TC Direct "Help Center" - "Getting Started" FAQ Content

Contest Overview

This contest is part in a series of contests for creating content for TopCoder Cockpit "Help Center".

Your task in this contest is to create a “Getting Started” FAQ content for the “Help Center”.

Content Category

Web content

Describe your business

TopCoder has recently introduced the TopCoder Cockpit Application, which allows Customers, as well as Staff, Copilots, etc., to directly engage with the TopCoder processes and Community.

TopCoder Cockpit allows users to
- Launch and Monitor Contests
- View Submissions
- Choose Winners for Competitions
- Pay for and Download Finished Products
and generally manage a project within the TopCoder platform.

TopCoder Cockpit is the bridge between the Client and the TopCoder Community that gives a customer the ability to build software and complete design projects of any size or scope through competition.

Audience

The target audience is new users of the platform (first-time user).

How do you intend to use this content?

There will be a FAQ area for "Getting Started" content in "Help Center" of TopCoder Cockpit.

What things would you like to deliver to your audience through this content?

• The FAQ should cover the things first-time-user needs to know when using TopCoder Cockpit, in general this will include providing breif introducation about TopCoder Cockpit, TopCoder platform, Guidelines, Copyright, Policies and Registrations. For example, "What is TopCoder Cockpit?", "What is Game plan?", "Where can I find information about TopCoder process?", "What is CCA?".
• The focus should be solely on subjects intended to help the user to get started, we will launch another contests for creating content for "Competition Management" and "Copilot Help/Plaform Management".
• Please refer to the attached document under Supported Documents in this page for more information that may help you in creating FAQs.

You may not find answers for your questions in TopCoder website, you are encouraged to ask questions in the forum, the Copilot and Project Managers will help you to clarify things up.

What is the maximum length of words or pages for this content?

Keep it as short as possible. Aim for no more than 100 words in the answer. If it runs to a lot more than that, can you break it down into more than one question and answer each one separately?

In what format do you want to see the content?

The document will be a group of a categorized FAQs, all related FAQs of a specific Category must be listed together under that Category.

Keep in mind however, that the FAQ should be readable. Don't just cobble together a document that has no organization or flow.

If the content requires illustrations, photographs, and diagrams we expect the writer to deliver a complete package including web-ready artwork.

Example:

[Getting Started] Parent Category
[Basics] Sub Category
Q:What is TopCoder Cockpit?
A: TopCoder Cockpit .. etc

.. add more FAQs

[Costs and Fees] Sub Category
Q: Explanation of Costs.
A: ...
Q: How much TopCoder charges me for .. ?
A: ..

...

What is the expected web layout of this content?

We have the “Help Center” in Production.

What is going to happen to the existing FAQ content?

The output of this contest will replace existing content of "Getting Started" FAQ area in Help Center.

Submission format?

A zip file contains a word document, Html, rft, pdf. 

The submission should also include the artworks, graphics, flowcharts etc. that are presented in the document.

Do you have examples you like to share?

Ebay has a good FAQ example. FAQs are structured in Categories and Sub Categories:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/selling-basics.html

Do you have any additional information?

• Use simple, everyday, conversational language: write the answer as though you were talking to someone standing in front of you. Be conversational, not terse. Tip: Read your answers aloud. If they sound like a tax form, your FAQs need fixing!
• Don’t use formal ways of expressing yourself (for example, use “you’ll need to”, not “you will be required to”; use “How can I get home care?” not “How do access this service?”).
• Use your audience’s language - People outside the council won’t know TopCoders jargon — and shouldn’t have to. When you use the language of everyday people, you aren’t dumbing things down. You’re communicating.
• Ask, and answer, only one question at a time. If you’re asking more than one question in one FAQ, break it down into separate questions and answer each one concisely but fully.
• Remember that questions may show without other related questions, so you should make sure that any acronyms are properly explained in every question.
• The question should be comprehensive and be able to stand alone (i.e. “How much does TopCoder charge for hiring a Copilot?” rather than “How much does it cost?”).
• Don’t preach - Don’t pad your FAQ list with questions nobody really asks. An FAQ list isn’t the place to say what you want to say, it’s the place to answer what they (your audience members) want to know.
• Be specific - Don’t just tell people to post in forums or round table. Give them the link to the forum, and when to expect a response.
• One-word answers (i.e. “Yes” or “No”) are not acceptable.
• Simply stating that the answer is available on the Help Center is also not acceptable.

Please you are encouraged to ask more questions in the forum.

Awards

At the end of the contest a review board will compensate members with 5 main prizes (1^st: 600$, 2^nd: 300$, 3^rd-5^th: 50$).

Review Guidelines

• The review board will likely be a mix of TC staff and TC members.
• A custom review scorecard will be used for this contest.

Final Submission Guidelines

Submitters should upload there work to Online Review - the submission file should be an archived file (zip) contains the FAQ document.

We will provide VM for competitors to play around and experience TopCoder Cockpit, the VM information will be provided in forum.

Please refer to forums for more details.