These case studies are two applications of an early version of our Manuals Machine to prepare IT documentation. A particular advantage of this approach is the ease with which example screen displays can be included, allowing very fast production of highly effective documentation for desktop applications.
This documentation was prepared by SMH Systems & Networking for one of its clients.
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This screenshot shows the documentation for one of the legacy components of the environment - Novell NetWare print servers One objective of the documentation was to provide absolutely complete step-by-step instructions for reinstatement of the configuration, in case of equipment failure and the need to re-establish the facilities on replacement hardware |
The application was to provide highly-accessible 'how to' and 'FAQ' documentation for use by Helpdesk telephone support staff
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This screenshot shows the user instructions for a typical step-by-step process, illustrated by screen dumps taken at every stage. |
The XML-based approach using The Manuals Machine was compared to a system based on Lotus Notes which served the detail by opening MS Word files. The browser-based environment used by the XML solution was much faster in operation, a vital consideration for telephone support staff.
The highly modular organisation of content provided by The Manuals Machine made screen examples and text sections very accessible to authors. This plus the ability to focus on the message content without having to worry about layout considerations, enabled efficient capture of knowledge even though they were not experienced technical writers.
An additional benefit of the XML-based solution was that it's so 'lightweight' - a complete copy of all documentation could be made to CD-ROM or to laptop computer disks, and carried by support staff for immediate use in the field.