Hastings Hart
Business Analyst, San Francisco Bay Area

(510) 457-5383

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For a marketing agency's new-business documents, I hard-wired quality into the process.

Clear Ink grew rapidly, and suddenly it was churning out statements of work (mini-proposals) faster than ever, and more account executives were writing them. The need for speed and the greater number of cooks in the kitchen led to inconsistent quality, and clients were complaining.

Once I set the standard for quality (see case study), I created a publishing infrastructure to ensure that that standard was always met. My goal was to raise the minimum level of quality, that is, the level of quality you get when you’re under the gun and have no choice but to cut corners to get something out the door. Any publishing process should be built with the worst-case scenario in mind, so that you can rest assured that the worst product you’ll ever create will still be something that will achieve the result you intend.

For this project, I created a complete publishing infrastructure:

  • I created a new workflow with multiple levels of review.
  • I used Visual Basic to program semi-automated, great-looking Word and Excel templates.
  • I wrote boilerplate for about 20 of the company's services that saved time, standardized descriptions, and set the standard for writing.
  • I used an engaging and entertaining presentation to introduce the system to account executives.
  • I wrote professional-quality user documentation for the company's intranet.
  • I wrote detailed technical documentation for the company's programmers to use for maintenance.
  • I edited all statements of work for months afterwards to solidify the new level of quality.

A couple of months after I implemented this system, Clear Ink’s most important client specifically mentioned how much happier they were with statements of work. My client at Clear Ink said, "Hastings ... really cares about the user and their experience with the information, tools, process, and procedures that he provides.... What this translates to is well-thought-out solutions to internal process challenges, designed in a way that achieves the business objective. At the same time, he provides the user with information and tools in a way that is easily accessible, leading to high adoption, which is the ultimate business goal."