Natural Resources and Tech Communication Discussion

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Scenario

MainStreetApp (MSApp) is a small internet startup that was formed three years ago by two former college roommates in Portland, Oregon. They recently hired a business consultant to complete a SWOT analysis, and they would now like to hire you as a technical writer to use this SWOT analysis to create a project plan that they can present to large corporate clients who have expressed interest in joining the app.

Their app has had moderate success and buy-in from local businesses; however, within the last year, larger national corporate clients have expressed interest in joining the app, but only if its platform develops its reach in markets throughout the United States. In this app, brands have pages—just like storefronts—and on these pages, customers can learn about sales and events, interact with the brand and other users, and enter conversations about the products. Additionally, users can customize their own “malls” by seeing all participating stores closest to their physical location that have their favorite brand, or even sets of brands, due to the MSApp algorithm.

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Directions

MainStreetApp recently had a SWOT analysis performed by an outside business consultant, and it now wants to hire you to create a project plan it can use to present to interested corporate clients based on this analysis. You will need to create a comprehensive technical writing project plan that clearly explains how someone (other than you) would create the needed technical documentation for MSApp to be a stable enough company to sustain success in a nationwide market. This plan will be presented to a subcommittee in charge of gathering the information needed before this decision is made. This subcommittee is already working with specialists in other fields (marketing, HR, etc.), and thus your sole focus is on technical documents, both virtual and print. Consider documents that potential internal and external stakeholders might need. Your plan will need to address the following:

• Define a clear purpose for project as a whole. As you work, consider the following:
  • What is the ultimate goal for this project?
  • Why are you completing this project?
  • What are the needs being filled by this project?

• Identify relevant and ample deliverables for project. As you work, consider the following:
  • In order to meet stakeholder needs, what deliverables are necessary?
  • Are there required types of deliverables, and some that are merely recommended?
  • Is there stakeholder input you should get on some types of deliverables?

• After delineating the deliverables, define the targeted audience of each deliverable.
  • Who is the targeted audience for each deliverable?
  • What are the needs of each target audience?
  • How do each of the deliverables target that specific audience?

• Allocate time and resources MainStreetApp will need to complete the technical writing project (which is not itself included in this competency). Make sure to include the following:
  • Plan how long you, as the technical writing consultant, will need to complete these deliverables, and plan multiple specific work milestones.
  • Plan what other monetary line items (e.g., professional copying) you will need.
  • Plan what human resources you will need other than your own.

• Define the roles of various key stakeholders involved at different stages in the project life cycle, and how to communicate with each stakeholder. Make sure to include the following:
  • Whose input do you need before you start each key deliverable?
  • Whose review do you need after you’ve drafted each key deliverable?
  • What are the best ways to communicate with each stakeholder?
    • What is each stakeholder looking for?
    • What medium might be best?
    • What method of communication is best?

• Identify potential obstacles and how to overcome them. In order to identify obstacles, consider the following:
  • Which people, even stakeholders, might be difficult to work with or around in regard to what you need for your project?
  • What things (e.g., resources) might make meeting your project plan (e.g., timeline) difficult?
  • How can you best address these obstacles before they become problematic, in order to mitigate their potential effects?

• Ensure the final project plan is clear and professionally formatted. Consider the following:
  • How should you best organize the project plan?
  • How can you best format the project plan so busy professionals can quickly understand it, but also fully comprehend the complexity of the work they’d be undertaking?
  • How can you be accurate but also persuasive?
  • How can you best show off your great thinking?

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What to Submit

For this project, you must submit the following:

Project Plan
Your project plan should clearly explain how someone would create the needed technical documentation for MSApp to move into a nationwide market.

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Supporting Materials

The following resource(s) may help support your work on the project:

Document: SWOT Analysis
This document is the final product of the Business Consultant who performed the SWOT Analysis on MSApp.

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