Clarity Helps IT Company Document Procedures for Law Enforcement Prototype

Challenge

Motorola Solutions, a global information technology (IT) pioneer, was developing technology to support a next-generation vehicle for law enforcement agencies. This technology-enhanced patrol vehicle would carry onboard hardware with high-bandwidth connectivity for video recording, public safety broadband, live streaming video, integrated radio, lights, and siren, among other features.

Opportunity

Clarity helped Motorola assemble a team of technical communicators to document the project’s technical process and procedures from initial order to completion. Two of the team members were technical writers, experienced in methods and procedures to support device order-activation-post activation services management. The third team member was an IT data technical support engineer with more than 20 years of experience, including 11 years in cellular networking and Public Safety-Long Term Evolution (PS-LTE) communications.

Results

The principal consultant’s unusual combination of skills and experience enabled him to serve as the writing team’s subject matter expert, editor, and liaison to the engineering team. He worked onsite with Motorola, reviewing, editing, and testing the ongoing work of the technical writers as the project progressed. He troubleshot the solutions proposed by the writers, streamlined and simplified the text, and tested solutions in the Motorola lab to detect gaps and solve problems before they reached the client. He met regularly with management to direct the workflow and helped create training documentation for new hires. He also collaborated with engineers and developers to create test cases that helped ensure the reliability of the documents being produced. The consultant required no training, so he could contribute immediately to the project, which lasted four months. Development of Motorola’s next-generation police vehicle is on track. This project contributed to the creation of several prototypes, including onboard cameras that take 8,000 to 10,000 license plate photos a shift; a system that rapidly checks license plate numbers against a database; and an in-car computer that provides rapid notification of outstanding violations.

Clarity enabled the company to:

• Detect problems early in the design process, thereby saving money.
• Deliver accurate and readable training documentation with the new product.

Consultant Quote:

“I was able to view things from outside the writing process, as a user, because the client didn’t have the resources to do the testing and review. The company didn’t have the experience specifically required for this task, so they partnered with Clarity to recruit me for the role.”