|
This page describes many of our documentation-related services. Follow links to samples from our
portfolio or case studies from one of our customers.
Documentation Suite Design and Plan (a.k.a. Doc Spec)
We love to work with new companies or with companies who are introducing new products. It allows us to start at the very beginning and create a plan for the
entire documentation suite.
Expert Support has a specification methodology that covers all the bases. Our specs clearly
describe your business objectives for the entire documentation suite, the objectives for each document, the audience,
the media for publication, your quality objectives, the content goals, the priorities for the content,
a schedule, and a staffing plan. Our methodology scales from small, single-document projects to large documentation suites.
You can use the spec and build the suite yourself, or we can help you do the writing.
-
Information Plan:
- Specification:
Documentation Template Design and Construction
At the heart of every
professional looking documentation suite is a document template.
This is a document shell, created in the publication tool of your
choice, that has the look and feel of the document built in. Its
goal is to help ensure that multiple writers can create documents
that appear as if they were written by the same writer. Included
in our document templates are:
-
Paragraph format definitions
-
Font styles definitions
- Table formation specifications
-
Rules for creating graphics
-
Cross-reference entry styles
-
Headers, footers, and other page features
When we create a template,
we create what you need for the title page, the table of contents,
a chapter, the index, and any other section that may require special
formats.
We specialize in FrameMaker templates.
Creating the Content
At the heart of every
documentation project is the writing. We can create documents from
scratch, update existing documents to reflect new versions of products,
or work on a document to make it more thorough and effective. What
and how much we do is under your control.
We write using your
style guidelines and your templates on the desktop publishing product
of your choice.
I think it would be hard to top ESI's performance on
this project, and I'm willing to be quoted on that.
—John Anton, Kestrel Institute
Graphics, Charts, and Presentations
We have a staff of graphic artists available to create graphics, charts, or
presentations for your documentation. Our writers always have access to this staff.
Their use often saves our customers money—why have a writer create a graphic when a
graphic artist can do it faster and better?
Our graphic arts staff
is also available to our customers to help their writers create
or update graphics.
Developmental and Copy Editing
Maybe you don't need a writer. Maybe what you really need is an editor. We have a staff of
editors who provide many different levels of editing, from developmental editing to copy editing.
If you have a small writing staff, you may find these services especially helpful.
What is the difference between a copy edit and a developmental edit? A copy edit is usually
performed at the end of a writing project, in preparation for publication. It is a check for typos,
grammatical errors, small formatting errors, and so on.
A developmental edit typically happens relatively early in the project, after the outline is
complete and likely after the first draft of 30-50% of the document. The developmental edit
focuses on:
- The organization
and whether it makes sense given the audience of the document
and its intended use
- The style of presentation
of the material
- The effectiveness
and consistency in the use of graphical or formatting elements
to present the material
- The adherence to your
company's style guidelines
We assemble a team with
the right background and skill level to edit your document.
Document Conversions
It is amazing how much time writers spend converting documents. And to tell you the truth,
it is often a waste of time to have a senior writer spend time converting documents. Senior writers
should write.
One of our special skills
is converting documents and presentations: Word to FrameMaker; Microsoft
Office to StarOffice; or whatever to HTML. We are fast and accurate.
We understand the ins and outs of the conversion process. We have
converted hundreds of thousands of pages in the past and we can
help you convert your documents, too.
We don't just do a fast
and dirty conversion. We make sure that the resulting document fits
the style guidelines of the organization and will be easily maintained
going forward. If that means recreating all the graphics, tables,
cross references, and index entries, that is what we will do. We
go far beyond what automatic conversion processes can do.
Publication Preparation Management
Oh, so you really don't know how to deal with your print vendor, or you just don't have time. Do you need
someone to make sure the print vendor is doing the right thing? Do you need someone to check the proofs?
We are used to dealing with print vendors. We understand their language and their needs. Let us help you.
Thanks for giving us the competitive edge yet again!
—Monica Smith, BeVocal
|
