Innovations in Help: Providing Clear Next Steps to Cadency Users

A company is nothing without its customers, and Trintech is no exception. A customer-centric culture permeates throughout every team, driving their efforts in several different ways. In particular, the documentation team, an important part of the company’s Customer Success group, is comprised of technical writers who are responsible for creating and maintaining the company’s customer-facing product documentation for the entire suite of Trintech products. One member of the team, Laurie Willis, Senior Technical Writer, has created an innovative approach to strengthen the impact of online help within the Cadency suite.

Many software user guides begin their life as a book, meant to be read cover to cover. But digital products, such as software, are multi-layered, so customers are saddled with the additional burden of switching between multiple topics on multiple screens. To solve this challenge – enter the documentation team. Simply moving to a screen-by-screen listing of fields and buttons wasn’t cutting it for documentation – they wanted to take Cadency’s online help to the next level to better serve its users.

Three Main Help Goals

1. Simplify Ease of Use

First, they approached the project in a way that would ensure ease of use. As a support team, Documentation understands user needs and their drive to find quick answers to their questions. Cadency is designed to solve problems, not compound them.

2. Build User Confidence

Next, they aimed to develop user confidence while using the online help. Each new page uses the same structure, providing a consistency that makes the help easy and effective while working in Cadency.

3. Help Users Keep Moving

Finally, they want to get people back to work quickly! It sounds simple, but using the online help should not notably slow down progress toward completing a task. Users should be able to find what they need quickly, learn where to go next and be able to get on with their next task. Overall, it’s about helping Cadency users find the answer they need in the place they expect to find it, even if they don’t know exactly what they are looking for right away.

The basic structure of each page includes five simple parts:

• Help Topic Name
• Purpose of the Page
• Navigation
• Screen Information
• Related Topics and Related Information

Guided Learning for All Users

Unlike antiquated user guides, the Cadency help resources are designed to be accessible to users throughout their work, rather than just dumping information to every possible query. So, each landing page has a “Before You Begin” and “Next Steps” section to ensure that users have completed the proper procedures and know where to navigate next.

Trintech serves a large, diverse user base who all use the software in different ways. With this in mind, the information on a help page places the process in context and gives the user a big picture view. The documentation team has even placed connected links between relevant landing pages to help users move around, as well as information on related topics and other information at the bottom of every page.

Amidst these online updates, you may be wondering, “Can customers still call in for live support?” Of course, and Trintech has a great support staff on hand to guide you through any issue you may encounter, but not everyone wants to take that time. We know that our customers are busy people who want to find answers quickly and move on to the next task; this new format provides what they need, when they need it.

Learning takes time and often repetition; which leads to the filtered search feature in Help. Not only can you search for “reconciliation templates” throughout the entire Cadency help file, but you can narrow it down to just searching within Certification, or any of the processes. And if you find a particular topic or search useful, you can save it as a favorite for easy repeat access.

Cadency is a comprehensive financial governance solution, and its users now have a compass, map and road signs to continue navigating their financial transformation. Visit MyTrintech.com to review trainings for Cadency and other products.

Written by: Chelsea Downey