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Should I consider a HAT for my sales training manual?Hi all, My mission: create a user-friendly sales training manual. I am wondering if anyone can offer some tips, or point me toward someone who can advise me on what software might be appropriate for this venture. We are thinking about a mostly online, easily revisable and hyperlinked format. I know nothing abour HAT software, and wonder if it is too much technology, if it is even appropriate for this venture? I'm a writer familiar w/ MS Word, unfamiliar with much other software. Word has some problem displaying images, as I'm sure you're aware. Might we consider RoboHelp or Madcap Flare or Blaze as an authoring tool? Or put it on an intranet within the company? Other options? MS Publisher seems too limited. Frontpage? My goals for the manual include: -As user-friendly, easy to read & understand as possible -Visual when possible -Encourage hands-on learning -Describe hands-on procedures when helpful -Easy to revise - on the network -Hyperlinks to other sections of the manual or outside references, procedures, etc. -Usable as a training manual and a reference -Keep or link updated procedures thru a central source Thanks for any assistance you may be able to offer! Best wishes for healthy living, Tim Mantyla/Account Representative NuStep, Inc. - www.nustep.com 5111 Venture Drive, Suite 1 Ann Arbor, MI 48108 Ph: 800-322-2209, Ext. 173 Fax: 734-769-8180 Email: tmantyla@nustep.com "Transforming Lives" By Tim Mantyla at 2007-09-18 11:53 | Writing General | Tim Mantyla's blog | login or register to post comments | printer friendly version
more on HATs...DISCLAIMER: I'm the one in charge of HAT-Matrix.com. Just FYI, it was Macromedia that let the RoboHelp developers go, not Adobe. And they created new software, but there is no general industry consensus as far as what the best HAT is. (For example, many vendors state that their HAT is the market leader, but no one releases enough information to determine if that's true.) And there's a chance that any HAT you pick could be gone in 2 years. However, the software doesn't suddenly stop working because a company goes out of business (ask anyone who's still using ForeHelp). There is no standard or number 1 app because it depends on what you need the software to do and how you want to work. Person A will say it's HAT A...and then you discover that HAT A doesn't include a specific feature that you need. Person B will say it's HAT B...and then you discover that HAT B is outside your budgetary range. The list goes on and on. What you need to do is figure out what you need from the tool. Do you want to work in Word? Frame? HTML editor? Proprietary editor? What outputs do you need to publish? Do you want WYSIWYG? Do you need DITA? (And these questions can go on and on, too :-) ) The features you listed in your original post are ones that you bring to the table, not ones that the HAT could provide (except for "Keep or link updated procedures through a central source", and just about every HAT does that if set up correctly). I've been adding definitions to the terms on the matrix, but I've only finished about a third of them. You can always post questions to TechWhirl if more information is needed. And if open source meets your needs, then it's a perfectly viable candidate. Many folks are using the DITA Open Toolkit along with an XML editor, and many others use DocBook. Char James-Tanny you seem to need a single-source solutionAnd yes, a HAT is pretty much appropriate for what you want to do. I suggest plugging your requirements into hat-matrix.com and investigating the tools it recommends. Bill Swallow Is Blaze better than Flare better than RoboHelp (Robocop??)Hey Bill, Thanks for the tip. I saw a few HATs in the matrix, but not all I want to explore. ExtremeEase has one for cheaper than Madcap and Adobe, looked promising. There was a hubbub about 2 years ago about the imminent "death of RoboHelp." Is that still assumed or played out? Has version 6X quelled those rumors or confirmed them? It looks like Adobe fired the RoboHelp designers, they went to Madcap and created a better software, Flare...is that the general industry consensus? If I get RoboHelp and try to write the manual with that, would I have to change to something else in 2 years because it's dead or dying? What is the standard or number 1 app as far as ease of use, excellence of output, and other factors I don't yet know about? Is there much difference in user-friendliness between these apps for the output side, the sales trainee (my customer)? Madcap Blaze says it's for manuals...but is in beta stage. Is it worth trying? Or is it too rough to work well for a newbie to HATWorld like me? I plan to download some trial demo software and work with it. Also been considering, as an alternative, open-source content management software on an intranet as the platform (is that the right term?) for this manual. Is that a viable option? What would be the advantages/downsides? Or is open source subject to "open sores," so to speak? ;-] Tim Mantyla Why not go stark raving glad???? |
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Thanks for all your help finding a HAT!
Thanks everyone who commented and replied in the listserv.
Your input has really helped!
Tim Mantyla
"Why not go stark raving glad???"