Knowledge Ark
Are you the only person who knows how your software works?
What would happen if you weren’t around?
How long has it been since you went on a holiday without taking your laptop?
The Knowledge Ark is about giving you better answers to these questions.
What are the benefits of the Knowledge Ark?
The Knowledge Ark provides a way for you to impart your knowledge of your code to a third party in an enjoyable and orderly fashion.
You can assure your client, customers or boss that a third party armed with the Knowledge Ark will be able to maintain your software should you be unavailable. That third party may be The Continuity Group or a Delphi Developer of their choosing.
When selling your business you can use the Knowledge Ark and your association with The Continuity Group to demonstrate to buyers that your business can go on without you.
Lastly you can maybe go on holiday without your laptop and rely on The Continuity Group to maintain your software until you return.
What is the Knowledge Ark?
The Knowledge Ark is a categorised and searchable repository of videos explaining the internals of your software. It’s stored in a self-contained, private HTML website that can be easily viewed right off a USB flash drive or any other file system location.
It does not require a webserver and does not get posted on the internet.
Where does the content come from?
The content for the Knowledge Ark repository comes from recordings of online sessions that we conduct with you. After the session finishes those recordings are edited, split into sections, categorised, and integrated into your Knowledge Ark repository by us.
Who has access to the Knowledge Ark repository?
Just you. After each session we provide you with an updated copy of your Knowledge Ark repository. It’s then your responsibility to pass it on to your customer or any other relevant person.
What happens in a Knowledge Ark interview session?
Using GotoMeeting, TeamViewer or similar software you share your screen with us and we record what you’re doing and saying using Camtasia. Together we work our way through your software with us asking questions and you answering, demonstrating and explaining your code.
While most participants find the process enjoyable it is also quite intense for both parties. For that reason all sessions go for a maximum of one hour.
What happens after the interview session?
Afterwards the Camtasia recording of the session is edited, split into sections, categorised, and integrated into your Knowledge Ark repository by us. An updated copy of your Knowledge Ark is then made available for you to download.
This post production process typically takes around twice as long as the interview session itself.
How many sessions does it take to build a Knowledge Ark?
You’ll be the best judge of that. Think how long it would take you to explain your software to a new employee and that will give you an idea. You’re in charge though, you can cover as much or as little of your software as you like.
Our usual way of working is to first cover the breadth of the overall system before moving on to cover the depth of individual subsystems. After the breadth phase is complete you may decide that’s enough for now or you may like to go deeper into some or all of the subsystems. It’s all up to you.
How frequently do the interview sessions happen?
We often do multiple interview sessions in the first week (max 3) and then pull things back to a slower pace of once a week, once a fortnight or once a month.
How much does each session cost?
The Knowledge Ark is charged on a time and materials basis. Each session takes approximately 3 hours in total, 1 hour for the online interview then 2 hours for the video post production.
There is no minimum number of sessions and you can stop or resume the process at any time.