Ars Longa

I founded Ars Longa and PEACE (Product Education And Customer Experience) to help content teams and organizations evaluate their existing content, identify goals and audience needs/preferences, and design a path to get there as efficiently as possible. I use permaculture sytems design principles to find solutions that are resilient, producing the highest return to the organization with the least effort.

Content Architect
Flare Developer
User Experience (UX) Designer
Instructional Designer

Content Architecture
User Experience (UX)
Technical Writing
MadCap Flare Project Development
Instructional Design
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

  • Rivian
  • Conga
  • California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
  • Countertack
  • Microsoft (Windows, SQL Server, Excel, and Team Manager)
  • Northwest Center for Emerging Technologies
  • Aldus, Asymmetrix, Macromedia, and other companies absorbed by bigger ones.

Right Content. Right Audience. Right Level.

I work with you to ensure that your content reaches your intended audience, is engaging, and is just the right amount at the appropriate level of detail. UX, the user experience of the site, determines much of the success. Can viewers find your content? Is it understandable--clearly written and error-free? Does it encourage your viewers to embark on a learning journey, where they want to know more about you or your product?

Step 1: Ask, Listen, Analyze

Every project is unique. Before I begin, no matter the project size or scope, I want to know your goals, your current pain points, and what a successful completion looks like to you. I'll look at your files, analyze your audience, review your staffing level, experience, tools, and workflow, and generally suss out the situation. Before we can get to our destination, we need to know where we are, what we have to work with, and what's missing. That gap is key; its where we invite in success.

Step 2: Design a Plan

An effective plan tells us what we need to develop, in which order, and whose responsibility it is. I work with your team and their involvement is crucial to the success of the project. My role is to get your documentation set up so that your team can create and maintain it efficiently.

Step 3: Dig in and Develop

I'll work side by side (or from the sideline) as we complete the project plan, offering insights and best practices, course corrections, and working examples. You have me as much or as little as you need.

Step 4: Evaluate

Evaluation happens throughout the project, not just after development. But it kicks into high gear here. We've completed usability testing (whether formally or informally), and refined workflow, templates, and processes. Here is where we look through the analytics. We tweak. We refine. We polish. We make those small course corrections that mean the difference between close and right-on.

Step 5: Transfer the knowledge

I work to ensure that your team is fully capable of developing and implementing your content after I leave. Throughout development, your team participates, so they are often quite familiar with the tasks needed to push out content. However, some tasks are done infrequently, and so its always handy to have instructions to fall back on, whether that is a style guide, usage notes, or checklists.

About

I often take the role of Content or Information Architect, Visual Designer, Instructional Designer, and Flare Developer, and I’ve refined those skills through decades of experience with several organizations from start-ups to enterprise.

I specialize in MadCap Software’s Flare and am a certified MadCap Advanced Developer and trainer. I’ve worked with local and remote content teams to convert legacy documentation into a responsive, modern HTML5 site, often with print counterparts. I optimize CSS definitions and master page layouts, set up templates, create global linked projects, and organize documentation flow, and then provide a comprehensive knowledge transfer.

I've presented at conferences such as MadWorld, STC's Annual Conference, Information Development World, and Write the Docs.

I’ve developed courseware for Jack Canfield and Hale Dwoskin as well as for Microsoft SQL Server Certification.

Over the course of my career, I’ve authored user manuals, online Help, and documentation for several software applications and hardware products, as well as aftermarket books and products for Adobe, Microsoft, and Macromedia.