TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
My company has recently identified a set of documentation to be written for
a new release of a new "system." In addition to paper-based guides for our
external customers, we want to provide online resources for internal
help-desk personnel and the users of the applications supporting this new
system. The terms "knowledge base," "troubleshooting guide," and "CBT" have
been thrown out repeatedly, and in the same breath: INTEGRATION. There are
a couple of more components to this set, but the gist of it is that I am
being asked to help identify the resources (i.e., consulting firm,
contractors and/or full-time people) and possibly recommend tools.
I have called a couple of local agencies, but they all want to know more
specifically the skills we are seeking, and more details about the type of
projects we are doing. This makes me want to take a step back and consider
in more detail what resources this doc is going to require. I know there
are consultants out there who can steer companies like ours in the right
direction for projects like this: someone who can tell us if we are going
about this in the right way, if we are realistic in our expectations of what
we want to accomplish, what types of people we need to seek out, and what
tools would serve us best.
Any views or experiences or references would be greatly appreciated.
