Wrapping It All Up: The Great Mastery Connect Guides Overhaul

[emily_allen]

Back in January 2022, Community team member Tami B wrote a blog post introducing the Mastery Connect Great Guides Overhaul. And today, I’m excited to share that we recently put the finishing touches on that project.

What exactly makes up a documentation overhaul? Well, our team compares doing a documentation overhaul to doing a home inspection. First, you have to look at the guides that are already there. What kind of shape are they in? Are they missing information? Can they be improved? 

And then you make a list of things that need to be fixed or replaced.

And then you make a list of things you want to add.

And then you roll up your sleeves and get to work. 

Section-by-section the team took a close look at the guides, retitled, rewrote (and in many cases, expanded) the current guides, took new screenshots, added new guides, reorganized, and added a bit of polish. That’s a very simplistic view of the amount of work the team completed, but for their efforts we now have a much stronger foundation for the Mastery Connect guides.

So, why do all this work? 

With this work, Mastery Connect users can more easily navigate the guides and quickly find the information they need, while providing a more consistent experience across the Instructure Community. Plus, the reorganization should make it easier and faster for the Documentation folks to make updates as needed.

So, what’s next? 

At Instructure, our documentation strategy is that the Guides are never really “complete.” Having completed our inspection and foundational work, we can now focus on building and expanding. We regularly meet with the amazing Mastery Connect Product Team to stay apprised of new and updated functionality. We regularly review requests we receive from Community members, CSMs, and Support to add or clarify information in the Guides. And sometimes, we simply learn something about the product we didn’t know.

And now, everybody loves numbers, right? 

Here’s some fun Mastery Connect Overhaul stats:

• 18 months and 2000+ hours of work
• 150+ new Guides
• Total Guide count now 450+
• 3 documentation specialists, 2 interns, and 1 team alumni
• Innumerable arguments discussions about sentence construction, capitalization, naming conventions, em dashes vs. en dashes, and Oxford commas

Please join me in applauding this small, but mighty, crew for their efforts! While overhauling the Mastery Connect guides they also managed releases and documentation updates for Mastery Connect, Canvas Studio, Canvas Catalog, Elevate K12 Analytics, and several other Instructure products!

[davidoliver1]

It sounds like you're referring to a project or initiative involving the overhaul of Mastery Connect guides. While I don't have specific information about the details or progress of this project, I can provide some general guidance on how to approach a comprehensive overhaul:

1. Assess the current guides: Begin by evaluating the existing Mastery Connect guides in terms of their content, structure, and user experience. Identify areas that need improvement, such as outdated information, unclear instructions, or lack of organization.

2. Define objectives and scope: Clearly define the goals and objectives of the overhaul. Determine the scope of the project, including which guides will be included, the level of restructuring required, and any specific improvements or updates you want to achieve.

3. Gather user feedback: Seek input from the users of the guides, such as teachers, administrators, or students. Conduct surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather insights on their pain points, suggestions, and needs. This feedback will help you align the overhaul with their requirements.

4. Develop a plan: Create a detailed plan outlining the steps, timeline, and resources needed for the overhaul. This includes allocating tasks, setting milestones, and coordinating with relevant stakeholders, such as content creators, designers, and developers.

5. Content review and revision: Review the existing content of the guides and revise it based on the feedback received and any identified gaps or areas of improvement. Ensure that the information is accurate, up-to-date, and presented in a clear and concise manner.

6. Restructuring and organization: Consider the overall structure and organization of the guides. Determine if any sections need to be reorganized, merged, or split to enhance clarity and usability. Use logical headings, subheadings, and a consistent format to make it easier for users to navigate and find information.