Christine Robinson

57970

Technical Writer

Jun 01, 2004

Overall Responsibilities

1. Improve customer satisfaction and quality
2. Develop and execute on a coordinated migration plan to new information product architectures
3. Improve internal productivity
4. Develop best practices

Initiative

Results Achieved

Status

Rating

Improve customer satisfaction and quality; improve internal productivity -- Continue to work on improving the release notes process through cross-BU teams. Stretch goal is one process improvement per quarter

This is an ongoing process. One thing I did was work to get memory information available to customers in real time through FTS. Now release notes writers don´t have to input and update this information. Release PMs can update them and customers will see the changes the next day.

In Progress

Develop best practices -- Work with the Lambretta team to better organize their information flow regarding what feature are in what releases. Best practices developed and implemented by release of 3.0 doc set (Spring MCEBU special, 12.3(102)T, or etc.)

Lambretta has moved to Aprilia, but it´s the same team. I had a much better handle on what features were in 3.2 than in the last release. Tools that helped were a spread sheet and closer interaction with the DEs responsible for each feature.

Met

Improve customer satisfaction and quality; improve internal productivity -- Integrate task analysis in the Lambretta docs, working with the Lambretta team and TAC to ensure quality. First phase of customer sat initiatives implemented by release of 3.0 doc set (Spring MCEBU special, 12.3(102)T, or etc.); second phase by following release.

I lead a second task analysis for Aprilia features. This year the dev test team and the new marketing manager joined us so they could better understand the new features. A writer from CUE joined us, as well as the IP phone docs writer. There was more interest and participation in the 3.2 task analysis. Task analysis seems to have become part of the SRST/CME team´s release process and a tool that is grasped and used by the team. People asked when we were going to have a task analysis. It also helped to develop a better working relationship with dev test. There was more
interaction between various members of the group.

I wrote the first documentation specifications and helped Doris get up to speed as a doc PM for the project. I set up the basic writer assignment structure.

Met

E

Manager Evaluation:
Chris made excellent progress by robustly delivering on 100% of the goals from her previous focal.

Chris is the lead writer for Cisco CallManager Express, one of MCEBU´s most important applications. CME is on a fantastic trajectory: systems sold in June 04 were 537, and systems sold in July 04 were 1590. The first gen CME won John Chambers´ Pioneer Award for innovation, and the product is proving his ability to judge strong technology potential. Many of the features Chris documents involve quick turns from an aggressive product team that is often responding to high-revenue contracts under negotiation.

As with the previous focal, Chris met goals, accomplished aggressive deadlines, absorbed special projects, figured out customer facing enhancements to her docs, and strategized her way out of perplexing challenges -- under management radar. Chris and I do not have scheduled 1-1s; I totally trust her ability to drive projects and her rock-solid judgment. When Chris involves me, it is either to brainstorm an issue or endorse an edgy solution. Her most recent call pertained to the fact that a PM requested that negligent reviewers devote the upcoming weekend to reviewing her docs. Chris was concerned for the reviewers´ personal lives and uncomfortable about fallout in terms of ill will toward the doc group -- yet she sorely needed reviewer input. This is pure Chris: big heart, a sensitive and strategic thinker, and nononsense approach to quality and deadlines!

Chris is famous for "poking around" and "noodleing" on problems (her words):
-- When she was poking around Feature Navigator, she discovered that the tool lists memory requirements for IOS images on each platform. She brought this info to our "Last Mile for Release Notes" meeting, and we immediately replaced our cumbersome memory tables with a link to Feature Navigator. Big win for the customer and Cisco: customers don´t have to hunt for a specific platform and image in a large table, and writers no longer have to maintain this RN section. In addition, Feature Navigator information is maintained, while RN information is static - another win for customers.

--- When she was noodleing on a customer request for CME release notes, she came up with the idea of an HTML specification table maintained by marketing (not docs!). This bypassed creation and support of high page-count release notes, which would have to contain HW/SW compatibility information, bugs, extensive feature lists, etc. Chris´ HTML spec page is remarkably short due five links to other databases. See http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/access/ip_ph/ip_ks/cme31/cme31spc.htm. Very excellent noodleing.

Development Area

Activity

Personal education

After completing the VoIP bootcamp 8/9-13, I will have completed the voice curriculum.

Leadership

Continue to look for ways to "do things better" to take ownership of something that I think will effect worthwhile change to streamline processes and improve documentation.

Broaden experience

Take special assignments that represent a departure from normal on-the-job tasks.

Employee's Development Notes:

Manager Evaluation:
To upadate Chris´ first development goal above, I am pleased to announce that she obtained her voice certificate on 8/13/04. This was a stretch goal, given the high number of document deliverables on Chris´ plate (she currently has 16 doc assignments) and the fact that CME is understaffed.

Business Initiatives

Technical/Functional Skills
Description:
Improve technical expertise in telephony.

Instructor-Led Course
Description:
Obtain Telephony certificate to include the following classes:
o Complete IP Telephony Fundamentals PT 1 & PT 2
o Complete PBX Fundamentals
o IP Telephony Positioning vs Traditional PBX

Jan 2005

Technical/Functional Skills
Description:
Improve technical expertise in telephony.

No files were attached to this review.

Manager Summary:
Chris is known for stepping up to the plate with jobs no one else wants to do. One example is the CUE-CME interopability doc, the first of its kind in the CME and CUE doc set. The doc she "whipped together" got rave reviews from TAC and marketing, who wanted other writers to copy the format. The following unsolicited comment came from a customer support engineer in the field who was having problems understanding loopback-dns. "Chris, This is one of the best documents I have seen. I like the way you gave sample configs for so many portions of this." This TAC engineer proceeded to give Chris many more customer-based configuration examples, which Chris included in her document.

Another compliment, while unintentional, is from Chris´ editor, who "had a terrific struggle with" (editor´s words) one of Chris´ docs that did not comply with the Structured Authoring Writing Guidelines (SAWG). "Some of your solutions are SAWG-inconsistent and even SAWGillegal, but effective within the doc, and I don´t want to reduce their effectiveness by shoehorning them into perfect SAWG compliance when I can´t do it in a way that´s as good as (never mind better than) what you´ve got here." Chris always thinks outside the box and is not afraid to take risks that involve breaking rules.

On a personal note, Chris accomplished this year of stellar contributions despite challenges on the home front such as the foreign deployment of her husband, who served back-to-back Reserves duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As with last year, Chris invented and implemented a variety of changes that saved department resources, she showed graciousness and wit in the face of irritating obstacles, and kept all of us on track with a healthy irreverence and affable style. Thanks, Chris!

Overall Rating: E (Employee is successful; meets all key performance expectations)

Employee: Christine Robinson (Signed Review)

Date: 24-Sep-2004

Manager: Joy Thomas

Date: 24-Sep-2004

Next Level: Denise A Moore

Date: 22-Sep-2004

Other:

Date: