Alex Dierks

Project Background

Goal

The goal was to improve a chapter from the Texas DSHS animal control officer (ACO) training manual. It turned out that "improve" was understatement — it needed an overhaul. My colleague and I scrapped the original and created a revision with improved content, copy, design, readability, and usability. We did not need to show our changes to the original authors.

Target Audience

The target readers were ACO trainees preparing to take the certification exam. Trainees would only be required to have a high school education, a driver's license, a basic understanding of office procedures. Prior experience in animal control and strong studying abilities were not expected.

The Problem

The original manual did not meet its target reader's needs at all. The most serious issues were

• extensive use of passive voice
• overly verbose text
• unclear distinction between warnings, instructions, advice, and explanations
• lack of visual organization
• lack of introductions, summaries, key points, and any sort of answer to the reader's question of "what are we learning and why?"

Approach

Design Decisions

Since this was an interactive study guide, I kept the design minimal to allow for easier printing and note taking. Several elements also encourage the reader to mark on the document to aid with studying.

Content Choices

Nothing in the original chapter helped readers summarize, understand, or memorize the content. To fix this, I created abundant introductory, summary, and study material, including note taking tips, study guides, quick reviews, and a practice exam.

Skills Used

How We Worked

This was a partnered project, but instead of working with a fellow undergrad, my professor paired me with a master's student who was closer to my skill level. We co-authored the document in Google Docs and tended to work synchronously.

Due to the extensive revisions needed, it was easier to scrap the original and rewrite it word-for-word. This let us clarify ideas at the sentence and paragraph levels before moving on to document-level reorganization and editing.

What I Did

I did the majority of the content and copy editing while my colleague handled the figures and visuals.

I made the icons with GIMP. They're .PNGs. (This was before I realized icons should be .SVGs.)

Hard Skills:
• Content Editing
• Copy Editing
• Technical Writing
• Page Design

Soft Skills:
• Collaboration
• Teamwork
• Co-Authoring

Tools:
• Google Docs
• MS Word
• GIMP
• Google Image Search

The Challenges

What Almost Kicked My Butt

This was my first time revising both content from another author and content which I did not fully understand. Reorganizing certain sections was difficult because they had unclear main ideas and relationships to other sections. Furthermore, we were unable to consult a subject matter expert or the original authors for advice.

We did not have much time for proofreading due to the large scope of the project and short delivery date.

I was also completely new to Google Docs and co-authoring.

What's Butts I Kickedeth In The End

Revising another author's work on an unfamiliar topic greatly strengthened my ability to clarify and organize information by distilling what a text is trying saying and why. It showed, too: our resulting chapter was structured so well that our reviewers were surprised to learn that it'd been challenging.

Collaboration was key to our success. Working with a colleague allowed me to get feedback on the quality of my edits in real time. Talking through my revisions with him helped me further clarify the ideas in the original text and catch places where I could further improve our draft.

The Results

What I Gained From This

I got really good at revising other authors' work and editing content on unfamiliar topics, which helped in my later copyediting course. Additionally, my graduate colleague was so impressed by how well we worked together that he invited me to collaborate on his personal projects.

Client Reception

The training manual was well-received by the professor and earned an A+.

What I'm Proud Of

I like how clean this design is. It stands in stark contrast to my software user manual and shows that you don't need to use all the fancy Word features to make something look nice.

I'm also still stunned that I got paired with a master's student.

What I Would Do Differently Now

Here's what I'd do differently if I redid this project:

• include more memory aids and scenario-based learning exercises
• use a professional photo source, like Shutterstock
• interview ACO trainees to gather user feedback

Project Specs

Here are the technical results of the project:

• Project Duration: 1 month
• Document Format: Google Doc
• Word Count of All Content: approx. 8,400 words
• Word Count of Revised Content: approx. 3,400 words (30% more concise than the original!)
• Word Count of Original Document: approx. 4,800 words
• Class: TECM 4250, Technical Procedures and Manuals, University of North Texas