Migrating from Unix to Windows

Challenge:
TechNet, Microsoft's on-line resource for detailed technical information about their products, contains a great deal of prescriptive, step-by-step guidance showing how to perform many kinds of operations. These 'how-to' articles typically focus on very specific tasks.

Recognizing a need for information showing how to migrate from Unix to Windows Server, the managers at TechNet asked Studio B to develop a series of 'how-to' articles on this topic. They asked Studio B to outline the entire process and create the set of articles showing how it is done. A particular challenge was to make the set integrated, so readers could look up specific tasks, but they would also be able to navigate through the entire set in order to understand the whole migration process.

Solution:
Studio B assembled a team of subject matter experts and developed a comprehensive two-tier outline of the entire migration process. We then created 'super how-to' articles corresponding to the top tier headings in the outlines. Each super how-to described one stage of the process that would be covered by more detailed how-to articles. The super how-to articles also contained a top-level outline of the entire process. With a well-organized set of links from super how-tos to how-tos, and link-backs to the super how-tos, readers are able to easily navigate the entire set of articles describing the migration process. They can do this no matter what kind of web search brings them into any one of the articles in the set.

Results:
The result is a detailed prescriptive guide showing how to migrate from Unix to Windows Server. It is structured so readers can look up specific parts of the process, or they can work through the how-tos from beginning to end. This proved to be an innovative and highly successful way of structuring information in a search driven knowledge base.

Bottom Line:
Studio B offered a simple solution that included design, content covering different areas of expertise, editorial and project management services, and timely delivery.