Projects, Audiences, and Results: Examples of Experience with Content that Matters

I've been privileged to work with a rainbow of businesses and subject matter experts (SMEs) in the U.S., Europe, Malaysia, Japan, and Australia.

Use the examples on this page to get a sense of the breadth and depth of my experience.

• Web Site Structure and Content
• Instructional / Course Design, Development, and Delivery (Classroom, Online, Blended)
• Reference Materials (Policies and Procedures; Bylaws; Certification Baselines)

Walking Orbit was a start-up that created and sold reliable, cost-effective fleet messaging and tracking tools (a.k.a. telematics).

They needed people to create the training and documentation that their customers would need.

Working with company executives, SMEs, and as an individual contributor, I:

• Beta-tested customer needs with on-site software demonstrations.
• Created administrator and dispatcher user guides.
• Prototyped web pages for a secure web site for tiered service providers.

Compaq Computer Corp. provided the customer-billing technology for a major provider of broadband TV services.

Compaq wanted to create an intranet / extranet to:

• Enable more timely and effective communication with its customer.
• Increase understanding about their mutual roles in reporting, tracking, and resolving problems.
• Provide resources for reporting, tracking, and resolving the problems.

I led the customer support SMEs in creating a hierarchical blueprint for the prototype site structure.

The SMEs included the technical engineers who troubleshoot problems, and the managers who made business decisions about support needs.

Information Management Research (IMR) provided its customers with document management and retention technology.

IMR wanted to create a knowledge base as one way to help decrease the time and cost to provide customer service, while increasing customer satisfaction.

I led the Post-Sales Technical Support SMEs in achieving mutual understanding about their roles in escalating and resolving problems based on tiered service agreements.

We created the mutual understanding by creating a process chart to depict the escalation stages, and the people and information involved within and between service tiers.

THE Guide Associates (TGA) provided its clients with a systems development methodology that included risk management, project management, and systems analysis and delivery for large IT projects.

To retain current clients and attract new clients, TGA wanted to updated its methodology in two ways:

• Add methodologies for medium and small IT projects.
• Make the methodologies available to online intranets.

I worked with the authors of THE Guide to:

• Update the large methodology roadmaps and reference materials.
• Create the medium and small methodology roadmaps and reference materials.
• Restructure the print methodologies for online access.
• Create and improve the user interfaces and navigation.

[Non-Disclosed] American manufacturer of automobiles.

The client wanted to improve the usability of its car-buying web site. Consumers used the site to research car models and prices, and to find dealers selling the car they wanted.

With my consumer "hat" on, I tested the site for (figuratively speaking) speed bumps, pot holes, and other barriers that interfered with the online shopping experience.

Applying my skills and knowledge about web usability, I translated the problems into recommendations for improving site navigation, content, and presentation.

Business Development Institute International promotes business development excellence through the Capability Maturity Model® for Business Development (BD-CMM) using appraisals, self-assessments, certifications, and benchmarking.

From time-to-time they've needed help in creating workshops, presentations, and the tools they use in their consulting services.

Working with the organization's owner and SMEs, I've:

• Created and updated instructor and learning materials for workshops, including overheads, instructor scripts, and exercises.
• Created a guide on how to use a 3rd party application to customize, deploy, collect, and present assessment data.

Shipley Associates helps to reduce their clients’ proposal risks and increase their odds of winning by improving business development practices and compliance with RFPs.

They needed a major revision to the business development workshops, a curriculum they delivered in public and client venues.

Working with the Shipley team, I contributed to the common-thread case study by:

• Creating profiles of companies who were responding to an RFP for a U.S. government contract.
• Developing a sample proposal for one of the profiled companies, based in the U.K.

• ProjectExperts provides its clients with customized training, consulting, and tools for managing projects better, faster, and cheaper.
  
  
• Information Mapping, Inc. (IMI) provides its customers with training and consulting in the Information Mapping® writing method.

In addition to needing instructors for its public and on-site workshops, the above clients needed help in preparing and certifying other instructors, and updating their course materials, and helping their customers apply their learning back on the job.

As a free-lancer, team member, and individual contributor, I've provided ProjectExperts and IMI with direct and subcontracted services, such as:

• Revising and creating instructor materials, including leader guides, overheads, exercises, and case studies.
• Revising and creating participant guides.
• Working with Sales and with clients to customize workshops and provide post-class support.
• Delivering public and onsite workshops.
• Training and certifying (evaluating) the competences of new instructors.
• Evaluating the competences of other certifiers.

Requirements Solutions Group, LLC (RSG) provides business analysis training and consulting tailored to the needs of its clients.

They were updating their online training and wanted "fresh eyes" to help them do it.

With my learner "hat" on, I participated in several of RSG's online workshops. Some of the workshops were asynchronous, and some were synchronous.

Upon completing the workshops, I switched to my course design "hat" and recommended ways for RSG to improve workshop timings, instructor scripts, and participant exercises.

Myers & Associates provided its clients with training and consulting in defining business requirements and applying systems development methods.

They were hired by a [non-disclosed] Fortune 500, international pharmaceutical company to improve and deliver classroom training the company's new, proprietary SDLC method; and then to re-cast the training into blended learning.

• With a team of instructors, I piloted the classroom training, and recommended and piloted improvements to the class choreography, exercises, and timings.
• To deliver the blended learning, I worked with the owner and his senior technology expert to design, develop, and test the online content, exercises, and navigation; and to pilot the introductory classroom course.

Payless ShoeSource® sells fashionable footwear at affordable prices in customer-self-selecting environments.

To better manage the risks of change due to a new warehouse distribution system, their eCommerce unit needed a snapshot of how its order-processing workflows and interdependencies.

As a subcontractor, I interviewed SMEs to discover and reconcile their views about how order processing worked.

I used swimlanes and use-case narratives to illustrate and tell the stories to identify and close the gaps in understandings about cross-functional workflows between:

• The eCommerce unit, eCustomer service, the warehouse, and the brick-and-mortar stores.
• The online catalog production group and other entities such as the legal department.

The American Society for the Advancement of Project Management (asapm®) advances project management standards and competences in real-world projects and programs.

From time-to-time they've needed help in creating, revising, and improving an array of content needed to run the organization and to serve its members.

Note: asapm is the USA affiliate of IPMA.

Over the years, working as a team member and as an individual contributor, I've:

• Completed a major revision of the organization's Bylaws.
• Established, codified, and updated operational policies, processes, and procedures.
• Designed, developed, and improved forms and instructions for applications, subscriptions, and registrations.
• Crafted and kept a "high-touch" and "fresh face" on membership artifacts (certificates, postal and email mailings, correspondence, and more).
• Improved newsletters, articles, and presentations.

The International Project Management Association (IPMA) increases the recognition of the project management profession through certifications, awards, and publications.

A [Non-Disclosed] client provides training, consulting, and documentation services to franchisors who (for example) want to expand their businesses; educate their end-customers; or merge their brands.

When she needs an extra pair of hands in creating the reference materials her clients need, then I'm there to help.

Working as team member and individual contributor, I've helped create and revise HR and operations manuals.

To date, the markets have included home health care services; disaster recovery services; retail flooring products and services; and commercial mortgage appraisal services.

Nissan North America coordinates all operations for the Nissan and Infiniti brands in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

They needed to train employees, contractors, and managers on how to use a new, intra-net based, 3rd-party expense-reporting and approval system.

Working as a telecommuting, individual contributor, I designed and created the user guide for the new system.