Case study: reaching new markets through clear documentation
Triangle delivers integrated hospitality solutions, principally the InfoGenesis software solution from Agilysys. [Editor's note: Agilysys acquired Triangle in 2008, www.agilysys.com.] Triangle extended the functionality of the InfoGenesis POS (point of sale) software solution to hand-held terminals (HHTs), and wanted to turn this into a commercial off-the-shelf product. To do that, Triangle needed clear documentation for resellers and for staff managers at customer sites.
Until this stage, Triangle had viewed the development of user documentation as a laborious task that pulled development resources away from software production and support. Internal skills in technical writing were lacking, and this meant that the documentation was not as good as Triangle's customers expected.
TechScribe solved Triangle's documentation problem.
POS on mobile devices
Triangle's mPOS software solution extends the functionality of the InfoGenesis POS system to HHTs. mPOS is a flexible software solution that caters for a diverse range of locations and operating environments. It provides unlimited scope for expansion, off-line order capabilities, and seamless integration into the InfoGenesis back-office.
Without the HHTs, waiters and waitresses have to walk back and forth between customers and POS terminals, which is both inefficient and tiring.
With the new software, the table staff send the orders directly to the kitchen. The software can translate an order into a different language: a waiter can take an order in French, and the relevant kitchen staff can see the order in Mandarin, for example. With hospitality establishments, the solution has been proven to:
- Improve and extend guest experience
- Deliver vastly improved service levels
- Increase per-guest revenue
- Enhance staff productivity.
"Since we incorporated mPOS into our venue, we have experienced an average increase of 9,000 additional food and beverage orders taken on each event day. Customer surveys have demonstrated a greater satisfaction with our service, and staff appreciate the simplicity of the solution," says a Catering Manager at one of Europe's largest sports venues.
Triangle's problem
Triangle is a business partner of InfoGenesis, and it integrates mPOS with the customer's InfoGenesis environment (which Triangle also supplies). Historically, Triangle's hospitality customers are in the UK and Ireland. Triangle gives a customer's table staff approximately 15 minutes of training on the HHTs.
So that mPOS could be released to a global market, Triangle developed it into a packaged product. Because resellers and business partners would distribute the software, Triangle wanted the end users to 'self help' as much as possible, so that Triangle would not have a high support burden.
Triangle was clear about its requirements, and knew that it needed documentation for two audiences:
- Resellers and business partners. They install and configure the software. They have a high competence with the InfoGenesis POS system.
- Staff managers. They read the documentation to learn how to use the HHTs, and then they train the table staff. They know the hospitality processes and terminology.
Despite knowing what it wanted to achieve, Triangle did not have the capability to do it. Therefore, Triangle came to TechScribe for help.
Benefits to Triangle
TechScribe delved deeply into the processes that relate to the software, and the procedures that people do. TechScribe then created an installation guide and a trainer's guide.
By supplying good technical documentation, Triangle has been able to:
- Use resellers and business partners to install and support the product in the global market
- Decrease its support burden by empowering its customers to 'self help' to a high degree
- Prepare for release to the non-English global market by having documentation that can be readily translated into multiple languages.
"We did not anticipate the level of understanding of the product TechScribe would require to complete the documentation. This understanding, however, is reflected in the quality of the delivered documentation," says Tony Southworth, Head of Product & Interface Development at Triangle.
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