Cisco Systems Customers Provide Feedback on Documentation

By Jeff Freeman

At September's meeting, Vince Francis and Tina Fox of Cisco Systems presented two Cisco Best Practice programs designed to enhance end-user documentation. In today's busy work environment, it is rare that management would go to technical writers and ask them to obtain feedback from their customers on the effectiveness of its documentation. However, this is exactly what occurred nearly three years ago at Cisco Systems.

Technical writers were requested by management to volunteer for a program that enabled them to collect feedback from their customers regarding cable modem documentation that includes information on Cisco's Internal Operations System (IOS) and routers.

The following two methods are being used to elicit customer feedback:

Online feedback forms and interviews, and
On-site visits to customer offices.

Online Feedback Forms and Interviews

Customers use online feedback forms that are attached to the electronic documentation. Thus, when a customer requests a feedback form while viewing a document, the system database records the page where the feedback form was initiated.

After the customers complete an online questionnaire, they are asked whether it is okay to contact them. Those customers (about 30 percent) who are "contactable" are interviewed by writers either by phone or e-mail.

The online feedback forms provide sustainable and ongoing benefits to customers, writers, and the company. Technical writers, who often focus on detailed information, are able to understand the "big picture." They also obtain an understanding of all customer issues, not just the issues concerning documentation.

On-Site Visits to Customers

Cisco established a Get Out of the Office program called "GOOFOFF" that gives interested writers the opportunity to visit customer sites. The visiting teams work with local account managers to determine the appropriate customers to visit.

Cisco management encourages employee meeting with customers to achieve the following goals:

Enhance customer satisfaction with the documentation.
Strengthen the relationship between customers and Cisco.
Find out how customers use the documentation
Find out what customers like and don't like about the documentation.
Determine how to facilitate the collection of needed information.
Listen and record customer suggestions for improving the documentation and its presentation.

Feedback Obtained from Online Forms and On-Site Visits

It turns out that there are many reasons that customers may not be satisfied with their training environment, and it often involves issues other than the documentation. For example, technical support and product design issues may be causing customers' frustration. Customers have frequently expressed frustration that it is difficult to locate the documents that they need from the online Web site. For instance, one customer was extremely upset that it took 12 clicks of the mouse to access the required document.

When talking to customers, it is very important that the writers listen to what the customers are saying and avoid becoming defensive.

Cisco has started the following documentation initiatives as a direct result of customer feedback:

Implementation of online book-level PDF files for additional product lines
Enhancement of release notes
Use of more examples and expanded troubleshooting information
Revision of history tables

In summary, taking the time to obtain feedback from customers on documentation is a cost-effective and effective program that often results in enhanced customer loyalty, as well as improvements to documentation and product design.

Come see Richard Lederer and Martha Barnette from KPBS' "A Way With Words" at the November 9 STC meeting. Visit www.stc-sd.org/events-meetings to register. See you there!