agile and collaborative documentation production - the key to achieving user satisfaction

Agile and collaborative production - a key to achieving user satisfaction?

Andy McDonald, edc product manager

State of the art

Technology

Traitement de texte

SGMLInternet XML DIT

A

NormsMediaTraining

Use case

User documentation for a multisipliniary geoscience software platform

-4 years, after restarting from scratch - - contextual documentation on >1000 UI

elements- - >1600 pages added on top of that- - 2TW + experts + support team

Planned and managed in agile mode

Use case

Full coverage is not enough

What users are we dealing with, and what are the issues ?

New users Expert users

- Getting up and running when training is too hard to organize

- How can we provide information on what they don’t know ?

Use case

What is the client asking for?

• taxonomy based search

• participation• annotation, comments & contributions

(in their products)

• usage statitstics• UI ergonomics & terminology

• new forms animation, video, e-learning

Market Study

How software editors deal with documentattion

Panel of editors• startups / intermediairy size• french market/ international• classical business model / SaaS• installed products/ web based• opens source / proprietary

Market Study Documentation is a liability

• stuck in a design model where obscelescence predmoninates

Form and process stuck in the 1990’s• creation unsychronized with development

(even in agility)• it’s not connected, hardly multimedia or

interactive and often out of date

Market Study Unable to reinvent the model

• mnimum service only• or complete

• even if they are « innovators »

• they can’t image anything different, interactive, innovative

Document is a cost centre, and far from an added value

Software EditorsHow to motivate them ?

• identify added value• concentrate on user satisfaction• propose a better production model

Software EditorsWhat can we propose

• they/ we take over• better explain and agree on what we add• be a part of the development process

Software Editors

And

Writers

What can we suggest ?• they / we manage a content strategy• build documentation with agile methods• build from the ground up• implement collaboration

Content strategy

ObjectivesAudienceDistribution channelsContents structureSource identificationValidation mechanism

Incremental buildingBottom-up production

• start with the UI• add connex subject matter• comment, contribute• validate• publish

Collaborative work processes

Who collaborates & how?• developers & TW• support & TW• experts & TW• product owners & TW

Agility & content strategy

+Content strategy can fit into agile methods

Agility & content strategy

+An overview is designed with the product owner

Agility & content strategy

+Target audience is defined when defining the requirements

Agility & content strategy

+Publishing cgannelsAre defined in plannifaction

Agility & content strategy

+Content buildingAn iterative phasealongside project dev in sprints

depth of contextual doc on UI bricks defined with developers- connexe doc depending on objectives

- procedures with experts- FAQ & Howtos (with support- tutorials with training

Agility & content strategy

+Sources are also human- PO > concepts- PO & experts > procedures- support knows user needs- trainers know what tutorials they need

Agility & content strategy

+Tests & validation during development

Feedbackis continuous- capture user experince

- improvement cycle

TW

implementing change

TW beyond writing• architect - structure & contents• responsability - editorial cycle• abritrator - production cycle

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