Chris Peterson

# Work History and Experience

# ABOUT

Collaborative customer-focused technical writer and leader with over ten years of experience creating content for administer-level audiences for various software and hardware products. Hands-on and highly technical, able to quickly grasp complex technical concepts.

# EXPERIENCE

# Staff Technical Writer

# HP | Poly, Austin, TX -

Poly video products team lead responsible for planning, scoping, and managing HP/Poly video product documentation. Align writers on documenting new software features, updates, and hotfixes, including working with the scrum teams to create, story point, and initiate documentation tasks. Responsible for evaluating candidates, interviewing, and helping select new video team writers. Utilize Confluence and Jira to capture information and track documentation tasks and software bugs. As part of the information architecture team and a Poly writing lead, I contribute to updates to style standards, information architecture, tools, and best practices.

  • Guided, trained, and mentored junior technical writers on project direction and ensuring deadlines.
  • Assisted in allocating limited team resources ensuring the successful launch of multiple new products.
  • Created a compatibility matrix to resolve customer confusion identifying supported configurations.
  • Reduced support calls by partnering with customer support to address documentation gaps.
  • Utilized Confluence and Jira to capture information and track documentation tasks and software bugs.
  • Created a central knowledge wiki after identifying a significant gap in managing internal knowledge.
  • Set best practices and provided training on documentation tools and processes.

# Senior Technical Writer

# Poly, Austin, TX - 10/2019 - Present

Writer and documentation prime for audio and video endpoint product programs focusing on CCX business phones. Documentation efforts include administrator, user, parameter, and API documentation. Provided guidance and mentorship to junior writers.

  • Awarded multiple Poly Wow awards for collaboration and process improvement.
  • Contributed to a Vasont to SDL content migration effort, delivering folder strategy, testing, and training.
  • Improved content findability by delivering a documentation portal taxonomy and metadata update.
  • Increased documentation technical accuracy by training writers to set up labs and to use Poly systems.
  • Launched Poly’s first fully touchscreen phone, ensuring usability in an unknown desk phone format.
  • Reduced publishing time by an hour per document by implementing a Zoomin publishing transform to convert metadata to documentation portal facets.

# Information Developer

# Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Houston, TX — 6/2013 – 10/2019

Documentation lead for HPE Synergy, HPE OneView, HPE Simplivity, and HPE ConvergedSystem products. Worked with Knowledge Management program managers to plan and scope new and sustaining documentation work. Participated in core team meetings and product teardowns. Worked with engineers in hardware labs to research and validate content for HPE Synergy, ConvergedSystem solutions, and HPE ProLiant Servers.

  • Awarded multiple HPE All-Star awards for innovation and collaboration.
  • Enhanced customer experience and reduced service calls by creating an interactive compatibility matrix.
  • Increased writer efficiency by providing training and troubleshooting support as a writing tools expert.
  • Simplified server cabling, creating an interactive storage options table and augmented reality overlays.
  • Improved content consistency and structure as part of the information architecture team.
  • Unified software and hardware content by working on a migration of major CCMS and writing tools.

# Communications Assistant

# Texas Learning & Computational Center (UH), Houston, TX —11/2010 to 4/2014

Part-time position concurrent with full-time study of industrial design. Support communications manager in creating t-shirts, posters, banners, event collateral, and social media broadcasts. Responsible for maintaining research poster printing service available to all University of Houston students. Generate center usage reports and calculate costs for materials and services.

  • Created community outreach collateral for non-profit research staff.
  • Designed promotional and learning materials for the annual Mars Rover Celebration STEM event.
  • Delivered a competitive analysis study supporting additional funding and expansion of the center.

# Administrative Assistant

# Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — 3/2009 to 1/2010

Responsible for state warrant (check) distributions, stock inventory, and agency requests. In a high-security environment. Managed state warrant stock levels and orders ensuring gapless payments from the State of Texas to agencies and payees.

  • Created a database to streamline the distribution of payee letters.
  • Enhanced management of warrant (check) stock utilizing Excel automation.

# EDUCATION

# BS Industrial Design

University of Houston

# BA English / Minor Studio Arts

University of Houston

# SKILLS AND TOOLS

Agile, Content Design, Content Strategy, Customer Advocacy, Information Architecture, Project Management, Research, Structured Content, Taxonomy, Training, UX Writing Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop), Confluence, DITA XML, GitHub, Jira, Markdown, Microsoft Office Suite, Oxygen, SDL, Sharepoint, Vasont, Zoomin API, CSS, HTML, JavaScript (limited), Linux, Python (limited), XML