☰ Menu
+1 866.606.7247
×

Popular Searches

Technical Writing Documentation Services Training Methods User Documentation Consulting Services

Software Documentation Solutions

Critigen

Challenge

Critigen is an information technology services company that developed a software platform to help companies integrate geographic mapping data with other business software applications, such as asset management, work management, field data collection, and other applications that leverage location information.

Critigen knew they faced three key documentation challenges that they expected to be addressed by a robust solution:

Solution

The Contiem team began by performing an analysis to gain a better understanding of Critigen’s software platform, the software development environment, and the needs of those using the software. The findings were critical to developing an effective documentation solution.

A key factor was that Critigen was using two-week sprint cycles to drive Agile development. The software platform was in a state of ongoing improvement, so Contiem knew that keeping the documentation up to date meant keeping pace with the software development team. Contiem established the documentation process as an integral part of the software development life cycle. This approach immersed Contiem into the Critigen development environment and fostered a stronger partnership between the two companies.

Contiem identified three main types of information that needed to be addressed by the documentation.

To support content development, Contiem implemented several documentation tools and methodologies. These techniques complemented Critigen’s software development and publishing framework, meaning that documentation builds could be stored and packaged with Critigen’s existing software publishing tools.

A key factor in making the Critigen-Contiem partnership a success was the level of integration between the Critigen stakeholders and the Contiem project team, which comprised a project manager, a solutions architect, a technical writer, an editor, and a technical illustrator. The Contiem team members were brought into the project as needed, in order to keep each deliverable on schedule and on budget. With this approach, Critigen did not have to worry about varying staffing needs to meet peaks and lulls in their software development life cycle. Plus, Critigen was able to take advantage of expertise about documentation approaches, tools, and techniques from the Contiem team — skills and experience that would be hard for them to replicate internally.

Result

Critigen saw real results in a very short time:

Working with Contiem meant that Critigen could focus on building its software without worrying about documentation.

Ready to get serious about your content?

Contact Us