Christine Robinson

57970

Technical Writer

Dec 01, 2001

Overall Responsibilities

Initiative

Results Achieved

Status

Rating

Online only release notes

With other release note writers in other business units others transitioned to on-line only release notes. For channel release note, designed and implemented new packaging and delivery of release notes.

Met

Database-driven release notes

Proposed and sold to upper management the repackaging of release note into a database format.

Met

Getting Specials into PDS

Putting release notes into databases is a huge, complex undertaking. Responsibilities have been distributed. Mine is to come up with a way for information about specials to be put into PDS.

In Progress

E

Maintain same level of release note support with five less people

Another writer has taken over four platforms, but I am doing the rest of the release notes for the remaining 11. No deadlines have been missed. Quality has not suffered.

Met

E

Manager Evaluation:
Chris met her initiatives in grand style. While her accomplishments as IOS RN program manager stand out, here are some details about one of Chris' lesser-known achievements with Feature Packs. At the beginning of this focal, she took over as program manager for Cisco feature packs. The expectation was that she would simply replace the previous PM from PCG and oversee RNs produced by Cisco-wide doc groups. She quickly streamlined the process and changed content as follows:

-Worked with TAC to remove TFTP/RCP instructions and replace them with a link to TAC's website. This reduced the need for writers to maintain this content.

-Removed hardcopy RNs and replaced them with RNs located on the software CD itself.

-Removed the product/serial number sticker from the kit (Chris' research proved that the sticker was left over from CiscoPro days and was no longer needed).

-Implemented a self-explanatory GUI for delivering RN content to writers.

-Alerted team to the fact that the Router Software Loader software was not supported on current Windows systems. The team then decided to remove the instructions and the software itself.

As a result of all this streamlining, Chris worked with the channel team to replace the "candy box" feature pack kit with a "slim man" folder. This reduced the cost per kit from $12 to $4 per unit.

Chris lists "Getting Specials into PDS" as an initiative still in progress. In late-breaking news after she submitted this focal, the team overcame the last technical roadblock and mapped out a plan for implementation. This initiative has been met.
Chris not only met all initiatives, but she brought creativity, process changes, and cost savings to the table. This typifies her strong performance this year.

Criteria For Success

Accomplishments

Rating

Adaptability
Maintaining effectiveness in different environments and with varying tasks, responsibilities and people.

The entire focus of my job was switched abruptly last year. I was asked to do the job of five people. I took advantage of the situation and came up with a better release note delivery system.

Communication
Expressing thoughts and ideas effectively to others. Clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups.

1. Changed the entire packaging format of the channel releases.
2. Gave presentations regarding release note delivery problems and solutions.
3. Persuaded overloaded release PMs to commit to provide release information.
4. Constant interaction with engineering, marketing, and release ops to generate release notes.

E

Customer Focus
Proactively developing customer relationships by making efforts to listen to and understand the internal and external customer. Anticipating and providing solutions to customer needs.

1. Release notes provide more parentage information, so customers know about all of the features available in the release.
2. With severe staff shortages, release noteshave not suffered. I have made sure that customers get essential information.

Drive for Results
Delivering results by pushing yourself and others at Cisco to achieve stretch goals. This means being motivated and driven to set clear goals, to stay focused and to know how to get things done yourself or through others.

Although my idea to make release notes database driven has created waves, my efforts to produce release notes at the same pace as before the layoff have not. The release notes load has not decreased and the release notes get out the door without much fuss. Just maintaining release notes--keeping them going along and preventing crisies--is a considerable task that takes drive and focus.

Teamwork
Working effectively together to achieve a common goal. Taking actions that respect the needs and contributions of others; contributing to and accepting the consensus; subordinating own objectives to the overall goals of Cisco organization or the team.

All of my work and achievements have been accomplished by teaming with engineers, release-ops, marketing, and documentation.

Criteria For Success

Accomplishments

Rating

Manager Evaluation:
If one success criteria jumps out for Chris, it's adaptability. Chris entered this focal period as a feature module writer and was busy writing the feature modules assigned to her. In October, our group lost our RN liaison with outsourcers. Chris added that role to feature module writing. In April, we lost the outsourcers, and Chris added release note writing to the RN program management and the feature module writing. On top of that, management asked her to redesign release note delivery so that we could provide content with a markedly reduced staff. By May, she was in the heat of redesign and also writing over 20 release notes per month. At that time, we realized the futility of expecting feature modules, and we reassigned all eight features that she'd been working on. Throughout these transitions, Chris was upbeat and determined to deliver whatever challenges Cisco presented.

Chris' counterpart in ITD says the following about adaptability, "Chris and I often work closely, and I have observed her workload and focus change greatly over the last year as she moved back into the release notes world. I think that Chris made the transition very gracefully and managed to shoulder an amazing load while still maintaining her integrity of work and dedication to driving big picture improvements."

Chris' counterpart also commented about communication skills, "Chris has done a lot to communicate about her ideas for process improvements, and she has presented successfully to a variety of groups, including management, CISROT, and the Release Notes Forum. She is a convincing speaker, and always brings the audience into her presentation by explaining how the issues at hand will affect them."

There's another important criteria for success that's not included in Cisco's standard listing: perseverance.

- In September 2000, back when Chris was a contractor for Cisco, she sent the following e-mail regarding the need for consistent marketing feature names: "Subject: PDS 'Marketing Feature Name" Field: Continuing my proposal, the second field in PDS called 'Marketing Feature Name' sure looks like a candidate for the name we should use in RNs and elsewhere. However, it seems that this field is rarely filled in--at least from my very unscientific random sampling of 20 or so features? <and etc.> Chris
.
- On Sept 13, 2001 we received the following e-mail from Donna Jones in Bob Manganaro's group: "Subject: FN alias for Marketed Feature Name concerns. In today's meeting we talked about a way to contact our Feature Navigator Data Quality team when concerns about Marketed Feature Name consistency come up for new releases. I was suggesting that documentation can contact us instead or in addition to the PMs and we can help negotiate the edits if necessary. This way we can help determine/recommend a consistent name based on known conventions. This alias opens a case and is monitor by many members of our FN team - we promise a quick response too: fea-navhelp@
cisco.com."
In the year between those events, Chris worked persistently through a variety of teams and individuals to rectify this customer facing inconsistency in Cisco. As with her feature pack changes, this chain of events is also typical of Chris' performance during the focal period - -she isolated an issue, devised a straw-man solution, rattled cages, organized meetings, and then supported another group in implementing the resolution.

Another contributor to this focal writes about Chris' perseverance. "I have been consistently amazed at Chris's energy and her ability to continue working on big picture process improvements when it would be easy to be overwhelmed by the immediate tasks and projects she shoulders. She does not lose sight of end goals."

Cisco Release Operations

IOS Release Process Training

20-Apr-2001

Cisco VoIP Technology

Configuring Cisco Voice over IP- self study

ongoing

Employee Comments:
My initiative last year was to "gain technical understanding of voice over IP and telephony." I had planned to take classes, but was transferred over to release notes full time.

Manager Comments: