[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-243559-105":53,"doc-detail-243559-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":120,"head_meta":122,"extra_data":124,"updated_unix":126},105,"en","using-standards-and-tracking-tools-in-information-development-projects-issue-37","Using Standards and Tracking Tools in Information Development Projects - issue 37","","Collaboration in information development projects can create inconsistency when many contributors must produce data-driven deliverables such as policies, reports, proposals, procedures, and training materials. The article explains how to reduce risks to consistency, quality, budget, and schedule by using a documentation standard, an electronic template, and spreadsheet tracking tools. It also shows how linked spreadsheets with a parent-child structure enable objective measurement of percent complete while capturing project status without burdening the team.",{"@graph":63,"@context":119},[64,80,102],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/using-standards-and-tracking-tools-in-information-development-projects-issue-37/243559/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/using-standards-and-tracking-tools-in-information-development-projects-issue-37/243559.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Paura","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-20","2026-09-12",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":101},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":103,"mainEntity":104},"FAQPage",[105,111,115],{"name":106,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":108},"Why can creativity become a problem in information development projects?","Question",{"text":109,"@type":110},"When many knowledge workers jointly produce deliverables that must present analyzed data clearly, inconsistent formatting and presentation choices can harm consistency and quality requirements.","Answer",{"name":112,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":113},"How do simplified tracker and linked spreadsheets help project management?",{"text":114,"@type":110},"A spreadsheet tracker can calculate percent complete by deliverable and be linked with others. A parent-child relationship lets higher-level spreadsheets summarize progress while lower-level ones provide detailed work information.",{"name":116,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What role do documentation standards and electronic templates play?",{"text":118,"@type":110},"They define analysis approaches, organization and formats, style and punctuation conventions, and graphical screenshot standards. 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How can you track, measure, and minimize inconsistency without stifling team members?  \nby Gary Neights  \nBUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING efforts, computer system im  \nplementations, plant capital expansions, training and docu  \nmentation (T&D) development initiatives, and plant launches—projects that create or develop information often involve coordinating the activities of numerous knowledge workers. Often these workers must analyze data and develop outputs, the primary value of which is the clear presentation of this analysis. Project outputs can include policies, reports and recommendations, proposals, business process flow diagrams, operating procedures, work instructions, job aids, and training materials.  \nIn some cases, numerous people may be involved with the construction of a single deliverable. In other cases, one person may be responsible for 50 deliverables that need to be indistinguishable (as to authorship) from another person’s 50 deliverables. As more and more deliverables are ultimately going to be warehoused electronically, well-thought-out and consistent electronic file structures are imperative. This leads to a situation in which creativity in the presentation of content may be detrimental.  \nHow can you minimize the risks of not meeting consistency, quality, budget, and schedule requirements by a project team? How can  \nPM Network • July 1997 37  \nSimplified Tracker  \nExhibit 1. The spreadsheet tracking tool used in the training development project described in this article was a matrix that helped to calculate percent complete by deliverable. This simple tracker could be linked with others to give a projectwide picture of progress.  \nLinked Spreadsheets  \nExhibit 2. By establishing a “parent-child” relationship among the linked spreadsheets, the higherlevel spreadsheet can be used to summarize information, while the lower-level ones can address the high level of detail needed to actually do the work.  \npercent complete be unobtrusively and impartially measured? How can project status be accurately and efficiently captured without taking up the valuable time of the development team?  \nIn my organization we’ve used the tools described in this article to manage training and documentation development projects. These tools can also be applied to other types of projects that involve numerous people in complex work processes.  \nFor example, a training development effort for a recent Systems Applications and Products software (SAP, release 3) implementation resulted in the development of more than 350 software work instructions. Each work instruction contained screen shots and, in some cases, complex branching tables to accurately depict the choices a user would need to make when performing a system  \ntransaction. The materials were designed to be used in paper form for the short term and inan Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) for the long term. The project’s engineers and instructional system designers needed to apply creativity and logical thinking to analyze the computer system and determine the most efficient way to perform each enduser task. Clear writing and conformance to standards were required in the presentation of the information.  \nAdditionally, because the constraints of the EDMS were not known at the beginning of the project, the documents were designed for consistency and robustness from an electronic perspective. This was critical because most application software allows for numerous ways of doing the same thing. For example, indenting a word using a word processor can be done using a style sheet, the tab  \nkey, the space bar, or even a table. Inconsistency in this seemingly trivial detail could cause an EDMS to read each document differently and require unnecessary and non","cbCaid5MkP7RB2pd","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaid5MkP7RB2pd","pdf",787353,6,"English","# Using Standards and Tracking Tools in Information Development Projects\n## Simplified Tracker\n## Linked Spreadsheets\n## Documentation Standard\n## Electronic Template and Quality Controls","[{\"question\":\"Why can creativity become a problem in information development projects?\",\"answer\":\"When many knowledge workers jointly produce deliverables that must present analyzed data clearly, inconsistent formatting and presentation choices can harm consistency and quality requirements.\"},{\"question\":\"How do simplified tracker and linked spreadsheets help project management?\",\"answer\":\"A spreadsheet tracker can calculate percent complete by deliverable and be linked with others. A parent-child relationship lets higher-level spreadsheets summarize progress while lower-level ones provide detailed work information.\"},{\"question\":\"What role do documentation standards and electronic templates play?\",\"answer\":\"They define analysis approaches, organization and formats, style and punctuation conventions, and graphical screenshot standards. Templates also embed required metadata entry steps to ensure cataloging and consistency across paper and electronic versions.\"}]","Using Standards and Tracking Tools in Information Development Projects - issue 37 | PDF",1789205406]