Content Monitoring and synchronization System for Technical Writers
My Role
Full Stack Developer, System Designer
Related Skills
IBM Cloud, Functions-as-a-Service, Webhooks, Node.js, Webpack, Svelte, MongoDB
The Brief
Content creators within IBM Sales Enablement teams faced real challenges in managing their growing libraries of educational materials for IBM Sellers. Many resources became outdated and often went unnoticed because there wasn’t an easy way to track which ones hadn’t been updated in a long time. On top of that, the lack of synchronization between different systems they used, such as Box and Seismic led to duplicated efforts, which was frustrating and inefficient. This mess not only wasted time but also pulled focus away from creating high-quality content, making it harder for sales teams to meet client needs effectively.
The Solution
So, what did I do?
Create an empathy map
To effectively address the challenges faced by the team, I created an empathy map to deepen my understanding of the problem context. I began by identifying the players in the creation of the educational materials, including content creators, sales representatives, and managers. Next, I gathered insights through interviews and surveys, collecting qualitative data about their experiences, frustrations, and needs related to the current content creation and management processes. I created empathy maps for each of the three personas, displaying both their motivations and pain points.
Brainstorm for pain points
Next, I invited a group of users and stakeholders to join a brainstorming session. I wanted to create an open and collaborative atmosphere where everyone could freely share their thoughts and ideas about the Hills we had identified. During the session, participants built on each other’s suggestions and generated many ideas. To help us decide which ideas to pursue, we used a prioritization grid. By placing ideas on the grid, we could easily see which ones offered the best balance of high impact and manageable effort. In the end, we left the session with a clear set of ideas to move forward with.
Design the prototype
After deciding on the ideas to move forward with, I used Figma and the IBM Carbon Design System to create and test prototypes. Once the prototypes were ready, I organized user testing sessions to gather feedback. Observing how users interacted with the designs provided valuable insights into what worked well and what needed improvement.
Create a project plan
After having completed the design for the content monitoring system, I used a planning software called Trello to create itemized development tasks. I used this board to organize the development sprints, and relay the project status to key stakeholders.
Develop the solution
I designed a system that integrated various technologies: ​
-
Box API: Box served as the working environment for the content creators.
-
Seismic API: Seismic was used to distribute content to IBM sellers and clients.
-
Node.js File Transfer REST API: Used to handle the transfer of files from Box to Seismic due to the limited resources available to cloud function runtimes.
-
IBM Cloud Functions: Used to respond to events webhook triggered by the Box API, to update the monitoring MongoDB database, and trigger content transfers in the Node.js server.
-
Node.js & Svelte Web App: displayed dashboards to content creators and managers.
Deploy the product
After developing the file transfer REST API, cloud functions, and web app, I deployed the architecture on IBM Cloud. Using the features of IBM Cloud, I was easily able to configure a test and production environment. This allowed me to run usability tests on new features without affecting the production environment. Throughout my time at IBM, the system successfully synchronized Box and Seismic while provided a single place for content creators to plan their work efficiently!
