Buck Hedges
Technical Writer
Technical Writing
META User Guides
META is a customizable, web-based application produced by currIQunet. One of my tasks was to update and finalize the existing user guide, and then produce topic-specific guides for certain customized features.
The META general user guide.
The META user guide for administrators
A more-specific mini-guide, covering the creation of assessments in META.
The assessments user guide, customized for San José City College.
ASSIST User Guides and SRS Documentation
ASSIST is a similar application to META, and was also produced by currIQunet. However, ASSIST was created specifically for institutions of higher learning in the state of California. When I contracted with currIQunet, the ASSIST project was in its fifth and final year. As an incoming technical writer, my first task was to learn where my predecessors had left off. After performing a week of "forensic technical writing," I was able to update the various user manuals, training guides, and SRS documents.
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When the project manager left, I was asked to step in as Project Manager, over a small team finishing up the project. In in addition to overseeing the final development team, I was also the liaison between currIQunet and Fairway Technologies, the team managing the project after development was completed.
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Due to the nature of ASSIST, there are multiple guides, depending on the user's role and parent institution (twenty-four in all). I have not linked to each and every one here, just ones that I thought would give you an idea of the project's scope.
The ASSIST guide for Articulation Officers.
I wrote two interface guides for ASSIST users: one for mingrating courses from currICUNET (an earlier version of META, and one for migrating course data from META into ASSIST. As the sole author, I had complete control over the design. One challenge I faced was ensuring a consistent look while still making the documents easy to tell apart. I did this by use of color schemes.
Not the most entertaining reading, but vital to any software project.
Other Tutorials and Guides
I enjoy writing tutorials. I enjoy reading them, and I enjoy making communication understandable. My wide range of experience helps me to make any subject understandable. Some of my other, non-work related tutorials can be seen by following the link below.