|
| | Deloitte & Touche
 | Position: Technical Writer/Editor
& Web Content Developer/Manager |
| Location: Hermitage, TN. |
| Time Frame: June 1998 to November
1999 |
I worked with a team of contractors and managed
one employee as we created and enhanced a national Web-based Online Help system
for SAP, Systems Applications and Products in data processing. This product
supported the following SAP modules: Human Resources, General Ledger, and
Accounts Payable.
Took Ownership of Online Help Files &
Delivery Method
Upon my arrival at the firm in June of 1998, I
immediately became integrated with the personnel creating the SAP Online Help
files. The staff was distributing SAP information as a simple Online Help file,
delivered via WAN/LAN technologies. Within one month, I officially took over the
responsibility for this project, and the rest of the personnel moved on to other
firm-related tasks. Major accomplishments include:
| By interviewing all of the relevant SAP
players and personnel, I was able to document all of the SAP Online
Help-related facts and development information (which only existed as
intellectual property) and present it to team members as an easily
accessible Intranet site. This site included such data as HR/AP/GL-specific
data, Online Help mechanics, network resources, and development environment
data. |
| I immediately put a version control
mechanism in place for all of the SAP Online Help files and made the data
available to team members via the network. |
| I created the SAP Online Help Documentation
Plan. This early document served as a type of "Where we are in the SAP
Online Help" mechanism. It included such topics as: available
resources, needed prep work, F1-style Help issues, and so on. |
Evaluated Online Help Technologies and
Delivery Methods
The next major milestone involved evaluating
the SAP Online Help system, in terms of providing quality customer service. This
was accomplished by:
| Evaluating the Online Help (Winhelp)
technologies. For example: How stable was the product? How much time went
into developing Online Help verses fixing bugs created by third-party
Winhelp vendors? In which technological direction was this Winhelp software
heading? (Answer: HTML Help.) How did this new HTML Help technology fit in
with the firm's current technological infrastructure? |
| Reviewing the total needed resources to
implement, distribute, and maintain traditional Winhelp/Online Help files.
Conclusion: Process was "labor intensive," requiring a great deal
of resources across the firm--even for the smallest updates. |
| Speaking with firm personnel to learn from
their SAP Online Help implementation efforts and to touch base with their
current delivery methods. |
| CONCLUSION: I concluded that the best way to
provide maximum customer service to our SAP clients was to convert the
current SAP Online Help from Winhelp to HTML technologies (both HTML Help
and Web) and deliver it to our national client base via an Intranet site. |
Management Buy-In
The next step was to sell team members and
management on the idea and show leadership that we could increase customer
service by converting from Winhelp to Web technologies. This was accomplished
by:
| Creating a series of reports and memos,
explaining my findings to management. |
| Creating a sample Intranet site--showing the
increased functionality over traditional Winhelp. |
| Explaining how the conversion would both
increase customer service and save firm resources. |
| CONCLUSION: Management agreed and authorized
me to push forward. |
The Conversion of Winhelp to HTML
Technologies
Once management agreed with the direction, I
began creating the DNS. Major accomplishments include:
| Creating a detailed conversion plan and
timetable. |
| Identifying needed resources to make
conversion a success, which included software, hardware, books, personnel,
technology training, and so on. |
| Attending locally held Microsoft-related
seminars. |
| Attending detailed HTML Help technology
training in Seattle, WA. |
| Leadership hired a contract writer to help
with the conversion. (See related management duties for more details.) |
| Executing the conversion plan and developing
the DNS. |
Served as Communication Hub
As conversion began, I served as a
communication hub for the entire project and initiative by:
| Communicating, as needed, with key
individuals involved with HR, GL, and AP. |
| Communicating with contract writers as I put
the Human Resources infrastructure in place. |
| Communicating with Change Management
personnel to acquire firm-approved data for the HR site. |
| Serving as communication supervisory hub
between a contract writer management. (See management-related
comments.) |
| Coordinating with the various technology
groups and departments to get site live on a server, acquire a Web address,
and distribute files to LAN Admins. |
Writing/Editing Tasks
While true that the bulk of the development
work involved converting documentation, I wrote my share of it too over the past
year. This work involved (at least) the following:
| Met with key players (i.e.: project leaders,
content experts, and so on) to generate needed raw data for needed
documentation. |
| Gathered and created needed graphical
elements—combining it with text to effectively communicate technical info
to a non-technical audience. These elements included such items as icons,
screen prints, bitmaps, and so on. |
| Presented info to key players for editing—making
edits as needed. |
| Created project plans, development
standards, and Web procedures for the project and site. |
Management Tasks
I served as the management contact for a
contract Technical Writer and Web Developer who helped me create the SAP Online
Help Intranet Site. Duties included:
| Helped contract writer’s transition into
the firm by giving him tour of facilities and introducing him to team
members/key players with the SAP Online Help project. |
| Introduced employee to the development tools
that we were/are using. Since he had never used the tools, I had to train
him. These tools included: MS FrontPage98/2000, MS HTML Help, the HDK
Winhelp application, and various MS Office97/2000 applications. |
| Provided weekly status reports and project
updates. |
| Conducted Project Management by: |
| Assigning conversion and development
tasks, via a series of short-term goals. |
| As each goal was achieved, I performed
quality assurance testing, helping the writer make the needed updates and
learn from mistakes. |
| At scheduled times, imported his work into
the main site and hooked it all up. |
| Set up work schedule to fit writer’s
needs and the project’s demands. |
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