Everyone wants and needs access to  information - now more than ever. But, how do you manage that? Brian Cornwell of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Australia, Morten Daniel Kynell, BIM Development Manager EMEA and Melissa Megna of ASSA ABLOY talk about how they manage support and training that transcends geographical spaces. Check out the Doorway to BIM podcast below, or read about support systems below. 

Benefits of having a Knowledge Base for your company or software solution

by Melissa Megna | BIM Education & Community Manager

Your team and employees have a lot of information stored in their heads. Wouldn't it be nice if you could pick their brains anytime you wanted to? What if you could have a repository of information, carefully curated and refined based off of real world experience and user feedback? 

That's where a Knowledge Base stands to bridge the gap. That's why a comprehensive - and extensive Knowledge Base - has been a big priority for us. With a global software solution with thousands of users worldwide, it's imperative that we have a single source of truth available to our user base. Having one, especially for robust software programs, can reduce a lot of headaches.

When choosing new software solutions, one thing to consider is the level of support and the training materials that are provided to you, as well as the one-on-one support you receive while on-boarding. Doing so has numerous benefits, such as faster adoption and user satisfaction. What other things should you consider? 

Navigation and Search

One thing I find frustrating is when I try to find a specific fix, or walk-through for a specific task, and I am presented with an abundance of similarly related articles to sift through. The Openings Studio Knowledge base leverages the expertise of a globally-situated team to provide comprehensive information and training about the software, as well as answering the most frequent issues users encounter. As you can imagine, that's a lot of information, and it's important to provide the content most relevant to your search.

Knowledge Bases should be easy to navigate and provide you with the most relevant information to your search. The Openings Studio Knowledge Base goes one step further by tailoring information to meet your needs. For example, if you’re an architect you will see information that is specific to the tasks that you need to perform, such as the Analyze or Export process.

Anticipating All Types of Learners

Videos or step-by-step tutorials? It’s almost impossible to anticipate which learning style is best for users, which is why we recommend opting for several different styles. We provide a mix of written and visual content in the form of videos, step-by-step tutorials, animations of workflows, and even through podcasts. What’s most important is getting people the information they need clearly and quickly. 

A Full-Service Support Resource

While a Knowledge Base might be seen as just a self-service help tool, it can also go above and beyond. It can act as the first step into a symbiotic relationship between support and future feature requests. The Openings Studio team leverages the Knowledge Base to highlight common workflows and practices, but also to identify and rectify gaps in those workflows.

Additionally, we think the Knowledge Base is the perfect place to house the expertise and knowledge from around the world, which is why we are pleased to highlight the Doorway to BIM blog. Doorway to BIM is a multimedia destination for building information modeling (BIM), building information management and software best practices. We'll bring you news & information that focuses on the ever-expanding topic of BIM, and how you can improve your workflows and professional experience.