Dr. JoAnn Hackos is President of Comtech Services, a content-management and information-design firm based in Denver, Colorado, which she founded in 1978. She is Director of the Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM), a membership organization focused on content-management and information-development best practices. Dr. Hackos and colleagues are called upon by corporate executives worldwide to consult on strategies for content management, development and organizational management, product interface design, customer studies, Web and traditional information architecture, and tools and technology selection.

For more than 25 years, Dr. Hackos has addressed audiences internationally on subjects ranging from content management, project management, effective interfaces and information, minimal information products, usability testing, and online and Web-based information, to managing the information design and development process. Her workshops are dedicated to enhancing the practices and products that will best promote customer satisfaction.

She authored Information Development: Managing Your Documentation Projects, Portfolio and People(Wiley 2006), Content Management for Dynamic Web Delivery(Wiley 2002), Managing Your Documentation Projects(Wiley 1994), Standards for Online Communication(Wiley 1997), and User and Task Analysis for Interface Design(Wiley 1998). JoAnn is a Fellow and Past President of the International Society for Technical Communication (STC).

Read an interview with JoAnn for Modcom Communications

Bill Hackos, Jr., PhD is cofounder with JoAnn Hackos and Vice President of Comtech Services, a management consulting and information-design firm based in Denver, CO. Dr. Hackos has worked with companies in North America and Europe, helping them solve their information-management problems. He has also been heavily involved in many benchmarking projects related to information management and process improvement. He designed Comtech's estimating metrics and continues to conduct key studies into ratios of developers and writers and analysis of the return on investment of single-sourcing projects. Dr. Hackos has focused on the design of graphic user interfaces that are easy to learn and to use. With 30 years' experience in the computer industry, Dr. Hackos understands how to increase the usability of products.

Frank Miller is a Senior Consultant and Project Manager at Comtech Services, Inc., assisting companies with their information design, process efficiency, and tools and implementation needs. Frank has more than 10 years experience in publishing and currently manages and implements enterprise content management solutions. Frank also guides corporations through their information architecture process. He has experience in conducting and analyzing benchmarking studies and information redesign for content management. He also serves as instructor for Comtech’s series of interactive DITA workshops.

Anne Bovard is a Consultant for Comtech Services, Inc. She develops Information Models and style sheets and assists in content inventories, customer studies, and business cases. She also assists CIDM as a speaker coordinator for its tri-annual conference series and edits the CIDM’s monthly eNewsletter, Information Management News. She also serves as instructor for Comtech’s series of interactive DITA workshops. Anne has a BS in Biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Hal Trent serves as a Consultant, Style Sheet Developer, and Web Information Manager at Comtech Services, Inc. He has experience in XML CMS implementations for a variety of businesses and academic institutions and is currently focusing on SVG and DITA. He also leads frequent workshops related to DITA and XML. Hal has a BS in Biology from Roanoke College and an MS in Information Systems from DePaul University.