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1. Word + Excel + P o w e r P o i n t = Your Story
Bernard Aschwanden
www.publishingsmarter.com
bernard@publishingsmarter.com
Telling the Documentation Team
Story with Numbers
23:28
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@publishsmarter

2. The agenda
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 Use Word and Excel (and a tiny bit of PowerPoint) to:
 analyze information
 create numbers showing estimates, actuals, and deviations
 deliver the clear story of the value of documentation
 Show results in both words and numbers.
 Today I will create a very basic project with:
 estimates
 actual values
 comparison
 Then I will:
 analyze the numbers in a basic spreadsheet
 deliver a final slideshow
 Lastly, I’ll show an example or two where content sells
product

3. Housekeeping and note taking
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 Not all slides or topics are
equally weighted
 Use some, discard others
 Slide speed varies as this is
a QUICK session
 Questions? Ask along the
way!
 I’d love to claim errors/typos
is on purpose… they isn’t,
ain’t, and weren’t never;
however, I’ll fix ‘em as I
can…

4. About your speaker
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 Publishing Smarter:
President
 Content strategist,
publishing technologies
expert, author, and geek-
enough
 Certified Technical Trainer
 DITA
 Content management
 Topic-based writing
 Society for Technical
Communication
 President
 STC Associate Fellow

5. Standard disclaimer
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 In the interest of brevity I
will make some blanket
statements to keep it
simple
 It’s not all 100% “the
truth”, but I’ll stay close
 Purists may complain
 And they are wrong!
 (except when they are
right)

6. Major disclaimer
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 This is a quick session
 There are LOTS of
numbers
 Simple samples
 Still complex ideas
 Tricky to set things up
 Happy to share files
 To review/apply this
 Watch the recording
 Jot down “time stamps”
 Cool item at 17:23
 Excel formulas 18:57
 Word updates 26:33
 Then watch it again
 Pause it, rewind, try it
 Do this at your own pace
 Slowly add your own data

7. 23:28@publishsmarter
Word
7

8. Outline View
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 Create a shell (main and sub heads)
 See file 001 and file 002
 Promote/demote as needed

9. Word has basic reporting
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 Review > Spelling and Grammar
 Review > Word Count
 Click the resulting word count for more details

10. From your outline to Excel
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 Work with Excel using this source content
 Copy the outline into Excel, paste, reorganize
 Add estimates to an Excel file as needed

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Excel
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12. The interface
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 Sheets contain
 Rows
 Columns
 Cells
 Cells contain
 Content
 Calculations
 Formulas
 Format

13. Update your spreadsheet
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 Initially, create this (or use my BasicSpreadsheet)

14. Basic math (ideas only, don’t actually do
this)
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 If edit time is ½ of draft, could use =10/2, =15/2, etc.

15. Simple math isn’t enough
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 Ranges of
numbers
 Calculations
 =SUM
 =MAX
 =MIN
 =AVERAGE

16. Calculate based on cells (such as D4)
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 Edit is ½ draft time so use =Cell/2 or =Cell*.5

17. Set titles in place
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 Highlight more than one cell, click Merge & Center
 Apply to A1:B1, and also to C1:G1

18. Format cells
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 Additional format options (border/shade)

19. Rename sheets
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 Double click Sheet1, rename it Estimates

20. Select content for a chart
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 Select the range to chart (A1:B6)

21. Insert a basic chart
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 Select Insert > Charts or use simple defaults

22. Appearance of defaults
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 Based on your choices

23. Can be further configured
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Buyers Installation Configuration User
Buyers, 25 Installation
, 50
Configurati
on, 75
User, 125
Materials Info Pgs
Buyers
Installation
Configuration
User
Buyers, 25 Installation,
50
Configurati
on, 75
User, 125
Page Count
Buyers
Installation
Configuration
User
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Buyers Installation Configuration User
Page count

24. Samples of more involved content
that may be required (one day)
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Complex spreadsheets

25. Duplicate sheets
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 Right click Estimates and make a copy
 Delete sheets if not needed
 Rearrange by drag/drop
 Consider the following sheets
 Estimates
 Actuals
 Differences

26. Calculate complex info
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 Initial estimates are created
 Values are estimates, based on last project(s)

27. Track actuals as well as possible
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 May not know true numbers, but gather data
 Populate with as much accuracy as possible

28. Also identify the differences
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 This allows you to have the best of both worlds
 You estimate, you track, and then you analyze

29. Calculate differences
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 =Estimates!B3-Actuals!B3 gives us a value in B3
 Use conditional format to ID change; show as charts

30. Combine information into reports
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 Using formulas you can make report building easier

31. Build sentences using CONCATENATE
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 Join several text strings into one text string
 =CONCATENATE(“Some text string: ", CellLocation)
 Could be =CONCATENATE(“Total cost: $", B10)
Reads as: Total cost: $5000
 Could be =CONCATENATE(“Start date: ", F12)
Reads as: Start date: May 19, 2014
 =CONCATENATE("Our ", Role!B2, " is ", Role!A2, ".")

32. Complex combinations can be used
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 =CONCATENATE("Our expected delivery date was
", TEXT('Metrics Main Estimates'!S46,"mmm dd,
yyyy"), " and the actual delivery date was ",
TEXT('Metrics Actual'!S46,"mmm dd, yyyy"), ", a
difference of ", Differences!S46, " days.")

33. And the result is...
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34. Use the Excel data in reports
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 Can be done in Word or in PowerPoint
 It is WAY more than just a copy and paste though

35. Add/configure linked information
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 In your source,
select/copy
 Switch to the destination
 Use the Home menu for
additional Paste options
 Use Paste Special to
see many additional
options
 Use Paste Link to see
which can connect to the
source

36. Presenting information in compelling
ways
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PowerPoint
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37. Outline view
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 Use this to create your highest level slides quickly
 Don’t worry about format yet, create quick high level
slide content only
 Additional fleshing out, reorg, can be done later

38. Add images, charts, tables, and more
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 Use the Insert menu to add additional components
 If screen shots are needed (in any docs)
 Display the screen required and configure it
 Press Alt+PrtScr to copy it to the clipboard
 Edit if required, or just paste as needed
 For graphics, use the Drawing Tools > options
 For charts use Chart Tools > options
 Or use Paste Special and Excel source content

39. Now you can track time (and costs)
NEXT: Prove where you make the
business profitable
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What’s the value of docs?
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40. Top 10 lists are awesome
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 Ask the support desk for the top 10 questions
 Document how long they spend answering them
 Document how often they answer them
 Let’s say 2 times per day, per call rep, and it’s a 5 minute
answer
 Rep spends 10min/day, if you have 6 reps: An hour… Each day
 365 hours per year (or about 9 weeks assuming 40hrs/week)
 Document how long a team needs to work on creating
answers
 Assume it takes you 2 weeks, and 3 people working =6 weeks
effort
 Compare the savings
 2 weeks pass, you “spend” 6 resource weeks, to save 9 weeks per
year

41. Top 10 your sales reps
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 What do they demo the most
 Create videos so that the world can see it
 Add tutorials to the demo version (if you have one)
 What do they find most complex to explain
 Write clear information to summarize it
 Free up reps to say “sure, let me send you a copy of the specs
for IT” and then move on

42. Top 10 your content
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 Not only the 10 things MOST read/reviewed
 Also the 10 things LEAST read/reviewed
 Is it because the content is not ‘findable’
 Or no longer relevant
 Has the issue been fixed
 In any case, if no one reads it, why do you create/edit/manage
it

43. Summing up the discussion,
and options to continue it.
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Conclusion and contact

44. About this session
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 Use Word and Excel (and a tiny bit of PowerPoint) to:
 analyze information (basics shown in Word/XL)
 create numbers showing estimates, actuals, and deviations (built in XL)
 deliver the clear story of the value of documentation (Word/PPT reports)
 Show results in both words and numbers.
 Today I will create a very basic project with: (done in Excel)
 estimates
 actual values
 comparison
 Then I will:
 analyze the numbers in a basic spreadsheet (done, in XL)
 deliver a final slideshow (done, in PPT)
 Lastly, I’ll show an example or two where content sells product
(next)

45. Today, Content Creation is
the most pivotal asset for a
company’s success
Technical Documentation
can increase profitability but
you need to show your
costs AND show your value
Measure your success
It’s your choice…

46. My request
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 Please suggest this session to others
 If there are any problems with slides, please let me
know
 Remember my disclaimer at the beginning
 Not all slides are equal: Use some, discard others
 In the interest of brevity I make some blanket statements
 It’s not all 100% “the truth”, but I’ll stay close
 Purists may complain
 And they are wrong!
 (except when they are right)
 Do this yourself, and use the results to prove the
value of your STC membership, and of your docs

47. What is the STC value?
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 If you got a tip here and you apply it… track your
results
 If it cuts just 1 quarterly meeting of 6 people…
 Saves 4 meetings per year (assume it is 1 hour long)
 Let’s assume they each earn $60K/year
 That’s $30/hour times 6 people is $180… per quarter
 Over $600 for a year
 You just paid for 2 years+ of membership in saved productivity
 It also means they can put their time to better use
 You just made the company more profitable as they are doing
their jobs, not wasting their time on non-core tasks

48. Solving business problems through
communication
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49. Follow up contact information
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905 833 8448 (Eastern Time)
bernard@publishingsmarter.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bernardaschwanden
@publishsmarter
www.publishingsmarter.com