Technical Communications Portfolio


Portfolio

Usability and Human Computer Interaction • Web Development • Documentation Sets Processes, Templates, and Style Guides • Marketing Communications

Usability and Human Computer Interaction (top) The majority of my time at Teradyne was spent creating and updating the NetFlare user interfaces. NetFlare is a Web-based tool used to test end-to-end broadband network connections. The product originally had four interfaces; Consumer, Operator, Technician, and Administrator. This grew to include an installer's interface and discussion had started around a self-service consumer interface. I also created a Flash demo of a potential self service interface based on the existing consumer interface. I have just completed my MSLIS degree from Drexel University with a concentration in Knowledge Management and Competitive Intelligence. Combined with earlier course work in Human Computer Interaction from DePaul University, I am able to practice user centered development methods as well. Additional samples of my work at Drexel are located at http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~sml347. At DePaul I took an introductory course involving the creation of a user interface prototype. I worked with two other classmates, all online, to complete the following exercises. User and Needs Analysis based on personal interviews Conceptual Design based on a sticky note exercise Detailed Design (including low fidelity prototype) Revised Design and prototype based on simple usability testing

Web Design and Development (top) At Teradyne my first major project was to develop an Intranet site for my group, User Centered Development (UCD), to allow us to manage our projects and share our work within our own group and the rest of the division. The site facilitated the review process for e-books and even hard copy documents. Near the end of my time at Mettler-Toledo AutoChem I took on responsibility for Web-mailers using Peer360*, the division Internet site update, and an electronic library of product documentation for the sales force. Later, at Allstate, I was involved in several web development projects as well. Most significantly, while on the Alliance team, I worked with development teams and communications experts to design and deploy a JSP based Intranet site for internal references and client communication. The site has lived and evolved over the last year since I've been gone. To get started I followed a user centered development strategy including interviews, affinity diagrams, and some simple usability tests.

Technical Documentation Sets (top) ALLEXis: The ALLEXis project was under way when I joined Mettler-Toledo AutoChem. I inherited a 14 page quick reference and a partial online help file. After reviewing the material that existed and learning more about the project, the MiniMapper project (see below), the company, and our user needs, I developed a set of documentation including a 4 page quick reference, a fully functional online help file and a user guide based on the online help. Tools used include Quark XPress, RoboHTML and Microsoft Word. MiniMapper: The MiniMapper project was originally being handled separately from the ALLEXis project. When the project manager saw the intermediate changes I made, he requested that I take over this project as well. Both products were new and built on the same platform, so we planned a similar documentation set. I took the existing partial user guide, completed it and edited it, then created a quick reference and online help, as I had done with ALLEXis.

Processes, Templates, and Style Guides (top) When I began at Mettler-Toledo AutoChem my predecessor had handled archiving and part numbering of documents. This became problematic however, because she was located in the UK and manufacturing, research and development, and marketing in the US. A new database had recently been implemented to control part numbers, but no procedures existed to define the request process. I worked with the new document control specialist to create a new procedure for requesting part numbers through the new system. Later an archiving procedure was needed, to alleviate the constant requests for documents I had never seen. Common locations for all source and versions for distributions needed to be established. New templates and style guides were also needed to comply with a new branding effort and bring consistency to all documentation. Additional procedures, templates, and style guides include: Documentation Procedure and Lifecycle User Guide Template/Style Guide Flyer/Talk Announcement Template

Marketing Communications (top) As the only technical writer in the Mettler-Toledo AutoChem division, and with no marketing communications specialists in-house I often took on small Marketing Communications projects. Some of these projects included: Technical posters presented at trade shows. One poster was reformatted for print in JALA, Volume 8 number 2, April 2003. UPS Workstation Flyer

Copyright 2005 Shannon Lewis-Hillstrom All documents referenced and reproduced here are the property of the corporations they were produced for; Teradyne, Inc., Mettler-Toledo AutoChem, and Allstate Insurance Company.