| On-line
Documentation and Manuals One of the most difficult tasks involved in any project which involves technology is the production, dissemination and management of the myriad manuals required for the long term support of a product. We have successfully managed over twenty large scale technology projects in the public transit industry in the last fifteen years. Like other technology-based companies, we have found documentation and manual production to be difficult and expensive, yet the end product (regardless of its quality) is sometimes not used by the customer. In the past year, we have begun to move all paper-based documentation and manual production to electronic formats. Specifically, we use Envoy, Adobe Acrobat, and Adobe Framereader--standard document formats which adapt easily to distribution via CD-ROM or network fileserver. The advantages of standard document formats and electronic distribution include the following:
In the example screenshots below, we have shown a typical table of contents page (hypertext-linked) from a recent software manual produced for a customer.
Clicking on one of the blue hyperlinks takes the user to the indicated pages of the electronic manual.
In addition, users can make their own annotated comments to the manuals and place them in the margins with electronic "post-it notes." These comments are useful in the production of new version of manuals and their customization for each employee and location. The movement of documentation from expensive paper books which are rarely used, to flexible electronic formats which can be used in the field and easily accessed via CD-ROM or network file server, is a major improvement in the management of complex technical products and systems. Return to Agent Transaction
Manager Page |
