Title:
Using ProjectDox on Devices (A COVID-19 Rapid Development Project)
Audience:
Internal Personnel and Customers (Architects, Construction Developers, and Homeowners)
My Role(s)/Contribution(s):
Project Management, Technical Writing, Instructional Design
Primary Tool(s) Employed:
Adobe InDesign, SnagIt
Description:
The ProjectDox municipal construction and plan management software from Avolve Systems is web-based and is used by personnel from dozens of departments within the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the State of Oregon. It is also used by customers of the City of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services, including architects, construction developers, general contractors, and homeowners.

When COVID-19 forced the closure of the Bureau of Development Services’ offices and customer-facing counters, all of these people–internal and external–suddenly had to use ProjectDox, a system that had been in limited testing but had not yet been planned for mass rollout. Moreover, all these people had to be able to use ProjectDox from whatever device they chose–a Windows computer, a Mac laptop, an iPhone or iPad, or an Android phone or tablet.

Seeing the need, I proposed, then project managed, and executed on the rapid development of software documentation for each of the different platforms. Managing a team of two other instructional designers, we built and deployed in less than two weeks 9 separate visual instructional guides for installing, using, and troubleshooting ProjectDox on Windows, Mac, iPad, and Android devices.