This is CommuConvoy

TC Consulting: A Network Approach
	In 1997 two developments in the area of networking have become evident. First, equipment manufacturers are no longer content with instruction manuals printed on paper. They are now beginning to ask for online documentation as well - partly for distribution on CD ROM and partly for web presentation. So classical DTP documentation has to be prepared for interactive network use in addition to the usual form. Second, the method of documentation production - as far as not the in-house documentation is concerned - is changing from the freelancer workshop to a service network of 10 to 20 participants, which takes the form of a communication convoy, virtually cooperating via a network. This development enables large equipment manufacturers to outsource extensive and complex documentation jobs, negotiating with only one service organization.
Documentation for Network Use	Since the common publishing tools have developed in such a way which has gradually enabled the output of not only offset films but also html and pdf files, suddenly new distribution channels for our publications appeared. As a publishing team, we can use Adobe Acrobat files for cross-platform cooperation. Equipment manufacturers started to use our Acrobat files for distribution on CD ROM. Soon they discovered that these Acrobat files readily served as a technical database on which it is possible to set up an interactive navigation interface. The next step followed almost automatically. By means of multimedia authoring tools one can add a presentation of corporate and product philosophy or even a catalogue to offer final customers the possibility of online ordering. For web purposes, the pdf files can be used in combination with html pages as a user interface for navigation.
TC Consultants Cooperating via Network	These multimedia jobs often require more than one expert. A photographer may be needed to take professional shots of devices or machines in a factory. A TC consultant will have to design the instruction manuals from scratch to pdf file. And a screen designer will have to organize the interactive user interface. If, for example, you have to design the online help for tomorrow's type of refrigerator, you will need a software programming expert. For drawing up contracts between TC consultants and their corporated clients, you may need a lawyer as well as in cases of product liability or copyright violations. To gather all those skills beyond payroll conventions the solution would be to collect experts of these related branches in a team that reunites differently from job to job. As a TC consultant, you might remember all the professionals that you have successfully worked with in the past and invite them to establish a small enterprise syndicate. The participants should know each other directly or via other participants well enough to be sure they can trust one other and rely on the contribution of good quality services by each individual member. As contributing professionals you might consider: Technical Writer Graphic Designer Technical Photographer Screen and Multimedia Designer Webmaster High-End Scan and Print Service Software Programmer Product Manager Technical Mother Tongue Translators Training Consultant Management Consultant Lawyer All these individual professionals should be apt to contribute complementary skills, thus avoiding competition between the participants. They need not reside in the same region since they will arrange their cooperation by means of networking. To begin with, the participants may be spread over a whole country, although they will be limited by the borders of the internet only.
Internet Based Cooperation	As soon as the mini-syndicate has constituted itself, a WWW, FTP and mail server should be established. There should be a common presentation of the services of the complete team, containing links to a presentation of each individual participant. The presentations should contain the scope of the services offered as well as a spot-light page displaying recent examples of job experiences and/or developments of new TC products and services, thus maintaining the web presentation up to date and offering fresh information every now and again. A mailing list should be established for the internal communication and cooperation. This will keep informed even those participants who are not involved in the current project. An ftp account is also required for quick and comfortable distribution of multiple megabyte multimedia files between participants and clients.
Commuconvoy – a model for a virtual consulting group	According to the above mentioned guidelines, Commuconvoy has been etablished in 1997 to meet the requirements of most-efficient work-group publishing. Commuconvoy, as a group of experts on their particular fields, offers all services in technical documentation, consulting and advertising. Human ressources and high-tech equipment for all kinds of projects can be easily put together on a job. Most important for the customers of Commuconvoy: There is only one interface between client and Commuconvoy. Commuconvoy uses most modern telecommunication concepts to exchange data, knowledge and documents. Commuconvoy is able to communicate with its partners on the most flexible way, even if its members are not located together in one single office building, or within one town.