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IFS Online Documentation & Distributed Development

FTI Autumn MeetingLinköping, October 2009

Presenters

Ulrika Bergman Isabella Pertmann

Documentation Manager Product Documentation Manager

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IFS at a glance Industrial and Financial Systems

One of the world’s leading providers of component-based business softwareFounded in 1983 Headquarters in Linköping, Sweden Listed on the Stockholm Stock ExchangeNumber of customers: > 2 000 Number of IFS Applications™ users: > 600 000 Represented in more than 50 countries on all continents, through59 subsidiaries and more than 70 offices, as well as distributors Number of employees: 2 812 (August 31st 2009)

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Our philosophy

Vision

To have the most satisfied customers in the industry and be known for making advanced technology easy.

Mission

IFS and partners develop and implement component-based business solutions, IFS Applications, which enable large and mid-size organizations worldwide to obtain greater returns.

Values

Simplicity Professionalism Commitment

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Product Development & Support

Sweden

Sri Lanka

Norway

Poland

> 700 employees

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Commenced operations in 1997Started with 26 employees

600 employees as of todayOne of the largest software development companies in Sri LankaOne of the biggest employers of IT graduates in the country

Areas of WorkProduct Development & SupportWorldwide offshore consulting servicesSales & Consulting

Flat & informal organizational culture

IFS in Sri Lanka

IFS Online Documentation

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IFS Applications DocumentationWhat’s This?

Sample Models

Process Models

!Activity Diagrams

Setup Guides DocumentationWindow Descriptions Documentation

Activity Descriptions

DocumentationTopic Descriptions

DocumentationProcess Descriptions

Training MaterialCourse Navigator

Training MaterialProducts Navigator

IFS Online Documentation Context & Integration

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Facts & Figures

IFS Online DocumentationIFS Applications

What’s This

Sample Models

Process Models

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Activity Diagrams

Activity Desc.

Topic Desc. Process Desc.

Window Desc.

742

9 931 5 576

473

38 80016 722 text documents23 079 terms

1 652

Translatedinto

10 languages

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Facts & Figures

Training Material

Basic Lessons235

Intro. Lessons157

Key Lessons759

Extended Lesson272

Course Desc.137

Tips & Tricks92

Initial Exercises112

Training MaterialCourse Navigator

Training MaterialProducts Navigator

TrainingData

1 423 training presentations

This is IFS Online Documentation

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Online documentation (F1)Process modelsTraining MaterialWhat´s This? (Shift + F1)Documentation Framework

This is IFS Online Documentation

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This is IFS Technical Online Documentation

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8 000 documents

IFS Training Material

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IFS Training Material

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IFS Training Material

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Distributed Development

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Distributed Development

Development across worksites or locations.Working collaboratively using e-mail, Net Meeting, Web conference system, MSN and telephone.

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Sweden

Sri Lanka

Norway

Poland

> 700 employees

How is the work being performed?

Agile methodologySmall project teamsShort iterations

Online Doc&TM integrated in the projectsLine support to the project teams

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Time Zone Challenge Shared Working Time SE/SL (green area)

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Sweden

Sri Lanka8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Key customers in Sweden, US, UK, Germany

Lunch

Lunch

Shared Time: 9 – 3,5 – 1 – 1 = 3,5 hours

Documentation Organization

Roles and functions

1 Documentation Manager 4 Product Documentation Managers17 Technical Writers2 Linguistic Reviewers8 Term Owners+ Functional Designers, Business System Analysts, Software Engineers… etc

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Sweden

Sri Lanka

Documentation Organization

Documentation Manager

What type of documentation should we produce?How are we going to produce it?

Guidelines, rules, directives, process…

Support R&D Development projects and Support with directives and knowledge

Product Documentation Manager

One PDM per product area (4)Responsible for that guidelines etc is followedSupport to TW in their daily workResponsible for content and quality

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Product Documentation Manager Forum

The Documentation Manager is the chairman of the Documentation Forum

Improve processes, cross-product decisions and directivesLeads the cross-product work for Product Documentation Managers

Purpose

To conciliate the documentation in the product groupsStrategic outlook – business cases regarding documentationDevelop and maintain united guidelines

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Knowledge sharing

Exchange program in Sri Lanka to visit Linköping

One month at a time2 apartments 8 people at a timeActing hosts

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Visiting Sri Lanka

Offices in Colombo (main office) and Kandy> 600 employeesRegular trips

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IFS Office in Colombo

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New office in Kandy

Started in November 2008Solve the space issue in ColomboAttract more students from the university in Kandy

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Visiting the IFS office in Colombo

IFS Guest HouseBreakfastLiving roomCable TV/VideoDaily papersLaundry services

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Lunch at the IFS office in Colombo

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Car park at IFS office in Colombo

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Lessons Learned Teams Communication & Collaboration on different sites

As a team member, invest in personal relations!Don’t cut the traveling budget…Working phone lines are CRITICALFlexible lunch times can make a differenceTeam Empowerment

Success factors

Built from startCommitted peopleExchange programOpen dialog

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IFS – Solutions for the agile enterprise