If you need to create user documentation for any products, this is the class for you. There is still time to sign up.
6 weeks of learning how to deliver what your users need, on time and in budget. And, as an added benefit, good user assistance reduces customer support costs and product returns. You really can’t afford to not take this class.
To learn more and sign up, go here.
I was talking to a friend whose employer has merged with another company. My friend’s company spent the last 5 years clawing its way to supportable and repeatable processes throughout the company as they build software products. If you are familiar with the 5 levels of the Capability Maturity Model, they had finally reached something close to a level 4.
It was hard and they struggled but development, testing, and documentation had stable processes that supported consistently developing products.
Then the merger happened.
Post merger
As they bring the 2 companies together, they are also breaking the company into 2 parts, based on markets. The split is not based on previous company affiliation, but rather on the needs of each vertical market both companies sell into. It makes sense to break it up this way, because the products are related but the needs of each vertical are very different.
This could all be very good, except for one thing: the company they merged with has no actual product development processes.
And that could all work if Company A (my friend’s employer) consumed Company B. But that’s not what’s happening. As they break the companies apart and regroup into 2 separate business units, the processes of each company are staying in place. Those people who are moving into the business unit that was Company A get the existing and stable processes of Company A. Those who are moving into the business unit of what was Company B get all the processes of Company B, which is to say, none.
6 levels of the CMM
My friend and I have thought for years there are actually 6 levels of the CMM. We both discovered this level when we ran our own consulting companies. We also learned to identify and then run away when we first met with these potential clients because nothing good ever happened.
The 6th level is negative 1. Working with a negative 1 level will destroy your processes if you are a contracting company providing outsourcing services, like product documentation. Think of it as entropy.
There is a place for the negative 1 level – three people creating some wild new technology in a garage somewhere can actually benefit from this level because it strongly encourages crazy mad ideas that then get tried. These ideas would be shot down any other place because they are crazy mad ideas. But for these people in that garage, it’s a creative environment that works.
The moment these people move into any level of developing the crazy mad ideas into some actual products, level negative 1 will kill them. Perhaps slowly, perhaps quickly, but entropy will have it’s due.
And how do tools fit in here?
Very often, companies with few to no processes decide the problems they’re having are because they don’t have the right tools. If they got the right tools, they reason, this would all be better.
So they build a feature list. And they buy new tools.
They don’t bother to train anyone, or set up any Best Practices for using the tools. They just buy them, install them, and then continue on the way they’ve been. And nothing changes, except some vendor somewhere got a nice fat check.
New tools are not feature lists
If you (or your company) are thinking about improving how you do the business of what you do, new tools can help a lot. But new tools also require that you look at your existing processes and be brave enough to change what isn’t working. And something isn’t working if you’re looking to get new tools.
Think of purchasing new tools as a time of reflection for your company. Identify what’s not working in your processes and then find tools that support your efforts to make it work better.
Don’t look for new tools based on a feature list – look for new tools based on the business problems you have and the business solutions you need. When you identify the business issues you need to solve, you’re going to be looking at processes as well. You can’t help it.
I can help you identify and select tools that improve your business. Contact me to find out more.
I’m not a strong visual learner. I like words and getting my hands on things. But many people are strong visual learners and I need to accommodate them in any content I develop. So, since I like words, I found a book that helps me with visual information. I thought I’d share some highlights with you in case you’re also not a strong visual learner.
By the way, to find out your learning strengths, take the VARK quiz.
The book is a classic: William Horton’s Illustrating Computer Documentation. Wiley Press, 1991.
I realize it’s older but the concepts and principles are valid regardless of when it was written. If it’s not on your shelf, I strongly recommend you get it. Mine is dog eared and written in and tagged all over.
Design content for scanning
Since I like words so much, I was delighted to discover that words can be graphical elements, too. Lists and tables are visual and need to be designed as such to support your visual learners.
While tables are inherently a grid, you can make tables harder to read by using horizontal AND vertical lines. Pick one (and you may not even need that) that suits the information and stay with that. Make any lines thin enough to let the eye follow but not thick enough to visually draw the eye.
Since humans are hard wired (because of the rods and cones in our eyes) to see lines, we want the thickness of the line to not overwhelm the visual field.
Lists are always a good thing to use. If you use lists, make sure they are used correctly.
Organizing content visually
Screen captures are good and we all use them, assuming you’re developing content for software. But think about how else you can visually show information.
For example, the last time I was documentation manager, I instituted a policy that every chapter (section) must have an introductory paragraph(s) and then a graphic that illustrated the ideas in the paragraph(s). This supported both our word learners and our visual learners. It visually organized the content in that section.
Typically, we had a flowchart, showing information flow through the system but sometimes we showed how parts worked together. It depended on the content in that section. We single-sourced that graphic to the online help to support the different learners there as well. Had we the time and the staff, the graphics might have become animations online.
The Annual Lavacon conference on Digital Media and Content Strategies is in Austin TX this year and I’ll be there.
Presentation
I’ll be presenting on The Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make when Moving to Topic-Based Authoring. This topic will show you the top 10 mistakes people make when moving to topic-based authoring. About the presentation:
Topic-based authoring is the most cost-effective way to develop content in the “Do more with less” world we live in. It can also help you better meet the needs of your users. It’s a potential win/win for your company and your users. Makes you want to jump right in, doesn’t it?
Workshop
I’m co-leading the workshop Critical Project Management Skills for Content Developers and Documentation Managers. If you feel you’re not managing your projects well or want to enhance your skills, this workshop will help. About the workshop:
As professionals in our field, we often think we think we can just focus on developing content or managing staff. But in reality, we must manage our projects to get the right result in the right time frame. But who has time to get certified in project management? You need the skills right now.
To sign up for Lavacon, go to Lavacon.org. See you in November!
