You wanted to know about ways to replace written logs and manuals and
still convey hard-won information to a group. Where I work we've had
success with two alternatives -- online help, and Intranet sites.
We have a network across the US of first and second level help desk
technicians who answer people's questions about the shipping software
they use. My group wrote this software, and we also staff the third
level help desk for the very involved technical problems that arise.
We've been putting all the answers on HTML pages specially written for
the technicians. Then the techs can search through the pages while
they've got a customer on the phone to answer questions a bit faster.
Our testing group also puts reams of their info on an intranet site,
too.
Other groups (our Customs Brokerage group, for example, who must sort
through reams of very complicated rules about shipping overseas with
the proper export documents) use online help systems to do much the
same thing.
In either case, a big key is figuring out how to organize the
information so people can find what they're looking for quickly. A
good rule of thumb for online stuff is to be able to find the correct
topic using three keystrokes or mouse clicks or less. This is
especially important for people with customers on the phone, as the
customers shouldn't have to wait too long for their answer.
If you want to know more, or to ask about the specific software tools
we use for some of these things, feel free to email me.
Good luck, Vana!
Martha
Martha Landerman
senior creative analyst
UPS IS Maryland
2311 York Road
Timonium, MD 21093 rti1mlm@roadnet.ups.com