2026 KnowledgeBase (KB) User Group Meeting
How to Join Sessions
Once you have registered for the KB User Group Meeting, you will be able to log into our event app (not yet published for this year) to find the agenda with Zoom session links. The event app also allows you to save sessions to your personal agenda, as well as download individual sessions to your calendar.
- Note: When logging into the event app, please use the same email address you used to register. If you are from UW-Madison, you will be able to log in with your NetID, provided you registered with your netID@wisc.edu email (e.g. bbadger@wisc.edu).
Agenda
Note: We are still finalizing some sessions, so the agenda is subject to change. Please see our current list of planned sessions below.
Monday, August 3
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30am - 9:50am (20 mins.) |
Welcome to the 2026 KB User Group Meeting | The KB team will provide a quick overview of the events for this week, how to join them, and methods for connecting with others in the KB user community. Join us to say "hello" and get a sense for everything the week will hold! | The KB Team |
|
| 10:00am - 11:00am (60 mins.) |
From Groans to Growth |
This presentation tells the story of a group that was hesitant to transition to a KB —and how a user-centered approach transformed that resistance into adoption. Join us to learn practical change management strategies and techniques for building solutions that meet users where they are and drive long-term engagement. |
Jen Walsh (SOAR Advising) | N/A (Session not recorded to allow for discussion) |
| 1:00pm - 2:00pm (60 mins.) |
Basics of the KnowledgeBase |
Whether you're an experienced admin or a novice editor, there's always something to be learned from others. Join Matt Goins and the KB team as they briefly go through some of the basics of the KnowledgeBase, covering many changes that have occurred over the last year in regard to the editing experience, user manage, and other functionalities with our KB system. |
Matt Goins (KB Team) |
|
| 2:00pm - 3:00pm (60 mins.) |
Websites and KB - Why Not Both? |
KnowledgeBases and websites can serve similar purposes, or they can be tailored to provide information to specific audiences. Join Matt Goins as he dives deep into the concepts of using both of these digital tools to enhance the experience of your varied audiences and what to consider when attempting to split the information between both online presences. |
Matt Goins (KB Team) |
Tuesday, August 4
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00am - 12:00pm (60 mins.) |
Shielding the KB: Application Security in the Age of AI and Automation |
The KnowledgeBase is a highly valuable public and institutional resource — making it a prime target for aggressive web scrapers, rogue AI training agents, and increasingly sophisticated malicious bot attacks. To ensure the KB remains fast, resilient, and continuously available, we have implemented a comprehensive, multi-layered defensive security framework.
In this session, we will demystify the security measures that protect the platform by tracing a request’s journey through the campus firewall, load balancers, Apache server-level controls, custom PHP-based behavior detection, and hardened database infrastructure. We will explore why these safeguards are essential, how they help maintain performance and availability under heavy demand, and what these changes mean for your daily workflows as a content author or site administrator.
Join us to learn how we balance robust, system-wide protection with an accessible, high-performance experience for legitimate campus users.
|
Weizhong Wang (KB Team) | |
| 1:00pn - 2:00pm (60 mins.) |
Simple Accessibility Wins in the KnowledgeBase |
Dana Gerber-Margie has been the DoIT Help Desk KnowledgeBase (KB) Documentation Lead for 4 years, and over this time has witnessed many of the same common digital accessibility mistakes. She will present simple fixes for these common mistakes to help make your documentation much more accessible, including correct heading numbering, alt text for screenshots, complex tables, and more. It’s meant for the busy technologist who wants to successfully and quickly publish accessible documentation. |
Dana Gerber-Margie (Help Desk) |
Wednesday, August 5
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00am - 10:50am (50 mins.) |
Share Your Feedback to Improve the KB |
The KB Team wants to hear from you! We're hosting a collaborative feedback session to find out what matters to our users. Your input will help us prioritize our service roadmap, ensuring we're focusing on the improvements and features that will benefit you most. |
Group activity |
... |
| 11:00am - 12:00pm (60 mins.) |
Cracking the Code of KB Search: How to Optimize Your Content for Maximum Discoverability |
Have you ever wondered exactly what happens behind the scenes when a user types a query into the KnowledgeBase search bar, or why certain documents rank higher than others? It is not magic — it is a carefully engineered search platform designed to connect users with the most relevant content as quickly as possible.
In this session, we will take a deep dive into the architecture of KB search. You will learn exactly how the system calculates a document's relevancy score using base search priorities, group ownership, keyword similarity text scores, semantic top-15 AI boosts, real-time OS/browser environment matching, and update recency.
You will leave knowing how to properly structure your titles, utilize metadata fields, leverage situational boosts, and design your documentation so it rises to the top of the search results pages when your users need it most.
|
Weizhong Wang (KB Team) | |
| 1:00pm - 1:30pm (30 mins.) |
The Art of Consolidation |
Join Caitlin Tefft and Lisa Burley from L&S IT Support as they discuss the process undertook to review and consolidate two group spaces into a single effort.
|
Caitlin Tefft and Lisa Burley (L&S IT) | |
| 2:00pm - 2:30pm (30 mins.) |
Hit Refresh on Your KB Layout |
Did you know we have a fresh new layout available for KB partner institution sites? In this session, we'll show you how your live sites can be updated with a clean new look and feel in keeping with your institution branding. This will include a side-by-side comparison of the old and new layouts, a demo of how changes are managed, and steps to take to adopt the new layout.
|
Leah Scheide (KB Team) |
Thursday, August 6
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00am - 12:00pm (60 mins.) |
“Choose your Own Agenda” Group Discussion |
Get together with your fellow admins and authors to discuss the topics that matter to YOU! In this session, we’ll host a casual “Lean Coffee”-style conversation, in which you get to suggest topics to discuss and vote on what interests you. This is a great opportunity to talk about challenges, get new ideas, and connect with others in your role. | Group discussion |
... |
| 1:00:pm - 2:30pm (90 mins.) |
Creating Accessible PDFs and Documents |
Join Leah Bowers and Daniella Peters from UW-Madison's Center for User Experience as they discuss and walk through the process of creating accessible PDFs, and other documents. Other areas of accessibility will also be discussed. | Leah Bowers and Daniella Peters (Center for User Experience) |
Friday, August 7
| Time | Session Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Action(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00pm - 2:00pm (60 mins.) |
Wrap up & QA |
This will be a panel-style session during which the KB Team will answer any service-related questions that have been submitted throughout the week. |
The KB Team | ... |
| 3:00pm - 5:00pm | In-Person Gathering at the Memorial Union Terrace | Join us for a casual outdoor gathering at the Memorial Union Terrace to close out the week. You are welcome to drop in at any time and stay as long as you'd like. We will move indoors in the event of inclement weather. | N/A | N/A |