Chicwriter

Government agencies and IT companies have to keep up with the ever-evolving world of technology. Therefore, they have to think about technical systems for present and future issues. This is where the Concept of Operations (ConOps) document comes in.

What is a ConOps Document?

ConOps is a useful technical document that can aid you in envisioning the perfect system to tackle a current issue that you are trying to solve. It is also a good prerequisite before thinking about requirements, writing a request for proposal (RFP), or proposing a solution. Here are the main sections that a basic ConOps usually has:

Introduction, Including System Overview

As with anything, a ConOps has an introduction. This is where you state your objective, scope, and document organization. Another key area is the system overview. You can think of this as the executive summary of a document where you highlight what the envisioned system will do. In another section, you will go into more detail (of course) on the system and its components.

Current System (and/or Issue)

Before you can discuss the proposed system, you have to give stakeholders a bit of history of the issue you are trying to solve. The background and history of the current issue is very important because you want to show stakeholders that you fully understand how the issue evolved. It will also help you in designing a better system.

If there is already a current system in place, then you want to discuss that as well. You want to detail everything about the current system and/or issue. This includes system architecture, policies, constraints, and users. I will discuss a little bit more about the users because it’s very important that you get it right.

Users are always the most important part of a system because they are the ones who will be using it on a daily basis. Therefore, you have to characterize the user groups that are currently using the system. If you don’t know this, then you have to do more research.

When you are writing about the current system, you want to ensure that you get everything down from your interviews with Subject-Matter Experts (SMEs), users, and stakeholders. If you don’t fully understand what is currently going on, how can you find the proper solution? Therefore, take your time in gathering everything you can about the current system.

Justification for Changes

This section is the bridge between the current system (or issue) and the future one. Think of it as a mini proposal section where you justify why a change has to occur. It should only be a few paragraphs where you kind of sell the future system to stakeholders and yourself.

Future System

You have done your research, and now it’s time to discuss how to solve the issue. You want to really take a week or longer to really come up with a solution that will be better than what is currently in place. This section is like a mini-document in itself. You want to start off by giving a high-level overview of what future system. Please make sure that you use “will” and not “shall.” The latter is requirements talk.

You also want to discuss the policies and constraints that the future system will have. You want to ensure stakeholders that it will adhere to any current and near-future policies that are in place. Also, that it is interoperable with other systems. Government agencies have realized the importance of systems to talk to one another, so if you can show that your future system can do that, then stakeholders will be almost sold. Other areas to cover are the future system’s components, data flow, support, training, and user groups.

The impact that the future system will have to the users, everyday operations, and other systems is the best way to conclude the ConOps. You want to reassure stakeholders that you have thought about this, and you will ensure that everything is smooth sailing, or as near to that as possible.

Conclusion

ConOps can really prepare your team in developing a sound and innovative system. If you have the time to write one, or find someone who can make the time, then I suggest you have this document as a must-have in your system development life cycle.

July 17, 2010 Interesting Links

chicwriter — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:00:01 +0000

Ads Lift Google; Profit Disappoints

July 16, 2010

How To: Move from Windows to Linux

July 15, 2010

Jennifer Lawrence Cast as Mystique in X-Men: First Class

July 15, 2010

Grief Over iPhone 4 Reception Problems Grows
(LiveScience.com)

July 15, 2010

9 Things I Learned In 9 Years as a CEO – Part 1

July 15, 2010

Grow-your-own approach to wiring 3D chips

July 15, 2010

How the Old Spice Videos Are Being Made

July 15, 2010 – #in

Green Tips: Bicycle Business

July 15, 2010

School funds fight ramps up, Obama threatens veto

July 15, 2010

Hef Wants Playboy, and He’s Not Alone

July 15, 2010

Meditation Boosts Attention Span
(LiveScience.com)

July 15, 2010 – Need to start meditating then #in

How to Win Friends and Influence Readers

July 15, 2010

SkypeKit: Easily Building VoIP Into Any Application

July 15, 2010 – #in

Isabelle Blow the Candles Already

July 14, 2010

Mediabistro Ramps Up Coverage Of Startups

July 14, 2010

Individuals confess alcohol abuse to clergy

July 14, 2010

Isabelle Blow the Candles Already

July 14, 2010

Isabelle Turns Seven!

July 14, 2010

You vs. Me in Proposals

July 12, 2010

Juries scare me. I don’t want to put my faith in 12 people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty. ~~~ Monica Piper

July 14, 2010

Teaching a Workshop on Proposal Writing

chicwriter — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:28:29 +0000

On August 4th, 2010, I am teaching a workshop at the DC Procurement Technical Assistance Center on how to write a winning proposal. I am very excited because I haven’t done any public speaking or training for over a year. It’s funny how it works. I’m usually extremely nervous before I have to speak in front of a group of people. However, when I get up there, I smile and just do it. The only thing I really focus on is not talking too fast because I tend to do that when I get nervous.

Proposal writing is a passion of mine. I love doing it (I know, weird), and I love teaching others, so I know that it will be a good time had by all. I’m going to try and get a collection of cheat sheets or an E-Book together, so I can distribute it to the attendees.

Below is my tentative workshop plan:

Workshop Plan for Writing a Winning Proposal

The first workshop is going to be small. It will be 35 business owners attending, and I am happy that I actually have filled the slots. One thing I love about a small workshop is that you are able to answer more questions and interact with everyone in a more personal level.

If I am successful, I am planning on turning this into a web-based workshop. Wish me luck!

You vs. Me in Proposals

chicwriter — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:15:45 +0000

Writing proposals is something that many people don’t really care to do. It can be tedious because you have to ensure that the intended party can follow what you are saying while selling yourself at the same time. Also, that you address all the points that they mentioned in their Statement of Work.

One of the mistakes that I see many companies (especially the big ones) make is thinking that by boasting about themselves, the organization that they are trying to win the bid from is going to think

“Wow, they are so amazing. We HAVE to give them the task order.”

Sorry companies, it doesn’t usually work out that way. There is a section called “Past Performances” where you can talk about yourself and why you are the best individual (or company) for the job. It makes me cringe when I see the company talk about they handled this and that in the Management and Solution areas without even discussing how they are going to fix the problem for their potential client.

I’ve sat in pre-proposal work meetings where all people talked about is what bits and pieces they were going to take from old proposals, so they could win this new one. Of course, if an old proposal has the information that you need, by all means, use it. However, this is going to get you about 15% of the way to winning the work.

You > Me

One of the things that will help is count how many times you mentioned time, and how many times you mentioned the potential client in old proposals. If you see that the number of times your names pops up is more than theirs, then you know that you need to stop doing this. Your potential client should be mentioned five times to ten times (I prefer ten) more than you talk about yourself. Even in the Management section, you should try to slant it so it shows that your management approach is successful because of the following:

You did the research to learn more about them
Tailored your management approach so that it works for both of you
You have an understanding as to how their organization functions

What works for one organization will not work for another one. Remember that lesson. Your potential client should feel like you understand the problem they are trying to resolve, and that you really paid attention to the issue they want you to solve.

Formal or Informal

A proposal starts looking tacky when every sentence has “Company A Technologies, Inc.” and “Government Agency B.” You don’t have to be so formal when writing a proposal. The best proposals that ever left my hands were the ones that had “I” and “You” in place of the organizations’ names. It flows better and gives it kind of a conversational tone, instead of the dry, formal “Company A Technologies, Inc.” and “Government Agency B.”

Just remember: Your potential client is the star; not you. Try not to outshine them in your proposals.

July 10, 2010 Interesting Links

chicwriter — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:00:00 +0000

How to Avoid Loneliness When Working From Home

July 9, 2010

LOL: Alternate Ending to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

July 9, 2010

A Viral iPhone Video Annoys Best Buy

July 9, 2010 – I don’t care

US writers dominate Frank O’Connor award shortlist

July 9, 2010

Creepy Manipulations

July 9, 2010

How 16 Great Companies Picked Their Unique Names

July 9, 2010

NTP sues Apple, Google, HTC, LG, Microsoft and Motorola – CNET

July 9, 2010 – Wow #in

Technical Writing Tips You Learn from the World Cup

July 7, 2010

So You Want To Be A Time Traveler?

July 9, 2010 – Yes

The Nation's First Electric Highway

July 8, 2010

Darth Vader and Steve Buscemi Get Embroiled in Some Frightful Body Art

July 9, 2010

6 Top iPhone Apps for Voracious Readers

July 9, 2010

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird soars up the charts

July 9, 2010

How to Create Blogging Business Cards

July 9, 2010

We Are All One Giant Wiki

July 9, 2010

Who is likely to become a bully, victim or both? New research shows poor problem-solving increases risk for all

July 9, 2010

Google Expects China License Renewal

July 9, 2010

5 WordPress Themes for Freelance Writer Websites

July 8, 2010 – Really like the My Resume theme

Fireflies’ Synchronous Flashes Are Booty Calls, Study Shows
(LiveScience.com)

July 8, 2010

Print v iPads: books win!

July 8, 2010 – Each participant read their story using four different devices – a printed book, a PC, an iPad and a Kindle. While on average the stories took 17 minutes and 20 seconds to read, the Kindle experience was 10.7% slower than print, and the iPad was 6.2% slower.

Mentors Are Chicken Soup for Your Writing

chicwriter — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:05:15 +0000

When I attended this conference a few weeks ago, one of the people in the audience asked about how to find a mentor. It was something that I was also interested in, so I definitely paid attention when the panel answered. They said that a mentor can give sound and wise advice because he/she has been there. Also, you can bounce your questions off that person, and he/she can tell you if you are heading in the right direction, or you might consider rethinking a few areas.

Having a mentor is something that many smart business people recommend, especially in the writing field. I know that I would love to have someone who I can discuss the problems and successes that I find happen every day. In college, there were many professors who I would have loved to have been my mentors. I remember one professor in particular who had written over ten books. She was in her seventies, confident, and very wise. Even though she was tough on me, I knew that it was because she knew that I could do better. I learned so much from her, and I wish that I could bounce ideas off of her because I know that she would have been able to steer me in the right direction.

Even if you are an “expert” in your field, I think having a mentor or a fellow peer you respect is just as important as when you are starting out. I have been in the technical writing arena for over eight years (almost nine!), but I would love to find fellow Technical Writers where we get together once a month. It would be like the movie “Thank You for Smoking” where they would sit and chat about what was going on in their hectic jobs. Some of the best advice was given during those casual meetings.

Humans are social creature, and even if you are in the most solitary career, you still need at least one person who you can talk to about the excitement of freelancing life.

Technical Writing Tips You Learn from the World Cup

chicwriter — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I have been watching the World Cup since I was a little girl. The whole family would gather around the television and cheer (or boo) whenever a team made a goal. It is one of the only times that you will not see me move from the couch unless it’s too jump up with delight. I have learned a thing or two (wish it would have been how to learn to actually play futbol) while watching this World Cup in South Africa. Here are the five things that I learned:

1. Natural Skill Doesn’t Fully Cut It

There have been so many futbol players who are naturally amazing players. However, it wasn’t enough for them to shine at this year’s World Cup. When you are writing a technical document, you have to work with other people (e.g. Subject-Matter Experts, Developers, Stakeholders, etc.). It’s the only way that you will have a successful document and hit a goal.

2. Surprises Are Always Around the Corner

Before the World Cup began, the teams that everyone thought would make it until the end were Argentina, Brazil, England, etc. However, those weren’t the ones who advanced and are now on their way to having the cup in their hands. There will always be surprises that you can’t prevent. Therefore, you have to always have alternate plans in case something doesn’t go according to plan.

3. Don’t Get a Yellow or Red Card

If you play dirty, then the referees give you a yellow or red card, depending on the severity of your actions. It’s the same when you are a freelance Technical Writer. You have to be up front with your clients, and not do underhanded things that will make them distrust you. Clients are already a bit weary because you are an independent consultant, so you always have to ensure that the trust that they build with you doesn’t diminish in a matter of seconds.

4. You Will Cry If You Lose

There is a Spanish commercial that shows futbol players crying. A message is displayed at the end, “This is the only time you will see men cry. Please don’t lose.” If you aren’t prepared and/or another Technical Writer has more knowledge and skills than you, then you will lose clients. Therefore, you always have to be on top of your game by keeping up-to-date with the latest in the technical writing field and always being prepared.

5. Don’t Ever Stop Until You Kick That Goal In

You see the players run, fall, get back up, and run again. They never give up until they kick a goal in. It’s the same with Technical Writing. The first draft might get frowns, but you keep editing until your clients are happy. When they are happy, then you are as well.

What type of tips have you learned by watching the World Cup?

July 3, 2010 Interesting Links

chicwriter — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:26:12 +0000

SUPERMAN History: 1938 to 2010 Infographic

July 2, 2010

Court drops Paris Hilton charges

July 2, 2010

About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won’t like you at all. ~~~ Rita Mae Brown

July 2, 2010

Shuttle schedule slips into 2011

July 2, 2010

Stem-cell work closes a door to AIDS virus
(AFP)

July 2, 2010

inDinero, a Mint-like Finance App for Small Businesses

July 2, 2010 – Will have to check it out

Stephen King: The ‘Craft’ Of Writing Horror Stories

July 2, 2010

Woman blames vampire for car crash

June 30, 2010

Star Wars obsessed teacher names daughters Princess Leia and Skywalker

July 2, 2010 – Hardcore

Indie Bookstores' E-Book Ally: Google

June 30, 2010

How To Tackle The Classics On Your Summer Vacation

July 2, 2010 – You have to read the classics

Bait: Amazon's 70 Percent E-Book Royalty

July 1, 2010

Converting To Asynchronous Code

July 2, 2010 – Have you updated to the new code?

First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me. ~~~ Steve Martin

July 2, 2010

Having smoking and non-smoking sections in the same room is like having urinating and non-urinating sections in a swimming pool. ~~~ Ross Parker

July 2, 2010 – True

Will Rogers

July 2, 2010

14 Ways to Expand Your Influence

July 2, 2010

Zoo to bring back endangered species

July 2, 2010 – Interesting

FAA Orders Cockpit-Door Fixes

July 2, 2010

Can Social Sites Replace Business Blogs?

July 2, 2010

July 2, 2010 Interesting Links

chicwriter — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:00:12 +0000

Wind Hellas Will Miss $50 Million of Debt Payments

June 30, 2010

Public transit systems contribute to weight loss and improved health, study finds

June 29, 2010

Flying car to go in to production

June 30, 2010

Personally, I would be delighted if there were a life after death, especially if it permitted me to continue to learn about this world and others, if it gave me a chance to discover how history turns out. ~~~ Carl Sagan

June 30, 2010

Children really brighten up a household – they never turn the lights off. ~~~ Ralph Bus

June 30, 2010 – So true. I’m constantly running behind them to turn off the lights.

Does Your Hobby Blog Eclipse Your Pro Blog?

June 30, 2010 – Used to, but not anymore

WordPress 3.0 – Have You Upgraded Yet?

June 30, 2010 – Yep #in

How Share Alike Copyright Can Hurt Your Brand And SEO

June 29, 2010 – This is why most SEO types actually prohibit content reproduction and why some don’t even offer full feeds (Search Engine Land). And it’s why my content is all rights reserved. I’m glad people are picking up on it.

50 Powerful Time-Savers For Web Designers

June 28, 2010

Remembering To Kill a Mockingbird: 50 Years On

June 25, 2010

How to Sleep Your Way to the Top

June 28, 2010

Winfrey top of Forbes power list

June 29, 2010

I never married because there was no need. I have three pets at home which answer the same purpose as a husband. I have a dog which growls every morning, a parrot which swears all afternoon and a cat that comes home late at night. ~~~ Marie Corelli

June 26, 2010

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~~~ Mark Twain

June 27, 2010

Sunday Secrets

June 27, 2010

Work Smart: Best Telecommuting Tools

June 28, 2010

IPad Hacker Worries Persist

June 29, 2010 – IPad hackers earlier this month gained access to ICC-IDs, which can be used to track a user’s rough location and intercept encrypted data, experts warn.

82-year-old lands first book deal

June 29, 2010 – You are never to old to follow your dreams

PrintWhatYouLike Bookmarklet Makes Any Web Page Printer-friendly

June 29, 2010 – Loving this

Burlesque Makes A Comeback

June 28, 2010