DataQuest Corporation
Position: Technical Writer
Location: Columbia, TN.
Time Frame: August 1994 to October 1996
I created and maintained on-line documentation for the corporation’s financial management software applications. In doing so, I trained with staff on the financial packages, coordinated the department heads’ efforts, wrote the on-line documentation, edited the product and troubleshot the final version within the company’s On-Line DocViewer for any potential problems. The On-Line DocViewer is the company’s current delivery method for its on-line documentation. I developed and presented complex material for and to a non-technical audience of 72 users in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.
DataQuest Applications
The General Ledger System: Developed and maintained online documentation for the General Ledger system. The General Ledger system serves as the foundation of DataQuest Corporation’s financial management family of systems by fully supporting a wide variety of accounting environments including budgetary/fund, enterprise, cash, accrual, modified-accrual, and tightly-controlled encumbrance accounting. The General Ledger system also provides fine-tuned financial management capabilities for grants, special projects, and auxiliary agency accounting needs.
The Accounts Payable System: Created and maintained online documentation for the Accounts Payable system. The Accounts Payable system simplifies the process of maintaining vendor lists, tracking and paying invoices, printing AP checks, distributing payable expenses, and managing the purchasing process from requisition to payment.
The Payroll/Personnel System: Created and maintained online documentation for the Payroll/Personnel system. The Payroll/Personnel system meets the users ever-changing needs with comprehensive and flexible payroll records management, check processing, accounting, management reporting, and benefit-deduction management capabilities. Time savers like automated bank reconciliation and direct deposit improve accuracy while reducing administrative costs. The system also includes tools to hire, manage, and develop human resources with detailed employee records and position descriptions.
The World Wide Web
I spearheaded the company’s presence on the Web by researching the Internet and the WWW, servers, web browsers, Internet online services, html products and theory, the need for a corporate WWW policy, and other WWW-related issues. I presented the company with my findings, recommendations and a formal action plan. (The Results: The company accepted my recommendations, generating and maintaining an Internet site. In addition, my initial work into the Internet prompted leadership to create a new company devoted to creating, selling, and maintaining Internet sites to and for its customers in three states. The company offered me the position of Internet Director at the new company. My desire to return to Nashville, Tennessee forced me to turn them down.)
RoboHELP & CD-R Development
I drove the evolution of the company's online documentation effort by researching trends in online documentation, CD-R writable options, and hypertext help authoring tools--presenting the company with my findings and recommendations. (The Results: The company accepted my recommendations, implementing and maintaining future online documentation with the product RoboHELP and delivering it to users via CD-ROM. My efforts in CD-Writable development also paved the way for the company to start delivering its software to customers via CD-ROMs.)
Task Force
I was a member of the Corporation's Task Force, designed to set standards for the next generation of DataQuest software and online documentation. I advised the Task Force on what the next generation of online documentation should be.
Convention
I played a key role in the corporation's yearly convention. The users actually sponsor this yearly gathering, inviting DataQuest Corporation to attend. I used Microsoft Office to conceive a variety of online presentations, displaying company products, employee data, and documentation status. I gave presentations to the users--outlining company progress and position on its online documentation. I also created a series of surveys to measure the users' attitudes about our on-line documentation.
Hard Copy
I worked with DataQuest CEO and department heads to launch and maintain a company profile sales package, consisting of a corporate history, an introduction to company departments, and a review of software products and services--delivered in a variety of brochures and pamphlets. (This information would later become the foundation of the company's Internet site.) I worked closely with programmers to develop a series of product briefs for such systems as Business License, Miscellaneous Receipts, Property Tax, General Ledger, Point of Sale, and Complaint Tracking; and I was responsible for the researching, writing, revising, editing, and desktop publishing of a wide assortment of user guides, handbooks, standards, and other documents.
