerospace and defense industries to simplify the language used in technical documents. Here are 9 best practices of Simplified Technical English:
Use a limited vocabulary: STE restricts the vocabulary used in technical writing to a specific set of words. This helps to reduce ambiguity and ensures that the meaning of the text is clear.
Use simple sentence structures: STE encourages the use of simple sentence structures that are easy to understand. Complex sentence structures can lead to confusion and misunderstandings.
Use active voice: The active voice is preferred in STE because it is clearer and more concise than the passive voice when writing procedural text.
Use present tense: Present tense is preferred in STE because it is more immediate and makes the text easier to understand.
Use the imperative mood: The imperative mood is used in STE to give commands and instructions. This is because it is a clear and direct way of communicating.
Use standardized terminology: STE requires the use of standardized terminology to avoid confusion and ensure consistency.
Use clear headings and subheadings: Headings and subheadings should be clear and concise so that the reader can quickly identify the topic.
Use illustrations: Illustrations can help to clarify complex concepts and make the text easier to understand.
Comply with established STE guidelines: To ensure consistency and accuracy, it is important to follow established STE guidelines when writing technical documents. This will help to ensure that the text is clear and easy to understand.
Looking to advance your technical writing career? Our Simplified Technical English workshop is the perfect opportunity to enhance your skills and stand out from the crowd. Don’t miss your chance to master this essential skill with our workshop.
🌐 Learn more about this international writing standard at our upcoming lectures and writing workshops in Q2 2023:
by Shufrans Techdocsin Blog, News & EventsComments Off on STC Webinar: STE as a simplistic dichotomy or quite something else?
Society for Technical Communication (STC Webinar: India Chapter) is hosting the Simplified Technical English Webinar conducted by Shufrans TechDocs on 5 September (Saturday), at 11:00 AM IST (100mins+15mins for Q&A).
Simplified Technical English: A simplistic dichotomy or quite something else?
Dates: Saturday, 5 September 2020
Time: 11:00 AM to 12:45 PM, India Standard Time (IST)
This STC webinar explores the usability of Simplified Technical English outside of maintenance documentation. We will discuss industry examples that demonstrate the versatility of this documentation standard that has been in active use since the 1980s.
As a very simple example, one of our customers actually makes coffee machines. Coffee machines seem to have nothing to do with aircraft. However, 98% of passenger aircraft actually have coffee machines on board, and they need their documentation in Simplified English. Now, if this coffee machine happens to be in an office, or in a medical practitioner’s practice, or in a cafeteria, would it require documentation that is all that different from the documentation on board an aircraft? No, because if anything at all, we just restrict the rules a little bit less. Aerospace tends to be a little bit more restrictive, we just relax the rules a little bit for other industries.
Programme Highlights
The applicability of Simplified Technical English across different industries
How STE is different from company style guides
STE case studies from different industries.
STE writing rules
Customising vocabulary & terminology
Reaping the benefits of STE.
STE in a nutshell
Implementing STE with minimal disruption to on-going production and existing documentation
Ensuring aseamless transition to STE writingat work.
About the Speaker
Since 2006, Ms Shumin Chen has been working as a consultant with customers in various industries worldwide: aerospace & defence, banking, consumer products, healthcare, IT, medical, and fitness equipment. She has helped many companies with their documentation needs, based on standards where possible, and is widely regarded as a leading expert in ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English training, aviation documentation and multilingual documentation.
Ms Chen now heads the ASD-STE100 training arm of Shufrans TechDocs in Singapore. In her current role, Ms Chen continues to focus on the practical implementation of international standards to facilitate the efficient creation and management of multilingual documentation.
*Course fee includes exercises, learning aids, certificate of completion, and 120-day post-training support.
⁺⁺A group discount is applicable when you have two or more participants registering for the same event. Send us your questions: enquiry@shufrans-techdocs.com.
Simplified Technical English (STE) or ASD-STE100 is a controlled technical English language that is used to write technical manuals in a way that they can be more easily understood by an international audience. STE helps to make translations cheaper and more accurate.
STE can easily be adapted to all technical industries and beyond. Ms. Shumin Chen will show participants how to correctly and effectively use STE in practice. She will also address some of the mistakes commonly found in technical writing and the frequent incorrect use of common STE writing rules.
What customers are saying..
I am giving this training a 10/10. There was a good introductory and explanation to describe the 2-day training seminar. Rule 1.1 0 lets me use words that are: approved in the dictionary / technical names / technical verbs and is one rule I like very much because of its flexibility.
I think rule 1.1 is the most critical and important for STE dictionary. Sometimes I have to use non-approved words as an exception, but I will try to keep this rule 1.1 in my documents for good measure.
Although some of the exercises were tricky, they remind me of each rule application at that time. So they were practical for my role as a technical writer.
I want to recommend this course to current technical writers in Korea or engineers who are interested in writing their own documents effectively. Seung Eun Lee, Technical Writer, DB HiTek
Online STE Workshop Outline*
This two-day Online STE Workshop includes interactive training, exercises, and a 120-day post-training consultation.
Day 1: Classroom Training
Practical overview of Simplified Technical English
Benefits of adopting the STE international writing standard
Writing rules and how to apply them in practice
How to use the general vocabulary.
Approved and non-approved words discussion and the rationale behind.
Day 2: Application, Review, & Exercises
How to deal with industry-specific terminology
How to use STE for various documentation types
How to implement STE with minimal disruption to on-going production and existing documentation
Practical workshop session for applying STE rules to your own documents
Review, edit, and discuss participants’ own documents to reinforce learning
Classroom presentation of own documents.
* Shufrans also offers customised ASD-STE100 training solutions tailored to meet your specific requirements. These courses are normally provided at the customer’s premises.
Why select a Simplified Technical English training with Shufrans?
Shumin is a very knowledgeable STE instructor. She kept the course interesting and was always open to our questions/feedback. The introduction to Simplified Technical English has been greatly beneficial for my understanding of what the specification entails. In terms of preferred rules, I cannot pinpoint a specific set of STE writing rules as they are all valuable. This was my favorite part of the course as I enjoyed analyzing how other writers went about using STE to best apply it to their line of work.
The rewriting workshop was my favorite part of the course as I enjoyed analyzing how other writers went about using STE to best apply it to their line of work. I would highly recommend this course to all technical writers. Shumin Chen takes the time to clearly explain the rules of STE. A very attentive instructor, indeed. If given the chance, I would really enjoy working along side her. Michael Palmieri, Documentation Specialist, AON3D | The Advanced Additive Manufacturing Platform
What technical writing outcomes to expect?
Our interactive training, exercises and workshop, will teach participants to standardise content to:
Author more efficiently
Communicate more effectively with a global audience
Ms Shumin Chenwill show participants how to correctly and effectively use Simplified Technical English (STE) in practice. She will also address some of the mistakes commonly found in technical writing and the frequently incorrect use of common STE writing rules.
According to Ms Chen, the benefits of STE are manifold – audience engagement through high-quality content, improved product safety, lower life cycle cost and reduced logistics footprint.
*Course fee includes exercises, learning aids, certificate of completion, and 120-day post-training support.
⁺⁺A group discount is applicable when you have two or more participants registering for the same event. Send us your questions: enquiry@shufrans-techdocs.com.
Simplified Technical English (STE) or ASD-STE100 is a controlled technical English language that is used to write technical manuals in a way that they can be more easily understood by an international audience. STE helps to make translations cheaper and more accurate. Often a formal requirement for aircraft and defence maintenance documentation, STE can easily be adapted to all technical industries and beyond. Ms. Shumin Chen will teach participants how to correctly and effectively use STE in practice. She will also address some of the mistakes commonly found in technical writing and the frequent incorrect use of common STE writing rules.
Why select a Simplified Technical English training with Shufrans?
Shumin is a very knowledgeable STE instructor. She kept the course interesting and was always open to our questions/feedback. The introduction to Simplified Technical English has been greatly beneficial for my understanding of what the specification entails. In terms of preferred rules, I cannot pinpoint a specific set of STE writing rules as they are all valuable. This was my favorite part of the course as I enjoyed analyzing how other writers went about using STE to best apply it to their line of work.
The rewriting workshop was my favorite part of the course as I enjoyed analyzing how other writers went about using STE to best apply it to their line of work. I would highly recommend this course to all technical writers. Shumin Chen takes the time to clearly explain the rules of STE. A very attentive instructor, indeed. If given the chance, I would really enjoy working along side her. Michael Palmieri, Documentation Specialist, AON3D | The Advanced Additive Manufacturing Platform
STE Course Outline*
This 2-day Europe Online STE Workshop includes interactive training and exercises.
Day 1: Classroom Training
Practical overview of Simplified Technical English
Benefits of adopting the STE international writing standard
Writing rules and how to apply them in practice
How to use the general vocabulary.
Approved and non-approved words discussion and the rationale behind.
Day 2: Application, Review, & Exercises
How to deal with industry-specific terminology
How to use STE for various documentation types
How to implement STE with minimal disruption to on-going production and existing documentation
Practical workshop session for applying STE rules to your own documents
Review, edit, and discuss participants’ own documents to reinforce learning
Classroom presentation of own documents.
* Shufrans also offers customised ASD-STE100 training solutions tailored to meet your specific requirements. These courses are normally provided at the customer’s premises.
Who should attend this Simplified Technical English training?
Compliance managers
CIO, COO, CTO
Customer support managers
Documentation managers
Editors
Engineering managers
Engineers and SMEs who create documentation
Graphics specialists
ILS managers
Maintenance managers
Operation managers
Product managers
Project managers
Quality managers
Software research engineers
Technical illustrators
Technical writers
Translation managers
Translators.
What technical writing outcomes to expect?
Our interactive training, exercises and workshop, will teach participants to standardise content to:
Author more efficiently
Communicate more effectively with a global audience
The introduction was a good and concise way to familiarize yourself with STE basics. I’ve a background in plain language, so for example the rule on noun clusters makes perfect sense. I’m all about simplification, so substituting verbs like “eliminate” for verbs like “remove” or “stop” will be my new quest. The STE exercises were helpful in getting to grasp with STE during the training workshop. I’d very likely recommend this course to anyone planning to introduce STE as it’s got a great practical angle. Jenni Virtaluoto, PhD, Senior Lecturer, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
ASD-STE100 Trainer’s qualifications
Ms. Shumin Chen, principal trainer & consultant at Shufrans TechDocs received her professional on-the-job training in the field of STE under the tutelage of Dr Frans Wijma, a linguist and documentation expert. Together as an experienced global team, they provided their combined knowledge and dedication to benefit customers worldwide. To date, they have provided training and consultancy services to over 200 companies. Shufrans TechDocs is the only company with such vast experience in providing certified STE training.
Shumin has supported various companies with their STE and other documentation needs, based on standards where possible. Although STE was developed for the aerospace industry, more specifically for aircraft maintenance documentation, she found that it made a lot of sense to apply the same principles to other industries and types of documents as well. Few -if any- changes to the specification are necessary to adapt STE to industrial sectors ranging from machinery to IT, automotive to medical equipment.
by Shufrans Techdocsin BlogComments Off on 6 Words that Technical Writers Struggle to Break Up With in Simplified Technical English
TCLoc Master article on 6 Words that Technical Writers Struggle to Break Up With in Simplified Technical English by Ms. Shumin Chen, Principal ASD-STE100 Trainer & Consultant.
First published on TCLoc Master Blog • University of Strasbourg • 26 August 2019
Product documentation can potentially be confusing, incoherent, and ambiguous in many situations. Recognising language ambiguity usually takes months, if not longer. Several aggravating factors include:
A constant need to churn out or translate volumes of documentation, manuals, and working standards.
Rarely questioning the relevance or validity of legacy documentation.
Allowing unclear parts of your technical content to snowball into substantial chunks that will eventually make up parts of your “user-unfriendly” help guides.
Finally, let us not forget the insidiously familiar workplace jargon that often explains why we tend to ignore simpler alternatives that could help us express our thoughts with greater clarity.
From workplace jargon to user-friendly words
Sometimes, realising the level of complexity of one’s technical content involves an epiphany of sorts once the writer catches a glimpse of technical writing in Simplified Technical English (STE). This is true for one of our clients, who is both an experienced technical author and documentation manager:
“A training course helped me better appreciate the objectives of Simplified Technical English from a technical writer’s perspective. I like the fact that STE promotes the use of less complex sentence structures and does away with unnecessary words like: ‘would’, ‘should’, and ‘might’.”
Do we have a problem? If so, fix it!
For example, if you look up the meaning of the word “fix” in a standard dictionary, the definitions are aplenty, from “fixing a technical difficulty” to “fixing up a meal in the kitchen”. Given the many possible meanings that hold true for the verb “to fix”, one could also distil as many interpretations of the word in a sentence.
According to Simplified Technical English, Issue 7, January 2017, there is a solution for this. Instead of “fix”, synonyms such as “ATTACH*”, “SET”, “REPAIR”, and “INSTALL” powerfully extend our understanding and knowledge of what “fix” really entails when paired with various contextual clues.
The next five words: are you thinking of these too?
Keeping in mind that these are not the only unproductive words I talk about in my workshops, they are among the most frequently discussed ones.
The word “should” usually indicates duty or correctness that points to a desirable or expected state. However, it still allows the possibility of non-compliance. “MUST”, on the other hand, makes it clear that the instructions are mandatory and leaves no room for a different reading.
Besides the roughly 900 approved words found in the STE general vocabulary, the STE specification also includes a list of non-approved words. “Would” is one of those words that is easily replaced by a more straightforward and approved STE word like “CAN”.
In the STE general dictionary, the approved word examples in the 2nd column are very useful for technical writers who are transitioning from Standard English to Simplified English. This is because they provide the writer with the correct use of words in a real-life context that would be difficult to think of independently. Here, we see that “CAN” is once again a very helpful alternative to the verb “may”. Using too many words that point to the same or similar meanings can be, at times, overwhelming for your readers, especially when documentation becomes lengthier and more detailed.
By now, the effects of STE on everyday words that pose as potential roadblocks to concise writing are clear. Instead of “transfer”, STE encourages the use of “MOVE” or “INSTALL”. This adds granularity to your choice of verbs, making technical work instructions more detailed and easier to follow.
The preference in STE for the verb “MAKE SURE” over “confirm” is again another unique characteristic of this standard. This is very likely so because the maintenance committee (made up of a diverse mix of linguists, engineers, and translators) deems “MAKE SURE” a more fitting word with more frequent usage to back their word choice.
What are some popular words in STE that trained technical writers have adopted to date?
We spoke to more than 30 technical writers and this is by far the most comprehensive response to date:
“My favourite STE verbs are ‘APPLY’, ‘ATTACH’, ‘MAKE SURE’, and ‘SHOW’. The verb ‘APPLY’ has multiple use cases for our documents. The verb ‘ATTACH’ is a great utility verb because common alternatives like ‘mount’ are not approved. The verb ‘MAKE SURE’ is extremely helpful in cautions and warnings, as well as in some procedural steps. Finally, the verb ‘SHOW’ is extremely helpful when I write about background processes and how things work in general.”
STE as a game-changer in our technical communication landscape
Can you envision a future where STE serves as the primary language reference for content creation and development in your field?
We would like to hear from you. Leave your ideas in the comments section below!
ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English is a guideline that regulates the wording and writing style used in technical publications. Originally developed for the aerospace industry, it is now widely used also outside the aviation industry, including companies in the defence, machinery, electronics, semiconductor, medical equipment, IT, and hi-tech industries.
This presentation explores the usability of Simplified Technical English outside of maintenance documentation. We will discuss industry examples that demonstrate the versatility of this documentation standard that has been in active use since the 1980s.
by Shufrans Techdocsin BlogComments Off on Why ‘fix’ is a useless word – and four preferred alternatives from Simplified Technical English
According to Simplified Technical English, Issue 7, January 2017, having these four words at hand – ATTACH, SET, REPAIR, AND INSTALL – powerfully extends our understanding and knowledge of what ‘fix’ really means.
Simplified Technical English expertly divides this easily misunderstood word into specific actions that are necessarily taken based on prevailing circumstances.
Under the tutelage of an experienced STE trainer, we probably have many more ways of expressing ourselves unambiguously in technical work instructions than our informal day-to-day language knows how to recognise.
Shufrans’ ILT STE workshop sessions are an effective means of delivering information, as they allow for real-time feedback, questions and answers, manipulation, and changeable delivery to suit the needs of learners in a conducive learning environment. ILT is also the most widely-used method for extended enterprise training, which trains customers and partners, with an 80% usage rate.
STE stands for Simplified Technical English. It offers native & non-native English speakers alike an efficient platform to improve your technical English language competency when writing for a global audience.
For technical writers: simplified wording and grammar will improve readability and safety compliance of your documentation and product respectively.
For engineers and programmers: Breeze through the writing of test cases, technical documents, and business emails in a highly standardised and regulated manner. STE opens up effective communication channels, hence avoiding potential miscommunication issues at work while improving the overall professional impression that you portray.
For translators, translation PMs, and localisation engineers: With STE working for your team in the background, you can streamline your preparation of translation memory/terminologybased on leaner documentation, lowered translation & localisation costs, and faster delivery.
For LSPs and technical writing services companies: Diversify your business portfoliowith an in-depth knowledge of STE as an international controlled English language standard.
Online Simplified Technical English Programme Highlights
Highly efficient: We will cover all 382 pages of the ASD-STE100 Specification in two days for immediate implementation.
Practicality: cross-industry cases sharing by trainers with excellent pragmatic approach.
Follow-up period:4-month post-training consultation starts immediately after the training to ensure a seamless transition to STE writing at work.
Experienced trainer:Ms Shumin Chen, Co-founder & Head of ASD-STE100 training & implementation of Shufrans TechDocs.
Our Training Service Packageguarantees the following:
Instructor-led training (ILT) represents 66% of corporate training and development; it reaches 76% in high-performing companies and 80% in high-consequence industries: healthcare industry, pharmaceutical industry, finance, utilities, etc.
by Shufrans Techdocsin Blog, News & EventsComments Off on APAC Online Workshop: Write effective user manuals & instructions with Simplified Technical English
Write effective user manuals & instructions with Simplified Technical English
Dates: 3 & 4 February 2020
Plan later:
27 & 28 February 2020.
Time: 09:00 to 17:00 UTC/GMT +08:00 [Asia Pacific]
Length of training: 2 days
Course fee: 450 EUR**
Course registration ends one week before training commences.
**Course fee includes exercises, learning aids, certificate of completion, and 90-day post-training support.
Summary
Simplified Technical English (STE) is a controlled language that is used to write technical manuals in such a way that they can be more easily understood by an international audience. STE helps to make translations cheaper and more accurate. Often a formal requirement for aircraft and defence maintenance documentation, STE can easily be adapted to all technical industries and beyond. Ms. Shumin Chen will teach participants how to correctly and effectively use STE in practice. She will also address some of the mistakes commonly found in technical writing and the frequently incorrect use of common STE writing rules.
Shumin gave us a an all-rounded presentation to Simplified Technical English. Personally, rule 1.3: To use only approved words with their approved meaning holds the key to successful controlled language implementation. Rules 3.4, 3.6, 4.1, 5.3, and 5.5 are also among my favourites. The approved verb TO MAKE SURE THAT can come in very handy for technical writers as well. The presentation of STE rules offers quite a detailed overview that includes not only language rules but good, old technical authoring principles in general. It has been very helpful for us to learn and understand the concept of STE. I have found Shumin to be very competent in STE and will defnitely recommend her course! Eric, Head of Corporate Technical Documentation (CTD), Schindler Group.
Course outline*
Day 1: Classroom Training
Practical overview of Simplified Technical English
How STE helps both native & non-native speakers of English
Benefits of adopting the STE international writing standard
Writing rules and how to apply them in practice
How to use the general vocabulary.
Approved and non-approved words discussion and the rationale behind.
Day 2: Application, Review, & Exercises
How to deal with industry-specific terminology
How to use STE for various documentation types
How to implement STE with minimal disruption to on-going production and existing documentation
Practical workshop session for applying STE rules to your own documents
Review, edit, and discuss participants’ own documents to reinforce learning
Classroom presentation of own documents.
* Shufrans also offers customised ASD-STE100 training solutions tailored to meet your specific requirements. These courses are normally provided at the customer’s premises.
Who should attend?
Compliance managers
CIO, COO, CTO
Customer support managers
Documentation managers
Editors
Engineering managers
Engineers and SMEs who create documentation
Graphics specialists
ILS managers
Maintenance managers
Operation managers
Product managers
Project managers
Quality managers
Software research engineers
Technical illustrators
Technical writers
Translation managers
Translators.
What training outcomes to expect?
Our interactive training, exercises and workshop, will teach participants to standardise content to:
Author more efficiently
Communicate more effectively with a global audience
Improve operational safety
Reduce AOG / downtime
Facilitate modular writing and reuse
Facilitate teamwork
Facilitate translation
Maximise consistency
Optimise product lifecycle support
Reduce the cost of creating and maintaining technical publications.
Trainer’s qualifications
Ms. Shumin Chen, principal trainer & consultant at Shufrans TechDocs received her professional on-the-job training in the field of STE under the tutelage of Dr Frans Wijma, a linguist and documentation expert. Together as an experienced global team, they provided their combined knowledge and dedication to benefit customers worldwide. To date, they have provided training and consultancy services to over 180 companies. Shufrans TechDocs is the only company with such vast experience in providing certified STE training.
Shumin has supported various companies with their STE and other documentation needs, based on standards where possible. Although STE was developed for the aerospace industry, more specifically for aircraft maintenance documentation, Shumin found that it made a lot of sense to apply the same principles to other industries and types of documents as well. Few -if any- changes to the specification are necessary to adapt STE to industries ranging from machinery to IT, automotive to medical equipment.
by Shufrans Techdocsin BlogComments Off on Alibaba Cloud Writer shares her thoughts on Simplified Technical English
Summary
Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, is a cloud computing company. Alibaba Cloud provides cloud computing services to online businesses and Alibaba Group’s own e-commerce ecosystem. As the cloud computing arm and business unit of Alibaba Group, Alibaba Cloud provides a comprehensive suite of global cloud computing services to power both international customers’ online businesses and Alibaba Group’s own e-commerce ecosystem. Alibaba Cloud offers high-performance, elastic computing power in the cloud. Services are available on a pay-as-you-go basis and include data storage, relational databases, big-data processing, Anti-DDoS protection and content delivery networks (CDN).
Simplified Technical English (STE) is a controlled language that is used to create technical content and documentation that are more easily understood by an international audience. While it makes sense to try to describe complex processes using Simplified Technical English, the paradigm shift is not always an easy one and technical writers would require formal training in STE at least.
This article shares in more detail how the Alibaba Cloud Content & Globalisation team can potentially benefit from the use of a controlled language like STE to offer outstanding local technical service capabilities to their customers.
Process pain points
Existing documents are usually translated from Mandarin Chinese. Unclear information in the source language will often obscure the meaning in the corresponding English translation. To improve the quality of translation in the English text, it is therefore necessary to rewrite the content in its entirety. This is because keeping the original sentence and paragraph structure while trying to apply sound STE writing principles will make the technical writer’s job in this case extremely difficult. A crucial point to keep in mind is to ensure that all necessary information in the original document is faithfully rewritten in STE.
When everyone is required to clarify what the original content means before writing as well as appreciate the actual working principles behind, we are definitely going to see quality improvements! Alibaba Cloud Writer’s post-training feedback.
Based on feedback from technical writers, while writing in Standard English offers them the flexibility to keep information vague but convincing, the original technical content is not always complete or accurate. Clearly, this has changed when technical writers favour the use of a controlled language like Simplified Technical English over Standard English. Restrictions on word usage, sentence structure, and sentence lengths have compelled writers to rewrite their documents and present information with clarity and much less ambiguity. This is based on the premise that technical writers already possess a firm understanding of their products and services. In this manner, they can do away with the original formulation in Chinese, then describe the use of their products and services in a user-friendly way with the help of STE.
The customer’s journey
As is the practice in many companies worldwide, documents were created at the development stage before reaching techdocs. Vague wording, style, and tone of voice from Standard English have gradually influenced the way technical writers communicate with their audience in the long run. Consequently, it becomes challenging to fully distill the meaning behind technical content unless the user spends more time in reading the documentation again. This is a situation that could have been mitigated if technical writers clarified the content with the original content writers from the outset and started writing in STE sentences.
How the STE specification drives cohesion and consistency within technical writing teams
Because of vocabulary and writing rules standardisation, technical writers become more consistent on a word level that starts with the simple fact that they are going to use the same word whenever they refer to the same thing. This is especially important for a diverse team where the levels of language proficiencies and and understanding for technology are not the same. Here, STE may be the key to balance.
