Working with JANA will reduce the workload of your management and specialist teams so that they can focus on job number one:
building your business.
Whether you are seeking to outsource some or all of your technical documentation needs, JANA is ready to become an efficient extension to your team. We take away all the headaches of hiring, training and maintaining a team of new writers.
Step One:
Identify areas and situations where you can use the help.
Specifically, look for opportunities where…
… time is of the essence and you face internal constraints.
… you lack dedicated resources.
… you have a need but can’t hire new employees.
… your employees lack the requisite level of understanding of regulations, specifications, etc.
… you have a large volume of work with looming deadlines.
… in-house resources would be better utilized somewhere else.
… your content is outdated, lacks consistency or is disorganized.
… your competitors are showing you up.
Step Two:
Decide which services make the most sense to outsource.
Some of the more common services that companies outsource:
– New content development
– Clean-up and organization of historical content and data
– Transition to an XML-based documentation and the associated content conversion efforts
– Localization
– Translation
– Conversion to Simplified Technical English
– Illustration
Step Three:
Identify and down-select potential outsourcing partners.
Narrow the scope of potential vendors and make an informed decision by developing and distributing a solid RFP.
At a minimum, the RFP should ask vendors to supply information regarding:
– Personnel (number of employees, average tenure)
– Company history (years in business, customers)
– Enterprise-level certifications, accreditations, awards
– Quality management system(s)
– Experience in your industry
Once the information has been collected from all potential vendors, use a purposeful, prudent (and documented, if possible) approach to eliminate them one at a time until you find the best fit.
Step Four:
Divide work between your group and your selected vendor.
Assuming that you will not be giving all of the work that you are responsible for producing to the selected vendor, there are a number of workflow models and decision paths to use when developing your roadmap to overall success.
A few tips to use when making these determinations:
– Keep the newer, active or more interesting work and outsource the older, less interesting work
– If there is one master document that needs to be replicated across the series, manage the development of that one and outsource the development of the remainder
– Assess whether you have the needed resources to do certain elements, such as illustrations. If not, consider outsourcing the documentation most likely to require illustrations
Step Five:
Agree on and implement oversight procedures and KPIs
Trust in your vendor is important, but so is validation. Build a set of key performance indicators (KPIs), milestones and delivery deadlines to make sure that the program progresses at a pace that both parties can agree on and can adhere to.
KPIs used might include:
– Total throughput and on-time delivery rates
– Average hours to complete a work package
– Backlog level (should decrease over time)
– Cycle times (request to completion, review times, etc.)
– Defect rates
It is also important to:
– Ensure that you establish a single point of contact with the vendor to reach out to when issues arise
– Set up a regular touch-point meeting
– Receive regular progress reports
Related janacorp.com Webinars:
Creating and Delivering Quality CMMs in ATA iSpec 2200
Creating and Delivering Quality CMMs in S1000D
13 Objectives for Delivering a Great Customer Experience
Related janacorp.com Blog Entries:
Beyond Technology, Implementing Cultural Change
A Metadata Primer (and why you should care)
The Digital Disruption of Technical Publications
Related janacorp.com Infographics:
Key Objectives of a Great Customer Experience
Providing your CMMs in S1000D Format
Best Practices for Technology Change
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