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Evolving the ESG's people and processes

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Although called a "helpfile," it isn't one in the traditional sense. The name is derived from the electronic standards' first seven releases, which used a Microsoft WinHelp format — most often used for application online help. WinHelp is task-oriented information about how to do things; for example, in Word, how to print a document.

Obviously, the ESG Helpfile is not a task-oriented document; rather, it is a reference document that contains standards to facilitate data exchange and transaction processing between distributors, manufacturers, and intermediaries within the Canadian investment fund industry. Simply put, it is used as a reference for the industry to help build automated processing.

By the ESG's seventh release, the WinHelp format was proving problematic: it was platform-specific (i.e., worked only on a PC); it was not fully integrated with web browsers; and it did not allow embedding of other file types, such as PDFs. As a result, these limitations set in motion FundSERV's decision to convert to an HTML or web-based format in 2000.

In addition to the format change from WinHelp to HTML, there was also an architectural change to the Helpfile. The old CSS technical specifications (now known as NSR and N$M) and the ESG v7 WinHelp file were amalgamated and became ESG v8, an HTML-based referenced website. Today we are at version 17, and although FundSERV stopped using the WinHelp format since version seven, it is still called the Helpfile.

The users

On average, there are about 2,000 visits per month to the ESG website. While no definitive study or analysis has ever been conducted, there are some things that we have gleaned from log files, anecdotal evidence, and customer surveys.

A significant fact about Helpfile customers is that they are a very diverse group. They come from various business environments, including business analysis, development, operations and administration.

Within these various business environments, our customers have a broad spectrum of industry experience, ranging from the novice to the expert (working group and committee members, who can also be authors of the Helpfile). These customers also have a broad range of IT knowledge, again, ranging from the wizard (system engineers and DBAs that update applications) to the apprentice.

In addition to the different customer types and their various levels of experience, another factor is the way a customer uses the website. There are those who use it as a reference, usually on an as-needed basis. Conversely, there are those whose usage is cyclical, meaning their usage is closely tied with an ESG standards implementation cycle.

What's inside?

The site map is the best place for a bird's eye view of content. The website is made up of over 1,400 files — printed out that would be about 4,000 pages — and is divided into two main sections: the first, data standards; and second, the business and technical papers.

Within this second section are the industry standards and FundSERV standards. Examples of industry standards are the data standards (like field definitions, XML data elements, file layouts, usage); general rules (such as LSIF business practices, asset allocation and account lookup); and code tables (like error and warning codes, and province/state codes). Examples of the FundSERV standards are order placement (TFS) technical specifications, and NSR and N$M specifications. There are also FundSERV standards that are part of the industry standards, such as the 500 series of error codes and some field allowable values.

The future of the Helpfile

When taking into consideration the evolution of the Helpfile and all of the customer and usage factors, it becomes evident that the Helpfile would be extremely useful for FundSERV's technical users, but less so for administrators and operations people looking for information on how to perform a task.

While FundSERV intends to investigate possible incarnations of the Helpfile, it must first conduct a comprehensive user analysis. A deeper understanding of our customers' needs will provide greater insight into various solutions and allow us to make a decision based on our customers' perspectives.

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