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Command Alkon, Inc.

RoleSenior Technical Writer
TypeFull-time
PeriodOct 2017 – Jun 2020

Background​

Command Alkon recruited me to address a documentation problem they'd been accumulating for about a decade. The entire product suite--fleet management, GPS tracking, timecard management across web and mobile--was documented in a single 500-page PDF that hadn't aged well. The company had finally decided to do something about it at the executive level, which is how I ended up being the person responsible for building a documentation portal from scratch, mentoring the newer writers, and making sense of what the engineering department actually needed.

The scope was exactly as large as it sounded. I estimated six months just to stand up the library, and that was before accounting for the ongoing release cadence. I separated the products into web-based and mobile components, then structured the web documentation by screen and the mobile documentation by task or process. The result was a 300+ page help portal with detailed explanations of how each field, setting, and workflow affected the product. I also built out supplementary media: interactive e-learning tutorials in Adobe Captivate, process walkthroughs, and contextual tips with example use cases.

Coming from ivanti, where I'd documented 18 modules within an established (if imperfect) documentation infrastructure, the appeal here was the blank canvas. I got to make the organizational decisions--topic structure, navigation hierarchy, keyword strategy for lower bounce rates and more directed traffic. The tradeoff was that there was no existing framework to lean on, which meant building every standard, template, and process from the ground up.

Command Alkon was genuinely supportive of documentation as a first-class part of the development lifecycle. That made it easier to train the other technical writers, standardize practices across products, and propose initiatives without having to justify why documentation matters first. It shouldn't be unusual, but in my experience, it is.

What I Did​

Documentation & Help Portal​

  • Spearheaded efforts to address a 10-year documentation backlog, selecting the authoring platform, building the help library from an outdated 500-page PDF, and documenting all products.
  • Documented two major products in their entirety over one year using MadCap Flare, including SME interviews, help file structuring, and documenting software behaviors from scratch. Managed internal documentation and knowledge sharing through Atlassian Confluence. Samples: TrackIt Web User Guide, Alerts, Site Settings.
  • Migrated outdated API documentation for billing, reports, mapping, and payroll into MadCap Flare and rewrote all content to more fully describe API behaviors, request/response formats, and integration workflows.
  • Developed installation and configuration guides for various products, including equipment manuals and software setup documentation (sample).

Video & E-Learning​

  • Scripted and recorded 20+ tutorial videos covering common in-software tasks, complete with captions, audio narration, and interactive components using Adobe Captivate.

UX & Cross-Functional​

  • Maintained UX standards for terminology, design, and screen layouts. Communicated regularly with developers to resolve inconsistencies and used Balsamiq to create UX mockups for proposed design changes.
  • Collaborated with product owners and project managers on feature planning and UX design to ensure consistent terminology and customer-friendly interfaces.
  • Communicated across departments (engineering, marketing, support) to ensure consistent representation of products in all company resources.

Release Management​

  • Created release notes across all web and mobile products on a biweekly cadence: curating Jira task boards for notable stories, interviewing SMEs, soliciting draft feedback, and publishing to the live help server. Samples: TrackIt Web, TrackIt Android.

Team Leadership & Training​

  • Trained the Technical Writing Community of Practice (8 writers) on MadCap Flare, the help library template system, and documentation best practices.
  • Interviewed, hired, and trained 4 technical writers of varying skill levels in company processes and documentation standards.

Key Skills​

Adobe Captivate · API Documentation · Adobe Photoshop · MadCap Flare · Android · iOS · Windows · CSS · HTML · Microsoft Word · Technical Writing · Release Notes · SCRUM · Agile & Scrum · SEO · Microsoft Office · REST APIs · Atlassian Jira · Atlassian Confluence · Documentation · Enterprise Applications · Specifications · Quick-Start Guides · Kanban · UI/UX Writing · Microcopy · Tooltips · Hover Text · Source Control · Version Control · Sprint Planning · Sprint Retrospective · Post-Mortem · Style Guides · User Content · Topic-Based Writing · Training & E-Learning · Virtual Machines (VMs) · JSON · Markdown · Editing · Copyediting · Proofreading · Content Management · Engineering Documentation · Task Management · Slack · Collaboration · Web Design · SDLC · Wiki · Installation Guides · Deliverables · Managing Deadlines · SME Interview · Daily Stand-up · Help Authoring Software · Online Help · User Guides · Diagrams · Workflow Processes · Research · Reference Guides · Adobe Creative Suite · Adobe Acrobat · Adobe Illustrator · Adobe InDesign