Resume

Overview

A certified technical writer, instructional designer, and adult literacy practicioner based in Nova Scotia, Canada. Allan has over five years of experience in knowledge management, from developing style guides, creating lesson strategies, and building help centers. He has developed knowledge content for children’s toys, B2B SaaS products, academic courses, transportation, and industrial appliances.

Work Experience

Xpan Interactive

Calgary, Alberta, Canada (Remote) - 04/2023 - 03/2024

Instructional Designer

  • Generated storyboards for developer instruction and instructor led training courses
  • Developed style guides and led course development projects. Created pre-made templates to increase efficiency and consistency
  • Edited and proofread content from colleagues to ensure accuracy and consistency throughout course
  • Designed learning content for transportation and industrial operations and maintenance, as well as academic courses
  • Consulted on internal knowledge base development using Confluence
  • Provided insights on AI initiatives to improve instructional design workflow
  • Consistently and reliably met tight deadline targets while managing multiple projects

Snorble

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (Remote) - 01/2022 - 02/2023

Knowledge Manager

  • Developed knowledge infrastructure for internal documentation, online knowledge base, and print quick-start guides
  • Engaged with the product, engineering, and support teams to write Snorble’s knowledge base articles
  • Published the Employee Culture Guide in co-ordination with COO
  • Sourced and developed Snorble’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, ensuring compliance with COPA and GDPR
  • Designed the print version of Snorble’s Quickstart Guide using Adobe Creative Suite and Clip Studio Paint
  • Implemented tools, processes, best practices, and strategies to assist the Support team and improve effectiveness
  • Served as primary admin for complete tech stack, including content management, project management, communication, security, and office software
  • Oversaw permissions and admin policies for Snorble’s tech stack, including Zoom, Google Workspace, Adobe CC, OnePassword, Confluence, and Jira
  • Performed QA testing on doll voice-interactivity through a Ubuntu Linux VM, reading BASH script and Python

Begin.ai (Contract)

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (Remote) - 01/2022 - 04/2022

Technical Writer

  • Planned, designed, administered, and maintained developer-focused software documetnation in Notion
  • Developed content strategy for marketing blog posts. Provided resource material for product marketing content
  • Reviewed white papers and technical documents
  • Wrote bio for CEO

Proposify

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (hybrid/remote) - 05/2017 - 01/2022

Knowledge Manager

  • Administered and maintained internal documents in Confluence
  • Managed a team of technical writers, instructional designers, and video content producers to maintain internal and external documentation
  • Oversaw migration of external knowledge base from Intercom to Scroll Viewport
  • Designed LMS onboarding material for Proposify’s editor and software suite
  • Performed data analysis and tracked engagement metrics to improve article accuracy and customer satisfaction
  • Collaborated on community engagement initiatives as secretary of Proposify’s Diversity, Equite, and Inclusion Committee
  • Managed company-wide permissions structure for access to Confluence, Slack, Intercom, and Jira

Technical Writer

  • Simplified complex editor and sales management software features into digestible, easy-to-understand documents
  • Updated release notes using customer’s voice and knowledge set
  • Planned, developed, and maintained the Proposify Documentation Style Guide
  • Designed tailored documentatio nto onboard and train enterprise customers, using their voice and industry knowledge
  • Utilized knowledge assets and tools to communicate new product features and updates across Support and Sales departments
  • Collaborated with Product, Engineering, and Product Marketing teams to coordinate timelines and release dates
  • Developed conversation tree for the Proposify Support chat bot
  • Drafted and enacted the Proposify Incident Response workflow

Solutions Support Expert

  • Redesigned and restructured the Proposify external knowledge base
  • Acted as an escalation point for support requests, utilizing product expertise to provide a satisfactory conclusion to customer issues
  • Participated in high-value sales calls to provide workflow solutions and in-depth technical answers

Customer Happiness Expert

  • Interfaced with QA to reproduce known issues. Notified customers of resolution of experienced bugs
  • Provided technical support, account management, and workflow solutions to customers
  • Established workflow processes and provided internal documetnation on procedures and troubleshooting workflows

TD Insurance

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - 07/2016 - 05/2017

Insurance Advisor

  • Provided in-depth analysis of customer insurance policies to ensure exact coverage for customer’s needs
  • Answered technically complex questions regarding policy coverage and exceptions
  • Managed customer policy changes and additions

More Experience

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada - 2011 - 2016

Senior Investigation Officer

  • Received, reviewed, and responded to complex wire payment issues from internal and external clients through fax, email, phone, and SWIFT
  • Collaborated with banking partners to attain necessary details pertinent to wire investigations, within tight timeframes
  • Communicated resolution to client within established time frames to provide status of investigation inquiry and close issue

Customer Service Representative

  • Entered data and validated wire payment requests prior to processing to ensure accuracy and eligibility for payment
  • Investigated and resolved wire transfer issues such as duplication, non-execution or misdirected funds
  • Trained contingency staff on procedural guidelines and exceptions

Joy Bistro

Toronto, Ontario, Canada - 2009 - 2011

Line Cook (Day Shift)

The Monitoring Center

Oakville, Ontario Canada - 2007 - 2009

Customer Service Representative (alarm monitoring and dispatch)

Primus Telecommunications

Oakville, Ontario, Canada (Remote) - 2006 - 2007

Payment Collections

Northern Call Solutions

Barrie, Ontario, Canada - 2004 - 2005

Customer Service Representative - Cogeco Cable - Billing

Professional Acknowledgments

The Product Is Docs, Second Edition By Christopher Gales and the Splunk Documentation Team - 09/2021

Acknowledged for facilitating community engagement, aiding in the development and research of the book’s second edition.

Community Service

Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia (RRANS)

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - 04/2023 - present

Circle of Care Volunteer

  • Acclimated newcomers to Canadian culture
  • Regularly served dinners and provided companionship
  • Repaired furniture, painted walls, installed curtain rods, and performed upkeep on RRANS house
  • Mediated personal disputes between newcomers and forwarded complaints

Dartmouth Learning Network (DLN)

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada - 08/2018 - present

Volunteer Tutor

  • Tutored learners in Digital literacy, providing computer and IT skills relevant to the digital age
  • Provided hardware recommendations for learners with motility and cognitive issues
  • Performed in-house Zoom training for tutors during pandemic lockdown

Publications

Technical Writing Series: Allan Duquette

Tech Writer HQ - 05/2024

The Importance of CSAT Score with Allan Duquette of Proposify

Knowledge Base Ninjas - 04/2022