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Subject:RE: Organizing a Knowledge Base From:"Cardimon, Craig" <ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com> To:'Robert Lauriston' <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com> Date:Fri, 1 Nov 2013 19:25:22 +0000
Thanks for the help. I'm starting from square one here, so I'm feeling my way along.
-----Original Message-----
From: robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com [mailto:robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com] On Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 3:23 PM
To: Cardimon, Craig; TECHWR-L (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)
Subject: Re: Organizing a Knowledge Base
There's no industry standard because most KBs don't have that feature.
If you have multiple applications, it might make sense to have one folder per application. Anything more granular than that might just make it harder for users to find what they want. Assuming folders are even exposed to users rather than just being there to help manage access privileges.
On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 12:16 PM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com> wrote:
> You are correct thus far.
>
> FreshDesk offers the option to create your own folders, which the higher-ups have done.
>
> I wanted to know if there was a common-sense industry standard for organizing KBs, should I want to justify any changes I make to the folder structure.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com [mailto:robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com]
> On Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
> Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:39 PM
> To: Cardimon, Craig
> Cc: TECHWR-L (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)
> Subject: Re: Organizing a Knowledge Base
>
> With only five people on the help desk, you should have no problem keeping up with everything they log. That should make it clear what customers are asking about so that you know which existing KB articles need work and what new ones to add.
>
> When you're wearing your editor's hat, in my experience common problems with articles drafted by non-writers are too much jargon, bad examples, wrong or incomplete use cases, missing information, and lumping two or more distinct issues into one article.
>
> What does "organize it" mean? KBs are normally search-driven. Does FreshDesk offer some other options?
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 9:58 AM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com> wrote:
>> About five people or so. They want me to create new items, edit the stuff that's already there, and think about how best to organize it.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com [mailto:robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com]
>> On Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
>> Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 12:55 PM
>> To: Cardimon, Craig; TECHWR-L (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)
>> Subject: Re: Organizing a Knowledge Base
>>
>> You have a help desk crew using that same tool? If so, how many people?
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 9:43 AM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com> wrote:
>>> It's called "FreshDesk."
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com [mailto:robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com]
>>> On Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
>>> Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 12:41 PM
>>> To: Cardimon, Craig; TECHWR-L (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)
>>> Subject: Re: Organizing a Knowledge Base
>>>
>>> What software are you using?
>>>
>>> On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 8:54 AM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com> wrote:
>>>> The KB software is already in place. I'm the cleanup crew.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com
>>>> [mailto:robert -dot- lauriston -at- gmail -dot- com]
>>>> On Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
>>>> Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 11:54 AM
>>>> To: Cardimon, Craig; TECHWR-L (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)
>>>> Subject: Re: Organizing a Knowledge Base
>>>>
>>>> Do you need to choose the KB software or is that already in place?
>>>>
>>>> A typical structure is:
>>>>
>>>> - problem statement
>>>> - solution(s)
>>>> - links to related articles and other resources
>>>>
>>>> A knowledge base is by definition unorganized.
>>>>
>>>> A KB is similar to a blog in that each article stands alone. It's similar to a wiki (especially a flat wiki without a navigation tree, such as MediaWiki) and SEO in that tagging / keywords can be important in helping users find the right information.
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 4:50 AM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com> wrote:
>>>>> I have been asked to help with organizing/writing topics in a knowledge base.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm enthusiastic, but I haven't done this kind of thing before.
>>>>>
>>>>> Where can I go to study up how to put together a KB?
>>>> Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
>>> Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
>> Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
> Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
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