Learn more about my award-winning content design and technical writing project for two major security systems brands.
The challenge
IndigoVision, an existing client, acquired Motorola Solutions Compass Decision Management System (Compass) in 2020. Compass needed supporting documentation for its software that would serve an internal audience for testing, as well as supporting the products and customers.
Compass had minimal supporting documentation in place, and the Word documents that did exist wouldn't deliver a pleasing customer experience.
To aid the handover process between Compass and IndigoVision, high-quality documentation was a must. Compass was undergoing a full rebrand, including new branding guidelines, logos, and an as-yet undetermined name, all of which had to be reflected in the documentation.
Originally for 4 documents, the scope rapidly changed in only 3 months to almost 40, then to over 60 in the next two months, including:
Multiple 200+ page user guides and configuration guides
A range of integration guides in parternship with various manufacturers, including Bosch and Dahua
Marketing materials and datasheets.
Meanwhile, IndigoVision, a long-standing client, was hard at work ramping up production of their product line. It was essential that, while supporting Compass' acquisition and documentation needs, IndigoVision continued to receive the same high-class service for their vast range of new and existing products, including the massive annual update of their flagship product, Control Center.
The team
The team was made up of:
A lead technical writer (me!)
Two technical writers
One junior technical writer
A project manager.
The authoring team was split into two groups:
Technical writers focused on the user guide and configuration guide, the two largest documents. The lead writer started the initial pages and procedures of these guides to form a basis for the look, feel, and tone.
The lead writer focused on IndigoVision updates, and the remaining smaller Compass documents.
The technology
The technology stack used for this project consisted of:
MadCap Flare for authoring and publishing
TortoiseSVN to manage source control and repositories
Adobe Illustrator for infographics
Atlassian Jira for issue reporting and task management
Atlassian Confluence for service collaboration
Groove for team email management
Google Docs for collaboration with Compass and IndigoVision.
The content
The documentation would be delivered to Compass business partners, such as Motorola Solutions, and to direct customers. The documentation needed to satisfy the needs of both sets of users.
At the project start, we took a reactive and agile approach.
However, it quickly became clear that, while it had worked well in the past, this approach was becoming confusing and counterproductive for everyone involved. We quickly established and agreed a new workflow with Compass that gave all parties more time to action and review changes. This change greatly stabilized the project.
Part of the new documentation process included using MadCap Flare's content reuse capabilities. This allowed the best practices that had been built over the years with IndigoVision to be applied to Compass. Due to uncertainty around branding, we received approval from IndigoVision to use their branding and the bespoke style guide we'd created for them, at least for the initial documents. This avoided project delays and helped us deliver great-quality documentation in time for a global product launch.
To do this, we created new stylesheets and page layouts based on existing content. Variables were added to these which, when the time came for new branding, allowed a seamless transition at the click of a button. Additionally, by using MadCap Flare, we ensured that the option for web output was available to Compass.
Using our product knowledge, project management skills, technical experience, and best practices, we delivered high-quality, well-structured content ahead of schedule.
The impact
The implementation of the above processes allowed us to deliver excellent, award-winning documentation, leading to an extension of the original short-term contract to an ongoing maintenance contract.
Due to exceptional and technically accurate document creation within a short timeframe, the simultaneous acquisition of Compass by IndigoVision and the launch of new products could happen without a hitch.
Previously published in Communicator magazine, January 2021.
