Robert Fahey

  
7815 W. 97th Terr.
Overland Park, KS 66212 		(913) 341-5271
RobertAFahey@hotmail.com

Computer Skills

Software

Word for Windows, Windows Help (from Windows 3.x Help to the current HTML Help Workshop), Adobe Acrobat, FrontPage, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, FrameMaker, Visio, WordPerfect, Visual Basic, Paintshop Pro, CorelDraw, HTML Writer, Ray Dream Studio (3D animation), MacroMedia DreamWeaver, Lotus Notes, Lotus Domino Designer, Lotus ScreenCam recorder, Business Objects, RoboHelp
 

Languages

Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in Visual Basic, COBOL, HTML
 

Operating Systems

DOS, Windows (3.x, 95/98/ME, NT), Macintosh

Education

 Missouri Southern State University
Bachelor's in communications and associate's in business

Experience and Skills

I have 10 years of documentation management and technical writing experience, part of 19 total years of writing and editing experience. My background includes newspaper writing, ranging from police and fire stories to business and political news; newspaper editing; and technical writing, including HTML, online help for various platforms, and paper documentation. My technical knowledge is solid, I have a good background in programming concepts and some knowledge of databases, and I'm familiar with a variety of software and operating systems.

My skills include requirements analysis and evaluation, problem solving, assessment of customer requirements for software, and evaluation of software for user documentation. I acquire new skills and knowledge quickly, and I am an observant technical editor. I have a thorough knowledge of software testing and the development of user-oriented materials. In addition, I am competent in the areas of user interface design and usability, and I enjoy performing project-related investigation and research.

Employment

Data Systems International, Overland Park, KS
November 2001--September 2004

Senior Technical Communications Specialist
I managed the creation of documentation on several projects, including:
  • kmLINK tutorial book, installation book, quick-reference card and online Help. KmLINK is a program for creating workflows to be viewed in browsers, for troubleshooting and education. This was a new program, and I worked as the documentation part of a development team following the iterative Rational Unified Process. I also created part of the program interface, designing toolbar buttons.
  • SalesLINK installation book, quick-reference cards and online Help. SalesLINK is a suite of programs for collecting data at the sales point, transmitting it to a database manager program, and using it.
On the above projects, the books were created in FrameMaker, the online Help in RoboHelp and the quick-reference cards in Microsoft Word. Illustrations and toolbar buttons were created in various programs, including Jasc Paint Shop Pro, CorelDraw, Microsoft Visio and others.


Applied Communications Group, Overland Park, KS
September, 1996--November, 2001

Senior consultant, technical writer
Here are some projects I handled for ACG clients:
  • 2001 – Created process documentation for the reorganized IT Department at Hallmark, Kansas City, MO
  • 2000 - Employers Reinsurance Corp. (now GE Insurance), Overland Park, KS:
    • Wrote online Help (46 topics) for ImageFlo, a program used to help a company go “paperless.” It lets employees enter and manage data associated with scanned images of paper documents. Used Windows HTML Help Workshop. Illustrations created with PaintShop Pro.
    • Wrote MS Word docs telling how to use many programs, including Faxination, Visual Rater (VR) and Underwriter Expert System (UES).
    • Wrote PowerPoint training material on using Business Objects and MS Word short guide to using WebI, short for WebIntelligence, the browser-based version of Business Objects. Used MS Word.
    • Wrote training and FAQ pages for ERC intranet on many topics, often to fit an immediate need. For example, when they added all of GE to ERC’s Outlook Address Book, they quickly needed an online guide on efficiently managing addresses. Used Lotus Notes, Lotus Domino Designer.
  • 1999 –Sprint’s PCS (wireless telephone) division, wrote PowerPoint and MS Word training materials for their Call Center, training employees about setting up new customers and starting their PCS phones.
    Learned their software for setting up new clients and recorded several Lotus ScreenCam demonstrations, showing how to do it.
  • 1998 and 1999 – Optimation, Independence, MO. Wrote three manuals on using their software products, all of which are used to guide machines that cut or stamp parts in manufacturing. I wrote all three books in MS Word and included illustrations I created in CorelDraw and PaintShop Pro. I worked with their engineers to learn all about their software that automatically prioritizes ordered parts for cutting batches and arranges “nests” of parts optimally on sheets of material.
    The books were:
    • A 421-page user's manual for their contour cutting products, including OptiNest, OptiComp and OptiLaser.
    • A 220-page user's manual for their new laser cutting software called Plug&Lase.
    • A 496-page user's manual for their punch/contour software, including OptiPunch, OptiRout and OptiShear.
  • 1998 – Medical Review Consultants, Inc., (MRC), Independence, MO. Wrote online Help (47 topics) for MRC Starting Point, a program for accepting, organizing and analyzing patient information. Learned the software to write it. Illustrations in PaintShop Pro.
  • 1997 – LDD (long-distance) division of Sprint, documented problems and solutions for Help desk call-in center.
  • 1996 - Sprint’s downtown Kansas City office, wrote online guide for new users of their internet service, Sprint Internet Passport.


Softdesk Retail Products, Kansas City, MO
September, 1994--September, 1996

Technical Writer
I created printed documentation and online Help for retail CAD programs. I documented many different products, either writing new material or adapting existing documentation. We modeled our terminology and the look of online Help on Microsoft’s style.
Books in FrameMaker (with illustrations in PaintShop Pro and CorelDraw) and online Help systems:
  • Drafix CAD Professional book, 545 pages
  • Drafix CAD Professional Getting Started book, 57 pages
  • Drafix CAD Symbol Guide book, 221 pages
  • Drafix CAD Help - online Help formats for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95
  • Drafix QuickCAD book, 325 pages
  • Drafix QuickCAD Getting Started book, 57 pages
  • Drafix QuickCAD Help - online Help formats for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 - 36 topics plus glossary
  • Multicom Home Planner Help -- for Windows 3.x, illustrations in PaintShop Pro - 27 topics plus glossary
  • Planix 3D Exterior Designer book, 55 pages
  • Planix Home Architect book, 336 pages
  • SoftDesk Pro Remodeler book, 83 pages
  • Softdesk Pro Remodeler Help -- Windows 3.x Help, illustrations in PaintShop Pro - 78 topics plus glossary


The Platte County Gazette, Parkville, MO
December, 1992--September, 1994

Editor/writer/photograher
I edited, wrote, and shot photos for this weekly, community newspaper. I made decisions about what stories and accompanying photos and graphics would go in the paper. I laid out the paper. I tried to provide genuinely useful information to the people in the community. I enjoyed the work, but wanted to get into technical writing and so took night classes at Park College.


The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO
February, 1988--December, 1992

Staff writer
My writing assignments varied widely and I gained great experience and enjoyed my work at this daily newspaper with a Sunday circulation of 46,000. My particular beat was police and fire, but that left plenty of time for features for editors in these departments: Business, People, Religion, Politics. Some of my stories were picked up by the Associated Press and distributed nationally.