IFIXIT’S PLAN TO TRAIN THE WORLDGUEST EXPERT: KYLE WIENS

CEO OF IFIXIT & DOZUKI

KYLE WIENS

▸ Started iFixit back in the dorms of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo back in 2003

▸ Started Dozuki in 2012

▸ Inc 5000 fastest growing companies

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS…SO, BACK IN COLLEGE WE STARTED A BUSINESS TO MAKE SOME CASH.

THE INITIAL BUSINESS

PARTS ARE WORTH MORE THAN DEVICES

▸ We sold repair parts.

▸ Sometimes we’d buy new machines and part them out for more profit.

▸ More DIY repair = more repair parts sales!

THEN THINGS GOT REAL…

WE BEGAN TO DISCOVER THE ATROCITIES CAUSED BY E-WASTE.

▸ Poor recycling best practices

▸ Recycling was actually destruction

▸ Ewaste can’t be recycled effectively yet

20 MILLION TONS OF WASTE / YEAR

Visit ifixit.com for thousands of repair manuals.Consumer Reports 2006 e-waste study

Visit ifixit.com for thousands of repair manuals.

REPAIR & REUSE IS THE ONLY WAY

Consumer Reports 2006 e-waste study

US Illinois Economic Study

THE MISSION IS…

WRITE A REPAIR MANUAL FOR EVERY DEVICE EVER MADE.

ANDROID

THE NEED WAS BIG… TOO BIG.

WE HAD ONLY A FEW PEOPLE CREATING CONTENT AT THAT TIME.

TRAINING PROCESS V1

JUST $15

TRAINING PROCESS V2 - TEAM ONLY

LESSON 1: USE SOFTWARE TO BE EVERYWHERE

▸ The internet was already a mainstay for mass communication.

▸ Hosting services (like Amazon) enabled tremendous scalability without much cost.

▸ Software enabled flexibility: allowing our team to continually refine our methodology as we learned.

TEXT

TEXT

LESSON 2: BE VISUAL

▸ Good photos (or videos) will forgive a multitude of grammatical sins.

▸ Decent cameras were becoming standard equipment in smartphones.

▸ Visual guides can cross language gaps.

TRAINING PROCESS V2 - CENTRALIZED

LESSON 3: BE SUSTAINABLE

▸ Create easy to use / easy to maintain templates.

▸ Our tech writers are are people too. Build too many features and they won’t do what you want them to do (the “Paradox of Choice”).

▸ Constraints drive creativity.

TRAINING PROCESS V3 - DISTRIBUTED

WE WANTED FACEBOOK. NOT MYSPACE.

LESSON 4: BE SOCIAL

▸ Recognize proficiency and skill.

▸ Give trainees ways to communicate / discuss / disagree.

TRAINING PROCESS V3 - DISTRIBUTED

LESSON 5: ALWAYS BE IMPROVING

▸ Training isn’t ever perfect so it should be in a constant state of refinement.

▸ We thought we couldn’t possible have any issues in our flagship training offerings when we first launched our distributed training methodology. We received hundreds of improvement suggestions in the first few months.

TRAINING PROCESS V3 - DISTRIBUTED

LESSON 6: BE TRULY HELPFUL

▸ We couldn’t plan for every situation. A repair manual means that the problem was common enough to need a go-to solution. However, not all potential issues are always known: in fact, that’s the rule - not the exception.

▸ Understand what training is actually helpful.

▸ Plan for the unexpected.

TRAINING PROCESS V3 - DISTRIBUTED

TEXT

LESSON 7: BE WORLD CLASS

▸ We set out to be a beacon of technical documentation best practices:

▸ We’ve started an effective educational partner program

▸ We’ve collated our best practices into our “Tech Writing Handbook.”

▸ We’re constantly improving our technology, people and process.

TRAINING PROCESS V3 - DISTRIBUTED

LESSON 1: USE SOFTWARE TO BE EVERYWHERE LESSON 2: BE VISUAL LESSON 3: BE SUSTAINABLE LESSON 4: BE SOCIAL LESSON 5: ALWAYS BE IMPROVING LESSON 6: BE TRULY HELPFUL LESSON 7: BE WORLD CLASS

TRAINING LESSONS RECAP

CEO OF IFIXIT & DOZUKI

KYLE WIENS

▸ Started iFixit back in the dorms of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo back in 2003

▸ Started Dozuki in 2012

▸ Inc 5000 fastest growing companies