An information development/knowledge transfer initiative to help achieve total customer satisfaction and ISO 9000 registration

An information development knowledge transfer (ID/KT) initiative, when properly implemented, can lead not only total customer satisfaction, but registration with any of the widely recognized quality programs (ISO 9000, SEI, Malcolm Baldrige). A true ID/KT initiative involves everyone in the content development stream: technical writers, editors, Web site programmers/developers, multimedia developers, trainers, and graphics designers. Each has specific knowledge and skills that transform technical content into knowledge that is transferable to users of that information and manageable as a corporate (intellectual) asset. Organisations wanting to achieve ISO 9000 status or just deliver the best customer documentation possible need to reduce or even eliminate variability in their documentation process. This paper explores the contribution that content developers provide and offers suggestions for organizations on how to plan a coordinated ID/KT initiative