parson AG. This is us.

As a leading provider of smart content and intelligent information solutions, parson helps customers to digitize their content processes and introduce a sustainable content strategy. This digitization strategy includes technical solutions, such as content management, product data management and information portals, as well as a suitable information architecture.  

For products, software, and services, we create semantically enriched, modular content, for example, user documentation, programming instructions, online help, e-learning content, and technical specifications. This way, users can access the right information at the right time and get personalized assistance in their work. 

We work independent of system suppliers and have a strong focus on open standards.

parson was founded in 2006 and today serves customers all over the world. We are happy to pass on our knowledge to both students and fellow technical communicators and are involved in standardization as well as in the training of technical communicators. With our projects and research activities, we drive the development and digitalization of technical communication.

Read further: What does a technical communicator do? 

We are convinced that a good work-life balance is essential to enjoying work and to being successful. This is why we attach great importance to our employees being able to reconcile family and work. We are proud to be awarded the Hamburger Familiensiegel since 2014.

Cooperations

In order to provide you with an excellent and comprehensive service for information management and technical communication, we cooperate with strong partners who are specialists in their respective fields and who share our quality standards.

Milestones

2022

Research and innovation

• parson remains committed to the development and application of iiRDS. The Steering Committee and working group representatives present the developments of iiRDS in 2022 at the tcworld conference. Read the announcement.
• We contribute to IDiS, the German standardization strategy, driven by DIN and DKE. parson participated in working group 2, which focused on the representation of standards in the management shell for Industry 4.0. Learn more about IDiS.

Exciting customer projects

• We support several companies in the digital transformation of their technical documentation, including GS1, Endress+Hauser, and SMA.
• With FLEXIM, we support a technology leader in industrial metrology by developing an information architecture and creating a Getting Started Guide.

Events

• At the tcworld spring conference 2022, Mark Schubert and Ulrike Parson give a presentation on "iiRDS in the semantic network - together in Europe". Read our blog post "iiRDS in the semantic network".
• As a Gold sponsor, parson is participating in DITAWORLD 2022. Frank Ralf, technical consultant, presents "DITA Intelligence for Adobe Experience Manager. How to use DITA Metadata to improve the Customer Experience". About the conference.
• We give four presentations at the tcworld conference 2022, including metadata management and smart content, docs-as-code, and innovations in iiRDS. Read the announcement.

New cooperations

• Fonto is a new partner. The Dutch technology company offers easy-to-use and highly flexible solutions for editing and reviewing XML content. Read the announcement.
• parson and itl have been working together for several years in the form of joint presentations and knowledge exchange. We are pleased to officially welcome itl as a partner in our partner network. Read the announcement.

Working and studying at parson

• Meet the team. In this series, we introduce the parson team one by one. We start with Ann-Cathrin Mackenthun, senior technical communicator. Read the blog post.
• Since 2014, parson has carried the Hamburger Familiensiegel, which is awarded to companies that support their employees in balancing family and career. In November 2022, we meet existing and new seal bearers at a reception hosted by the Hamburg Senate. More about working at parson.
• parson supports students by, for example, supervising a bachelor or master thesis. We have talked to our master student Mette about how this can work. Read the blog post.

Selected knowledge articles from our website

• Docs-as-code for technical documentation. Our authors discuss the docs-as-code method, its principles and the tools that are used. Read the knowledge article.
• First comes metadata, then comes content. How to control your CCMS with metadata. Together with our partner Empolis, we have written a knowledge article on this topic. Read the knowledge article.

2021

• We celebrate the 15th anniversary of parson AG.
• parson supports several companies in developing a sustainable content strategy and content delivery, including Endress+Hauser, Diamant Software, and d.velop.
• At the same time, we continue to work with long-standing customers such as NXP.
• parson actively participates in OntoCommons projects and events: "Challenges of the Industry 5.0 transition" and "What can ontologies do for standardisation?"
• parson becomes member of IDis, the digital standards initiative. 
• parson continues to be involved in the iiRDS consortium. Ulrike Parson gets re-elected as chair of the iiRDS steering committee. Mark Schubert continues to coordinate the development working group.
• Our free DITA courses "DITA lernen" move to parson's e-learning platform. 
• We expand our partner network and form partnerships with Fischer Information, meinrad, and itl.
• Just in time before the tcworld conference, we launch our new Instagram account.
• At the tcworld conference 2021, parson participates with four presentations: Dark patterns and ethical design, iiRDS and metadata, iiRDS for technical standards, and how gender-neutral writing in technical documentation. 
• First the metadata, then the content: Ulrike Parson und Dr. Achim Steinacker give a presentation at the Empolis Exchange Summit. 
• Lessons in SUI graphics: Our coworker Leonie Saremba joins the STC panel discussion with other experts in the field.
• We supervise several master's theses, including Patrick Schedlbauer's thesis on "iiRDS for the documentation of technical standards".

2020

• We launch our digital learning platform. The platform provides access to the e-learning courses on technical communication, intelligent content, and DITA.
• At the digital tcworld conference 2020, we give five presentations on content delivery, iiRDS, terminology, and visualization. 
• SDL and parson form a strategic partnership. With this partnership, we contribute our expertise in the areas of structured documentation and content strategy.
• We publish the parson Smart Content service package. With parson Smart Content, you can easily create modular, XML-based documentation according to the DITA standard.
• As a service provider with many years of experience in standardization documentation and database specification, we support ASAM e.v. in revising the OpenDRIVE standard and the OpenCRG standard. In 2020, we will also become a member of the ASAM consortium.
• Clear, modern, informative: our new website goes online.
• parson assists tcworld in developing an intelligent chatbot. 

2019

• We move into a new company building.
• At LearningDITA Live 2019 we offer four presentations in German.
• We give several presentations at the tekom spring conference and annual tcworld conference. Our topics: software documentation, topic-oriented writing, iiRDS, and chatbots.
• With plusmeta, gds, and IXIASOFT, we extend our partner network in the field of content management and artificial intelligence for documentation.

2018

• We become a founding member of the iiRDS Consortium.
• We enrich our DITA lernen e-learning platform with two new courses; a total of eight courses are now available here.
• parson joins intrinsify, the think tank and leading network for the new working world and modern business management.

2017

• iiRDS takes technical documentation to the next level: we actively participate in shaping the new content delivery standard under the patronage of tekom.
•  Our DITA lernen e-learning platform acquires three sponsors: Empolis, oXygen and Kilgray.
• Ulrike Parson holds the opening lecture at tcworld in China on the topic of Intelligent Information in Technical Documentation.

2016

•  Our new DITA lernen e-learning platform is launched, whereby we offer free courses for learning DITA.
• Working together instead of just processing: parson introduces a sociocratic business model.
• We celebrate our 10^thanniversary with a garden party.
• Information 4.0 is moving the industry. We are actively involved in the “Information 4.0” tekom working group.
• We become a member of DIN, the German Institute for Standardization, and are certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.

2015

• A year of amazing growth: the team now has 14 technical writers.
•  Software standardization for more quality. We are actively involved in the tekom “Software Standardization” project group.
•  Qualified training is important to us: this is why our first volunteers, who are training as technical writers at tecteam, begin working with us.
• We are one of the first German companies to use the brand new DITA Standard 1.3.

2014

• We are awarded the Hamburger Familiensiegel – due to the excellent compatibility of work and family.

2013

• parson communication becomes parson AG. With the transformation into an AG (or stock company), we are ideally prepared for further healthy growth.
• We open an office in Berlin.

2010

• With our growth in mind, we move into a new company building..

2009

•  We are expanding our portfolio with XML-based documentation applications.

2006

• Ulrike Parson founds parson communication, a specialized service company for software documentation in Hamburg.