TWB Position Paper - Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Position Paper on

Value of Technical Publications in
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

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The Writers Block www.twb.in 1

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The Writers Block www.twb.in 2

Introduction

This paper presents the value and need for TWB – Leading Technical Documentation
qualitative Technical Publications in companies
Outsourcing Company
providing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
solutions.
TWB is a leading technical communication
outsourcing company that provides services in
Technical publications include a wide variety of
technical documentation.
material such as Process and Workflow
Documentation, User Guides, Online Help, White
Papers, Classroom Training Materials, Reference TWB is the ideal choice for leading vendors of ERP
Guides, Administration Guides, Standard Operating solutions. TWB helps customers with all their
Procedures, Installation Manuals, Web-based technical documentation needs such as user guides,
Training Materials, and Product Demos. administration guides, installation manuals, process
and workflow documentation, configuration
documents and training materials.
ERP implementation in an organization results in
extensive changes in staff and work practices.
These changes necessitate documentation of the TWB works closely with client teams located globally,
updated processes and workflows, along with the and assists them in meeting their worldwide product
creation of user manuals for the software and its announcements and launch deadlines. TWB’s
modules, training material for employees, and documentation services enable customers launch
product-specific configuration documents. their products with world-class documentation.

Industry analysts predict that every major
“Knowledge is people, money, learning, flexibility
manufacturing company will purchase and
and competitive advantage. Knowledge is more
implement the software, with leaders redirecting
relevant to sustained business than capital or
50% to 75% of their R&D budgets to e-commerce.
labor. And yet knowledge remains the most
Further, the rapid growth and evolution of ERP has
neglected asset of a business. TWB helps you
led to the development of ERP II, which is intended
unlock and share your technical knowledge with
to help businesses gain a competitive edge.
the world.”
However, despite the rapidly increasing popularity
of ERP solutions, the complexity of the
implementation of the software makes quality
documentation important to both the vendors of
ERP solutions and those organizations that
purchase them. The documentation needs to be
simple and comprehensible to end users, which
necessitates the involvement of Technical
Documentation Specialists in the creation of these
documents.

In this paper we will discuss the importance of
technical publications to ERP, to facilitate the
growth, implementation and evolution of ERP
solutions.

“TWB believes that the technology cannot exist
without being communicated effectively.”

The Writers Block www.twb.in 1 1

ERP Industry – Technical Publications

Growth and Penetration of ERP in India Challenges and Solutions

ERP software in India was originally treated as
support software and used for back office functions. Some of the greatest documentation challenges
As companies began to understand the diverse that most companies face today include:
applications of ERP, it was shifted from maintenance
of back office functions to the whole of the company.  Timely availability of quality documents during
product release
 Cost cutting in a multi-vendor business
Asia-Pacific
environment
 Managing large volumes of documentation for
15.10% new products releases
Projected CAGR

12.40% Asia-Pacific An enterprise system is implemented to develop a
business or make it more effective. This is a large
investment, and with competition increases and
10.10%
lower profit margins, keeping implementation costs
low is important.
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Year
Up to 80% of the total cost for an ERP system is
connected to maintenance activities. A major factor
that affects the maintenance of the system,
positively or negatively, is the quality of
“The Indian ERP market experienced CAGR documentation. If the documentation is not
(compounded annual growth rate) of 25.2 during satisfying, it needs to be restructured, which leads
the period of 2004 – 2009. The market was $83 to a sizeable increase in maintenance effort and
million in 2004 and is projected to be over $250 total costs. TWB provides documentation with
million in 2009, according to a research report.” professional quality.

Further, ERP systems are standardized systems,
Growth and Penetration of ERP Globally which often need modifications to suit the
requirements of a specific organization. It is
essential for the documentation to be updated
The first marked increase in the ERP market was in accurately and effectively, to reflect the changes
2004. The 14% increase made ERP a USD 23.6 made after customization.
billion business.
Benefits
The total revenue increased to over USD 28
billion by the end of 2006. It is of note that ERP
license revenue increased by 18% in 2006, For a leading vendor of ERP systems, association
according to AMR Research Inc.’s ERP Market with TWB has benefited them immensely in saving
Sizing Report 2006-2011. costs and producing professional documentation
along with services such as:
“Overall, this is the healthiest the ERP and
 Transferring complex technical data into easily
enterprise applications market has been since the
1990s.” Jim Shepherd, Vice President, AMR. understandable language
 Protecting technical and commercial data of
newly developed products
The ERP license revenue increased markedly in  Managing knowledge management and content
2007, growing to 19%. The sale of ERP packages management solutions, single sourcing, and
remained stable to small, medium, and large data migration.
businesses alike.


Value of Technical Publications

Technical Communication for Communication for Different Levels of
Transferring Product Knowledge Technical and Product Knowledge

The purpose of technical communication is to transfer In technical publications, audience is the focal
product knowledge to end users in a comprehensible point. Hence, the style, language, and content must
manner. The strategies of communication and levels vary depending on the type of audience being
of information vary depending on the type of product addressed. It is because every user has a specific
and audience. role in the implementation and usage of the
technology. Therefore, it is important that
documents be created keeping in mind the role of
Providing end users with information about a
the person who will use the document.
product’s operation and maintenance is critical to the
market performance of the product. Hence, the need
for quality documentation is imperative. For example, when you document a software
application designed for highly technical users, it is
sufficient to provide the users with quick reference
In today’s business scenario, technical publications
information to use the application.
are often developed as an afterthought. This usually
results in inaccurate and incomprehensible
documentation, which, in turn, renders the users For users who start without technical or product
incapable of using the products. knowledge, it is important to provide detailed
product information along with instructions on how
to use the product.
Accurate, readily understandable, and quality
documents determine how a product sells in the
market and result in increased customer satisfaction. Attractive Publications as Useful
Marketing Tools
Faulty Assumptions that Result in
Problems in Documentation Besides transferring knowledge, technical
publications are also used for marketing a product.
The faulty assumptions listed below result in Before a product is released in the market,
incomprehensible document: information about the product needs to be
effectively communicated to the customers.
 Developers know their products better than
anyone else – due to time constraints and limited Well-designed, accurately presented, and attractive
resources, many companies assign their marketing collaterals increase the market prospects
documentation tasks to the programmers. This of a product and reduce support costs.
more often results in the creation of technology-
centered information, while end users require
task-oriented information.

 Documentation of complex applications requires a
longer learning curve for the writer - learning the
product will not be a major obstacle for writers
with the right technical background.


Conclusion

 The Importance of ERP: An ERP system provides support by combining different internal and external
organizational functions. These systems are often customized to meet the specific needs of specific
organizations. Documentation in an ERP project serves two functions: first, to specify the changes that have
been made to the standard ERP package; and second, to help the users operate the system. Good
documentation is clear, easy to read and simple to understand. It helps users operate and maintain systems
with ease. Good documentation allows the ERP system itself to be used effectively to enhance the business
and its processes.
 Value of Technical Publications: Technical Publications are very essential for transferring product
knowledge to end users. Provisioning of proper material to use the technology and products enables the user
to accept and efficiently use the product. Faulty assumptions about documentation lead to inaccurate and
hard-to-understand material. This also decreases the chances of marketing the products in the global market.
 Role of Documentation Outsourcing: The complexity involved in implementing an ERP system requires
that vendors and purchasers consider outsourcing their documentation needs to well-established Technical
Publications Solutions providers. This helps the company cut costs and at the same time deliver their
products with quality documents.


TWB Services

TWB is India’s leader in technical communication outsourcing and education. TWB offers a complete suite of services that
allows our customers to effectively publish their technical knowledge with their people and processes. TWB’s customers range
from Global 500 – including Cisco, Accenture, McAfee, LG, Samsung, Citrix, SAP, Siemens, AOL, Intel; Indian technology
majors – including Infosys, Wipro; Global defense majors - Pratt & Whitney, Honeywell, DRDO, HAL; and exciting technology
startups. TWB's expertise in technical communication ranges from IT Products and Outsourcing, ITES, Banking, Financial,
Aerospace, Defense, Ship Building to Hi-tech Manufacturing, and Discrete and Process Manufacturing.

TWB’s services include:

Technical Marketing Technical Product Documentation Quality
Solutions Documentation Management
 Datasheets
 Administrator’s Guide
 Datasheets  Copy Editing and Proof Reading
 API Document
 Cheat sheets  Managing Writing
 Configuration Guide
 Solution Briefs/Solution Brochures  Editing Services
 Functional Specifications Document
 Presentations –  Layout and Design
Products/Corporate Profile  Installation Manual
 Creating SLAs
 Brochures and marketing collateral  Interface Document
 Web content  Interactive Electronic Technical Business Documentation
Manual (IETM)
 Audio and video scripts
 Maintenance Manual  Business Proposals
 Press releases
 Online Help  Legal Disclaimers
 Direct mail
 Operation Manual  Policy Manuals
 Newsletter design copy
 Product Demo  Style Guide Design
 Sales catalogues
 Product Specifications Document  Template Design
 Sales sheets
 Product Overview Document
 Quick Reference Guide
Business Communication Content Management
 Release Notes
 Short Reports  Requirement Analysis Document
 Single Sourcing
 Proposals  SDK Document
 File Version Control
 Case Studies  Troubleshooting Manual
 Document Naming Conventions
 Lab Reports  User Manual
 Consistent Document Formatting
 Memos  Open Source Documentation
 Data Transformation
 Progress/Interim Reports  Programmers Guides
 Writing for Electronic Media  Functional Specifications Document
 Use Cases Web site Development
Illustrations  Online Help /Context Sensitive Help
 Web 2.0 development
 Troubleshooting Guides
 Graphic Designing  Web content

 Info graphics  Web applications
Qualitative Analytics for
 2D & 3D animation
Decision Support Translation and Localization
 Line drawings and illustrations
Services
 Economic Business Research
Process Documentation
 Industry Analysis  Software Translation Services
 Workflows  Market Opportunity Analysis  Document Translation Services
 Standard Operating Procedures  Competitive Business Analysis  Localization (L10N) Testing
 ISO Documentation  Company & Prospect Profiling  Internationalization (I18N) Testing
 CMM Documentation  Reporting Solutions
 Assessment of Unmet Market Needs Records Management
Deployment and Support  Status and Potential of Technologies
 Document Management Solutions
 Benchmarking of Strategies Vs
 Record Management Storage and
 Installation and Configuration Competition
Retrieval
Guides  Forecasting
 Operations Manual  Sales Force Effectiveness
 Market Assessments
 Competitive Intelligence
 Opinion Leadership
 Emerging Markets - evaluation and
research


TWB Software Tools Expertise

Our technical proficiency in software and authoring tools includes:

Unstructured Content XML Structured Editors Multimedia/Authoring
Development
 Epic  Adobe Flash®
 Microsoft Word®  FrameMaker+SGML  Adobe Dreamweaver®
 Adobe FrameMaker®  X-Metal®  Microsoft FrontPage®
 Adobe InDesign®  Adobe Captivate®
 QuarkXPress® Macromedia Captivate
 Adobe PageMaker® Graphics/Animations
 Multimedia/Authoring/
Illustrations  Adobe Flash® Supporting tools
 Adobe Photoshop®
 Adobe Flash CS4 Professional  Adobe Fireworks®  Adobe Flash®
 Adobe Illustrator CS3  Adobe Flex®
 CorelDRAW Online Help  Adobe AIR®
 Microsoft-Expression Graphic  Adobe Dreamweaver®
Designer  Adobe Acrobat®
 Xara Xtreme (Windows & Linux)  JavaHelp
 Microsoft Silverlight®
 CuteDraw  Adobe RoboHelp 7.0
 Adobe Authorware®
 Publisher3D(for animation)  HelpScribble
 Adobe Director®
 Sketsa SVG Editor (for vector  WebWorks Publisher
 Adobe Captivate®
graphics)  PowerCHM
 Trivantis Lectora®
 Techsmith Camtasia  Doc-To-Help
 ASP.NET
 Arbortext IsoDraw (technical  WinCHM
 JSP
illustrations for 2D and 3D)  HelpSmith 2.1.1(Windows)
 JAVA
 Fast-Help
 MadCap Flare Standards
Graphics/Animation  Help-Server
 NVU Help
 SCORM 1.2 / 2004
 Adobe Flash®  AICC
XML
 Adobe Photoshop®  W3C
 Adobe Illustrator®  Section 508
 Adobe Fireworks®  XMetal®  QTI XML
 Microsoft Silverlight®  Microsoft Word 2003®,
 Microsoft Word 2007®
Databases Development and Publishing
tools
CMS/ LMS
 Microsoft Access  XSLT/XSL
 Microsoft SQL Server  EDD
 Sharepoint®
 Moodle
Flowcharting  Joomla,
 WordPress
 Microsoft Visio  Media Wiki
 iGrafx  CMS Builder
 EDraw  Author-it (formerly AuthorIT)
 RFFlow  Alfresco
 Flowbreeze
 Smart Draw


Industries Served

TWB services a wide range of technology and knowledge-driven industries, helping them meet their markets better. These
include:

 Banking, Insurance and Financial Services  ITES/ KPO/ BPO
 Consulting and Business Services  Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
 Defense, Aerospace and Hi-Tech Manufacturing  Process Manufacturing and Allied Industries
 Education and Learning  Steel, Ship Building, Construction and Aviation
 IT, ITES  Telecom and Digital Communications

TWB has been the preferred technical documentation outsourcing company for:

The TWB Building US Office:
No: 4062, 19th Main Road, TWB
HAL 2nd Stage, 11701 Norwegian Wood Drive
Bangalore – 560008 Austin, TX 78758
India.
Landmark: Behind Carlton Towers

Telephone: Telephone:
+91.80.40741400 / +1.512.586.8357
+91.80.41256367

Corporate Enquiries:
corp@twb.in


TWB Position Paper - Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

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