-Role: Technical Writer/Digital Training Librarian

Unfortunately, due to non-disclosures, I cannot share a lot about what I did or any images of my work at Knowledge Accelerators.

Overview

Knowledge Accelerators is an online software training platform that provides users with both written and video instruction on tasks for users of all learning levels, from end users to developers. I can share some details about what I did during the redesign of the website and Knowledge Catalog.

Use Cases & Accessibility

Using accessibility tools such as screen readers and ClaroRead, I identified accessibility gaps and worked with the developers to address them. 

I advocated for the addition of use case lines at the beginning of every script Knowledge Accelerators wrote. Previously, scripts for videos would simply begin with the first step for speed of translation, as scripts were constructed based on options selected from a list of words, for example, Verb+Button Name (“Click OK.”) What we found from user feedback was that people would become frustrated by not understanding why they were supposed to perform a task, especially more complicated tasks, like creating a formula in Excel or sharing a document in Google Docs. The scripts assumed that users were seeking them out, rather than that users were being asked to take training by their bosses, which was how the platform was primarily used. Not including use case lines also made the scripts less accessible. I argued that, while yes, freeform lines were harder to translate than lines that came directly from the Knowledge Factory, the extra time would be worth it to increase user retention and make scripts more accessible.

Skill Tracks & Gamification

I also designed courses called Skill Tracks that turned our videos into lessons, created quizzes to test user knowledge, and added badges users could earn for their profile to implement a gamification aspect to the Skill Tracks.  In addition, I added Knowledge Paths to each web page users visited so they could start viewing content organized by skill level, and reorganized knowledge articles by software section rather than by task category. For example, all tasks under the File menu would be under “File” rather than spread out among different categories like “Create” and “Version History.” I also implemented the 3-Click Rule as standard for finding Knowledge Articles.