The Project

As part of a group project in TECM 5191, we were tasked with creating a proof of concept project to meet the needs of a tech company. Having been provided with PDFs, our group was to create a single source solution that would meet the client’s online and print needs. We met virtually to organize our efforts, create a coherent approach, and answer any questions that the other team members might have.

The Process

To meet the needs of the project, it was necessary to learn how to use MadCap Flare. In order to accomplish this, I completed the LinkedIn course, earning a certificate in the process. Due to the complexity of Flare, I also sought out additional information and support. I was able to find a series of PDF guides online, so I printed those out and created a support library of sorts. I also looked online for additional support and spent time in various forums and subreddits to get answers to some questions I had. I made use of Slack to communicate with my instructor and my teammates to round out my information gathering.

Once each team member had completed the LinkedIn tutorial, the group met via Zoom to coordinate our efforts and start working on the project. Time was dedicated each day to meeting and planning next steps. In the above artifact, I created keywords that would be searchable in an online user guide. This directly contributed to the final project. While the same information would also be provided in a print format, creating a searchable online guide provides a greater amount of convenience and flexibility. Working folders were created where we would upload all of our work and collaborate regarding changes had been made as well as what still needed to be done.

The Results

This project helped me gain an understanding of content management concepts and learn skills that I apply daily in my position. As part of my current job, I often help teams with updating files and managing large amounts of data. One example would be assisting my company’s editors in correcting and reusing content associated with the style guide used by one of our clients. In another instance, I had to analyze the content provided by directors in my company, and evaluate the material for its effectiveness in presentations. The experience gained from my content management work has allowed me to contribute to projects such as these. Effective content management has been crucial to these tasks, and the skills that I learned as part of this TECM 5191 assignment have allowed me to immediately contribute to these efforts.