Knowledge Base Article Standards

Standards Students Staff Business-Applications TeamDynamix Knowledge-Base

Purpose	This set of standards will provide a model for TDX Knowledge Base article: Content Settings Related articles Note: The knowledge base is intended to provide support to OIT staff (including inexperienced staff) and for customer information and self-service. For this reason, make sure you are writing and thinking in a "user voice" as you design and write knowledge base articles.
Application	This standard applies to all Students, Faculty and Staff assigned to write Knowledge Base articles in TDX.
Exceptions	Articles submitted that do not meet the standards will be reviewed and in most cases re-submitted to the author advising that changes be made to apply the appropriate set of standards. If it is identified that the existing standards do not apply, on a case by case basis, the director responsible for the service related to the article may approve the article and the Knowledge Base Manager will publish.
Standards	See the table below

Standards

Category	Categories are used to organize articles into defined groups. Permissions for an article are set at the category level and all articles will inherit the permission set at the category level. Always select a category when creating a Knowledge Base Article. OIT Internal Documentation is a category that is not public. Please use OIT Internal Documentation if your article should only be visible to OIT Staff and/or student employees.
Order	Select the order in which this article should appear in the list of other articles within the category. Consider putting new articles and articles that will be relevant to large groups of people at the top.
Pin Article	Articles that are pinned will stay at the top of the list. Consider pinning quick start guide articles.
Subject	The subject will appear as the article title. See content type standards for standard subject elements.
Body	The body is the section that contains the article content. Below is a list of the types of articles that may be written with a link to the unique set of standards for each type of content. How-to Quick Start Guide FAQ General Information Issue/Resolution Standards Resource Links Product Support Resources Service Overview
Summary	One to three sentences describing the service, product, application, etc., and how the article will help the reader. All article summaries should address the following: Target Audience Application/Service Purpose of the article Please refer to the standard summary according to the type of article.
Tags	Used to identify articles in a search and will associate the article with popular tags and other articles. Standard tags should be used in all articles as applicable to identify the type of article and target audience. All articles should include tags to address the audience, type of article, service, business application. The author may add other tags as appropriate. Audience Students Faculty Staff Type of Article How-To Frequently-Asked-Questions Getting-Started General-Information Issue-Resolution Standards Resources Service Always tag the service Use the - as a space Tag as it is listed in the service catalog Examples: Email-Services, Unified-Communications, Digital-Illustration Business Application Always tag the business application Use the - as a space Tag as it is listed in the service catalog Examples: Banner, Kronos, Skype-for-Business, Blue-Reports, TeamDynamix
Status	Indicates the current state of the article. Not submitted- article should remain in not submitted status until it is ready to be reviewed for approval Submit- Articles should be changed to submit when ready for approval for publishing. Approved- Once an article is ready to publish it should be approved Rejected- This status is not often used but may be used if there is no need for the article. Archived- An article that is no longer relevant or has been replaced should be archived. See the knowledge base article approval process for more information about article status.
Publish to KB	Checking this box will publish the article to the knowledge base. Only approved articles may be published by the Knowledge Base Manager.
Next Review Date	Set date for maximum of 1 year from the date the article is published or reviewed. Consider staggering review dates to help manage reviews and updates.
Owner	The article owner is the service owner.
Notify Owner on Feedback	Check this box if you would like to receive notification of feedback. KB Manager review feedback.
Related Articles	Once the article is created and saved you may edit the article to add related articles. This feature will associate the article with other articles in the Knowledge Base. Consider relating articles of similar subjects.
Codes	button - <p><a class="btn btn-info" href="http://softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/hEiRd60mLDG4eo/html" target="_blank">YuJa User Guide</a></p>

How-to Standards

Subject	How to [what ever you are trying to do]
Body	Select the drop-down for templates in the content editor. Select the How to KB Article Template. Complete the body by using the template as a guide. Add HTML Components as needed. Delete elements from the template that are not needed.
Tags	How-To, Audience (Students, Faculty, Staff), Service, Application
Summary	This article describes how to [whatever you are trying to do] in the [whatever service or application]. The target audience is at least one if not all of the following [students, faculty, staff, guest as applicable] or [targeted group]
Example	How to Change a Ticket

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Quick Start Guide Standards

Subject	[Whatever the article is about] Quick Start Guide
Body	Select the drop-down for templates in the content editor. Select the Quick Start Template. Complete the body by using the template as a guide. Add HTML Components as needed. Delete elements from the template that are not needed.
Tags	Getting-Started, Audience (Students, Faculty, Staff), Service, Application
Summary	This article will guide you through a brief set of steps to get started with [whatever the article is about]. The target audience is [students, faculty, staff, guest as applicable] or [targeted group]
Example	Skype for Business Quick Start Guide

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FAQ Standards
Subject	[Service or Application] FAQ
Body	Select the drop-down for templates in the content editor. Select the FAQ Template. Complete the body by using the template as a guide. Add HTML Components as needed. Delete elements from the template that are not needed.
Tags	Frequently-Asked-Questions, Audience (Students, Faculty, Staff), Service, Application
Summary	This article describes frequently asked questions about [whatever the article is about]. The target audience is [students, faculty, staff, guest, as applicable] or [targeted group].
Example	OneDrive FAQ

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General Information Standards
Subject	[Name of the service/application] Information
Body	Select the drop-down for templates in the content editor. Select the General KB Article Template. Complete the body by using the template as a guide. Add HTML Components as needed. Delete elements from the template that are not needed.
Tags	General-Information, Audience (Students, Faculty, Staff), Service, Application
Summary	This article will provide general information about [whatever the article is about,] The target audience is [students, faculty, staff, guest as applicable] or [targeted group]
Example	Unified Communications Audio/Video Device Information

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Issue/Resolution Standards
Subject	[Statement of the Issue (target audience perspective)]
Body	Issue- Heading 2 Service/ Environment/ Application- Heading 2 Cause(optional)- Heading 2 Resolution- Heading 2 Additional Resources- Heading 2
Tags	Issue-Resolution, Audience (Students, Faculty, Staff), Service, Application
Summary	This article will provide a resolution to the issue, [statement of issue from the target audience perspective]
Example	Trouble Accessing the ISU Network Off Campus Using the Virtual Private Network

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Standards for Knowledge Base Standards Article
Subject	[Name of the application/service] Standard(s)
Body	Purpose– Heading 2 Application- Heading 2 Briefly describe who must follow this standard (e.g. students, faculty, staff, etc.) or targeted group (e.g. graduate students, adjunct faculty, etc.)- normal heading Briefly describe any conditions under which this standard must be followed (e.g. "when storing data that is highly sensitive," "when using a personal device," etc.)- normal heading Exceptions- Heading 2 Briefly describe when an exception may be granted and how to request an exception- normal heading Standards- Heading 2 Briefly list or describe the standards. An additional table or area for content may be added below for standards that require more than a brief explanation.
Tags	Standards, Audience (Students, Faculty, Staff), Service, Application
Summary	This article will provide the standards for [whatever the article is about]. The target audience is [students, faculty, staff, guest as applicable] or [targeted group]
Example	ISU Computer Standards

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Resource Links

Subject	[Product Name] Resource Links
Body	Introduction- Heading 2 Enter a brief description of the product and who uses the product.- Normal format Resources- Heading 2 Enter a hyperlink describing the resource it is linking to. These are normally resources provided by the vendor or another group outside of of ISUs knowledge base. User's Guide Training Video [Specific subject] Tutorial Additional Resources Provide information on where to find further support, i.e. help desk or other ISU support resource.
Tags	Resource-Links, Audience (Students, Faculty, Staff), Service, Application
Summary	This article provides links to resources for [product name]. The Target Audience is [student, faculty, staff, guest as applicable] or [targeted group]
Example	OneDrive Resource Links

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These standards have not been defined
Subject	[Application/ Service] Support Resources
Body	1. Table for ISU support resources 2. Table for Vendor support resources
Tags	Product-Support
Summary	This article provides product support resources for [name of the product/application]. The target audience is [students, faculty, staff, guest as applicable] or [targeted group]
Example

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These standards have not been defined
Subject	[Service] Overview
Body	Priority – how critical is this service Service partners (others who are experienced with this service and help to administer/support the service) Service posture (we fully support/somewhat support/minimally support . . . with something about what that means for this service) Training posture (we can provide in-depth training/some training/no training at all) How we evaluate the success of this service Other service elements Service history (major inflection points in the delivery of this service)
Tags
Summary
Example	Kronos Support Resources

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