Here are samples of Andy's work.
He is currently a senior technical writer at MEICPG, a firm specializing in enterprise software for the consumer packaged goods industry. In addition to creating documentation for new enterprise products, he is updating legacy documentation. Other projects include HD multimedia production and instructional design.
Technical Writing
In recent years, Andy produced:
- User documentation for the engineering product lifecycle management software PLM360 by Mecanica Solutions. Documentation included manuals for Program Management, role-based business process automation, document management, resource management and other modules.
- AeroWire Installation Guide and User Manual: software for adding circuit intelligence to aircraft electrical harness drawings.
- Inertia360 Installation Guide and User Manual: A Catia extension that calculates mass and centre of gravity on clipped parts and fuel tanks.
- The NetCleanse Installation Guide helps technical support staff walk customers through installing NetCleanse.
- In the short Wasp 1.x manual (PDF) manual, Andy detailed how to plug an potential virus threat by using WASP to defend GroupWise WebAccess.
- The Gwava 3.5x manual (PDF) is a 200 page document written by Andy to explain the operations of the leading spam defense for GroupWise. This documentation set helps customers set up their security and e-mail monitoring systems quickly. Given the speed at which viruses spread, that's key.
- The Guinevere 3.x manual (PDF) explains how to configure and operate this GroupWise security software.
- The Redline 2.x manual (PDF) and Quick Reference Card (PDF) explains the complex installation process for Redline. This product is close to infinitely configurable, and can exist in mixed operating system environments for very large institutions. Close interaction with developers, UI creators and product managers was needed to create this documentation. Sales of this new product have grown by leaps and bounds in part because we were able to walk network administrators through the installation process efficiently.
- The Reveal 1.x manual (PDF) addresses an interesting writing problem: the customer is generally not the person who is capable of installing the product. The task here was to create a manual that is in part a sales tool showing how easy this software is to use, but have all the installation information present so network administrators could install the software easily.
- The GEEWhiz 2.x manual (PDF) simplified a meandering forty-step installation process thought out by developers into a much easier to understand pre-installation, installation, and post-installation process. This helped commercialized a new product.
Web Sites
Andy's first browser was Lynx. If you remember back to the days of 1993 when the web was new, there were no graphics. While that has changed, one thing has not. Written content is still king. Below are some examples of Andy's work.
- Mecanica Solutions was planned--after many meetings--and written by Andy. Andy also produced many of the drawings.
- NetCleanse is a commercial web site for an anti-spam and anti-virus product.
- The OpsRoom is a resource for anyone interested in a little known television gem, The Sandbaggers.
- MyPatient.Com was an accredited CME site for physicians. (Archive)
- The All American Anti-Spam Association of America. The great thing about having a boss with a sense of humour is that he allows the team to have some fun once in a while. Texas-based Tom Rains handled the flash for this deliberately tacky site. Sadly, only Canadians and Europeans at the trade show found this funny.
- Le Groupe VST provides security camera and alarm monitoring via IP.
Andy also gives a presentation that prevents grey hairs: 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Microsoft Word: Available Upon Request.
