Project Descriptions

Where available (some companies are out of business, merged, etc.), the logos are links to the company's Web site. Each link opens to a new browser window. Samples, where included, are Acrobat PDFs.
References (.doc file)

AGL logo Used Oracle's PK tool to write training and on-line help for their PeopleSoft accounting and personnel management applications. Developed automated process to facilitate posting content via SFTP for quick uploading without intervention by IT.
Mariner, (later, SavaSeniorCare) the nation's largest provider of long-term and post-acute care, needed to streamline the development of printed training materials that accompanied their video training. TechKnowledge assisted in the switch from Word to FrameMaker, saving more than half the production time over previous methods. Further, using conditional text, what was once four separate documents became one. Other projects include:
  • Creation and rollout of training for Web-based training tracking and license tracking system, a uniform job application and new-hire orientation package, and a publishing standards guide including logo rules, trademarks, etc.
  • Assistance in writing corporate HIPAA guidelines, later made available to other companies in the industry
  • A new set of Medicare Part B billing guidelines for the facilities
  • User guides for the national rollout of Web-based accounting, which distributes certain functions and responsibilities across a range of job functions from facilities to HQ
HD Supply logo HD Supply is one of the largest suppliers of building materials in the world. TechKnowledge created a number of training products from performance management to hiring tools to audio webinars.
Nova Info logo NOVA Information Systems, a leader in credit card transaction processing systems, had a number of scattered documents addressing guidelines for the merchants, such as detecting fraud, making credit card sales, and daily store operations. TechKnowledge pulled these docs together into a three-volume best practices guide.
Calimetrics, a leading innovator in the field of multilevel data storage and communication systems, had a hefty library of massive Word documents that were rapidly becoming unwieldy, with hundreds of cross-references, graphics, and equations. TechKnowledge quickly converted the docs into FrameMaker, resulting in a far more stable and reliable set of docs.
Wrote user guides, training manuals, and HTML-based help for this B2B e-commerce company and Microsoft partner. Also wrote corporate standard operating procedures and a technical editing guide, which included trademark and copyright rules, color standards, and software release methodologies.
When what was formerly GTE Wireless and Bell Atlantic merged and became Verizon Wireless, the National Accounts group of GTE Wireless needed to combine and standardize a number of training and procedures documents (many of which were outdated), and also needed to have materials created for previously undocumented systems.

More recently, wrote customer service training for SSI (a Web-based system for ordering and managing user accounts), and iBAS (a Web-based cost-analysis package for corporate customers).

TechKnowledge has been an on-site contractor since 1992, and continues to produce training materials for subjects ranging from HR to loading trailers and flatbeds.

In the early days, The Home Depot had been using FrameMaker to produce training materials, but needed some assistance with some of its tricks and techniques so that docs could be produced with less manual effort and greater efficiency and speed. TechKnowledge worked on site to learn their current processes, then showed them some of the features they were not using effectively.

Nationwide, GTE Wireless salespeople required hands-on training and reference guides for their mainframe switch-operating software and billing systems that were formerly used solely by customer service. Especially noted for communicating complex system relationships in layman's terms. Also produced training for several other systems.
Wrote instructor-led and hands-on training guides for the national rollout of the UPS OnLine family of shipping software, and when the software was updated, wrote a self-paced training guide that focused on enhancements and new features. Also wrote training guide and reference guide for new global sales force compensation plan. Reference guide discussed theory of how incentives affect sales performance, how these theories are applied to pay, and expanded upon computational models and how these models are implemented in software. Other projects have included training for LINK (a sales tracking tool), UPS Envoy (shipping software for non-U.S. customers), and a training overview for UPS technology in general. Sample showing layout (words had be scrambled).
Managed MS Access programmers in the development of a sales and marketing analysis tool that pulled historical sales data from a number of Real Yellow Pages resources and databases (Oracle, Access, et al.). Wrote accompanying training and user guide. Sample.
Chick-fil-A's paper-based Restaurant Personnel Management System manual was a nightmare to manage and update using Word . . . so we converted it to FrameMaker, then into Acrobat for electronic distribution. Scans of tax forms that were huge (and outdated) TIFFs were replaced with PDFs downloaded from the IRS. Some 30 megs of Word files were transformed into under 1 meg of PDF!
This startup cellular/PCS company required training and reference guides for its BSCS (activation and billing) system. Material was designed for retail and customer service personnel, training them on how to activate new accounts, how to make changes to current accounts, and how to resolve billing problems. Also included many policies and procedures relative to customer service. Merged with VoiceStream; VoiceStream acquired by Deutsche Telekom.
Work and applications similar to Powertel, above. Now a part of VoiceStream.
SpectrumRetail, manufacturers of ProphetLine retail software, needed training for end users who processed sales transactions in the cellular market. In addition, they needed to learn something about cellular services, as well as phone and accessory hardware. With the background TechKnowledge has in telecom, training was produced that combined their needs into one package. Sample.
When Sears Tire Group acquired several national automotive service chains, they also acquired a variety of training systems. STG needed to combine this training into a cohesive, uniform approach and create new material as well: The result was a new set of self-paced sales and technical training for their in-store salespeople. Training encompassed tires, batteries, shocks and struts, and other components. Included certification tests. Final project to tie it all together was a train-the-trainer guide and a training reference guide, used nationally to roll out the new approach to training associates and tracking their performance.
Wrote copy for application briefs (marketing brochures) for the AS/400- and OS/2-based PlantWorks, Distributed Automation Edition, and Paperless Workstation product series. Application sites included LTV Steel, Stowe & Davis (a division of Steelcase Inc.), and the IBM card manufacturing facility at Austin, Texas.
TrakTel rolled out a proprietary product for use in telco central offices and needed a set of specification and installation guides per Bell specifications. Included rack installation steps, wiring artwork, and oscilloscope testing methods. Wrote company policy and procedure manuals. Sample.
For Lockheed Aerospace, provided technical editing and final layouts for highly technical IRAD documents -- key documents used to justify federal budget appropriations.
Wrote user guides for a logistics-planning toolkit that works with the CAPS Logistics Network Platform, an application that analyzes logistics models (plant and warehouse locations, transportation methods, etc.). Also wrote a reference guide on the theory and execution of logistics planning. Sample.
Wrote end-user manuals for Rodime's retail line of hard-disk products, which included internal and external SCSI, IDE, and ESDI units for PC and Macintosh systems. Rodime Systems was a spin-off of Rodime plc, below.
Same as for Rodime Systems. Rodime plc (now Sportech plc) manufactured hard disk drives for OEM applications, as well as their own retail line (later taken in by Rodime Systems).
Wrote site planning manuals for this company's line of automated supermarket checkout lanes based on VMEbus technology. Site planning included environmental factors ranging from power requirements and wiring diagrams to limits of ambient light spectrum and airborne particulates.
Each logo is a trademark or registered trademark of its respective organization. The presence of these logos does not (1) imply any endorsement of the related company by TechKnowledge; (2) imply any endorsement of TechKnowledge by the related company; or (3) imply any relationship between the related company and TechKnowledge other than the work described herein.