Work History for Louis Berner

Field Biologist  --  1986 – 1993 

Conducted scientific field trials and experiments that resulted in improved understanding and conservation of marine, tropical, and temperate wildland resources. Designed research projects, conducted field surveys, developed and managed databases, analyzed large, complex datasets, and developed predictive models. Increased world and local knowledge that resulted in improved management and conservation of Nelson’s desert mountain sheep, American peregrine falcons, ferruginous hawks, Mexican free-tailed bats, northern goshawks, the Pacific conch, and Rocky Mountain timber wolves. 

Professional Educator  --  1992 – 1997 

Held teaching positions in instructional design environments where I interpreted complex scientific, biological, and mathematical concepts into user-friendly courses for a variety of audiences. Directed university-level field research projects. Developed and presented material for courses in study design, research methods, avian and forest management, endangered species monitoring, landscape ecology, math, general science, statistics, Spanish language, and sustainable development. Interacted with hundreds of students to share knowledge, appreciate the natural world, and foster a love of learning.

Technical Writer | Software Engineer | Program Manager  --  1997 - present

An information systems and technical communications professional with a proven track record of results that deliver insight, customer focus, and operational improvements. Combine leadership skills with broad technical expertise to provide content strategy, interaction design, knowledge management, and documentation of complex systems and software. 

Past clients include AT&T, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Center for Sustainable Development Studies, King County, Microsoft Corporation, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Weyerhaeuser, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. National Park Service. 

Selected Accomplishments  

Master of Science degree 

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

School of Renewable Natural Resources, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Science  

Bachelor of Arts degree 

The Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado 

Major in Biology, Minor in Latin American Studies  

Microsoft TechFest People’s Choice Award for Engineering Innovation –  Voted #1 of 250+ innovation ideas across Microsoft Cloud + Enterprise. As part of a team of five, developed integrated assistance for key scenarios in Azure Portal where and when customers needed help. Received outstanding customer feedback. Results increased product adoption, increased revenue for the company, and reduced support costs.   

Leveraged customer data to drive improvements to product workflow at Microsoft -  For more than ten years, established user-focused channels of information flow inside the company that returned hundreds of hours of engineering time to product teams and customer support each month. Reduced SME and engineering cost, created efficient knowledge flows and content strategies to address known issues about SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and security best practices.   

Designed and implemented a collaborative publishing workflow to increase efficiency at Boeing Commercial Airplane Group - Returned hundreds of hours of engineering time to the Boeing Service Engineering Team each month, improving morale among engineers and staff. Managed project budgets, resources, schedules, and knowledge transfer. Improved document acceptance rates by more than 90% in less than 180 days. 

Skills Summary

Program management – Provide strategy and processes that improve the customer experience. Drive end-to-end project management with results that increase product adoption and reduce support costs. Manage multiple, simultaneous projects. Develop requirements documents, specifications, budgets, and schedules. Create and track defects, manage resource allocation, and coordinate sprints. Track status, sign-off criteria, and development of technical documentation.

Knowledge management – Create useful, meaningful content, designs, and workflows that shape the customer experience. Use insight and hard data to identify tasks, improve processes, and promote features that customers value the most. Develop informatics, information flow, and knowledge management solutions to inform stakeholders and provide data-driven improvements.

Interaction design, Human factors – Develop user stories, use cases, scenarios, business logic, and specifications. Develop UX storyboards, visual designs, UI layouts, interaction designs, and clear, concise customer-facing content to maximize software usability, increase product adoption, and reduce support costs.
 

Full software development lifecycle – Actively collaborate with user research, UX/design, product management, development, test, release management, user education, marketing, support, and other subject matter experts. Provide customers what they need in a way that is easy to find and easy to use. Develop data-driven methods that improve processes and raise levels of operational maturity. Contribute to a positive environment through excellence, teamwork, and insight.

Employment History

Senior Content Developer -- February 2022 - present 

Microsoft Corporation, Cloud+AI Developer Relations - Azure Stack Edge – Remote

Develop and maintain customer-facing documentation for Azure Stack Edge to optimize Azure services and capabilities. Content includes documentation for hybrid, virtual, and edge architectures for scalable, high-performance applications. Results are improving the customer experience and reducing support costs. This job is a contract with Aquent, LLC.

AT&T User Experience Team -- May 2021 – January 2022 

Program Manager, Customer Experience Digital Producer - Remote

Provided program management to sustain customer experience feature development projects while the team re-tooled and established resource capacity. Added structure, fostered collaboration, and coordinated SME work in strategy, design, research, and content to develop improvements to customer experiences, journey maps, and prototypes. Results increased cross-functional team communication and implemented repeatable, sustainable improvements to operational efficiency. This job was a contract with CompNova, Inc. 

Senior Technical Writer  -- January 2020 - May 2021

Microsoft Corporation, Azure Sphere – Redmond, Washington/Remote

Created core documentation for Azure Sphere devices and IoT managed services. Content included provisioning, application development, samples, and API reference topics. This job is a contract with Pactera, Inc.

Service Manager, Knowledge Management -- November 2019 - February 2020

Atos Technologies - North American Operations - Remote

Collaborated with SMEs and PMO to manage content standards and delivery of runbooks that provided SOP, scripts, tools, troubleshooting, and escalation paths for server management and virtualization operations. This job was a contract with Indotronix International Corporation.

Principal Technical Writer  --  July 2019 – October 2019
Integris Software – Seattle, Washington

Developed documentation workflow, content architecture, and strategy for Integris Software, a data privacy automation provider. Also documented application architecture, CI/CD, and best practices for customer deployments. This job was a contract with Berner Enterprises, LLC.

Senior Technical Writer, Customer Experience Program Manager -- March 2018 - June 2019

Microsoft Corporation – Redmond, Washington

Provided knowledge management, information architecture, technical documentation, and content strategy for a portfolio of documentation sets for the Microsoft Office Data, Insight, and Growth Engineering Team. Audience included 5,000 Microsoft developers, software engineers, and other SMEs. Results improved content for high-value topics, updated site design, reduced SME interruptions, and improved content management across the organization. This job was a contract with Chameleon Technologies.

From March 2018 – February 2019: Provided knowledge management, workflow improvements, strategy, and content for a portfolio of documentation sets for the Microsoft Digital Security and Risk Engineering Team. Delivered improvements to site architecture, internal workflows, topic structure, and topic discoverability. Content included landing pages, reference, procedural, and troubleshooting topics, plus program communication materials. My work improved customer satisfaction, reduced support costs, and returned many hours of engineering time to SME resources. This job was a contract with Mactus Group, LLC.

Technical Writer, Analyst  --  June 2016 – January 2018
AT&T Digital Design and User Experience - Bothell, Washington

Worked on a team of UX designers, developers, and other subject matter experts. We consolidated design styles from across AT&T to develop and manage an online library of digital design standards for consumer, premier, and SMB design projects. I provided end-to-end project management. I gathered requirements, created and tracked tasks in Rational Jazz, coordinated sprints, reported status, tracked sign-off criteria, managed the task backlog, drove process improvement, wrote documentation, and collected customer data to improve the web site. We used Agile methods with daily standup meetings. This job was a contract with KForce Technology, Inc.

Technical Writer, Software Engineer  --  April 2001 - September 2014
SQL Server User Education, Microsoft Corporation - Redmond, Washington

Learned fast. Embraced change. Helped customers succeed with Microsoft software by transforming complex information into easy-to-consume content, user-focused business logic, and intuitive features. 

Built strong relationships with user research, design, development, PM, test, release, marketing, and support resources. Documented configuration steps, security hardening, and high availability setup for SQL Server, and administration features for Azure SQL Database. Utilized data-driven and Lean methods to manage multiple, simultaneous projects with tight schedules, diverse stakeholders, and fluid requirements.

Added value to the customer experience by conducting top task analysis and measuring customer pain points, then using data and insight to drive excellent UX design, application logic, error messages, and user help. Created defects in Visual Studio, tracked burndown and resolution across teams. Results consistently increased product adoption and reduced support costs. This job was an FTE position with Microsoft.

Systems Analyst, Technical Writer  --  October 2000 - February 2001
AT&T Digital Broadband - Redmond, Washington

Worked on a management consulting team that re-engineered IT operations for the Pizza Box project at AT&T Fixed Wireless. Interviewed subject matter experts in order to develop run books and back office documentation for complex distributed networks and applications. Also contributed to knowledge management initiatives, process improvement, and development of information systems. This job was a contract with Intelliant, Inc.

Process Engineer  --  January 2000 - September 2000
Service Engineering, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group - Everett, Washington

Provided end-to-end project management to develop and manage a collaborative publishing process. My customers were 400 engineers who prepared airworthiness directives, service letters, and communiqués to commercial air carriers worldwide. Asset management processes were evaluated using Lean methods, re-engineered, and quality-controlled, improving initial document acceptance rates by more than 90% in 6 months. Developed templates, style guides, and best practices. Managed budgets, resources, client expectations, and project schedules. Received excellent feedback from stakeholders, engineers, and management. This job was a contract with Consultis, Inc.

Application Systems Analyst, Instructional Designer  --  January 1997 - December 1999

Weyerhaeuser Company - Federal Way, Washington

Worked as a member of an ISO 9001-certified software development team that developed and maintained seven web-enabled Microsoft SQL Server database applications for Weyerhaeuser Company. 

Through understanding of key end-user scenarios and application design details, delivered tele-conference training to 500 end-users, provided customer support, developed and maintained web-based user documentation, developed project metrics and ad hoc reports for senior management, led root-cause analysis of application bugs, and drove resolution of defects. Managed special projects including application development, application stress testing, configuration management, business continuity, and knowledge transfer back to the customer. This job was a contract with CIBER, Inc. 

Business Writer, Technical Trainer  --  June - December 1996

Wilmar Corporation - Post Falls, Idaho

Wrote and edited training manuals, manuscripts, and marketing collateral for a health and wellness curriculum. Also developed financial projections for business plans and marketing presentations.

Classroom Teacher -- August 1995 - June 1996

Discovery School - Spokane, Washington

Developed experiential lesson plans and led 5th and 6th grade classroom sessions for math and science. Also developed lesson plans and delivered classroom sessions for K-6th grade in Spanish language, Latin American culture, and music. All curriculum elements were experiential and included Adler-Dreikers practices of Positive Discipline.  Also facilitated weekly meetings in Positive Discipline.

River Guide  --  April - August 1994

Great Northern Whitewater - West Glacier, Montana

Piloted whitewater float trips on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River in all conditions, including Class III and Class IV rapids. Responsible for safety and comfort of guests,  food preparation, safety and care of equipment.

Associate Faculty  --  September 1992 - May 1993

Center for Sustainable Development Studies - El Rodeo, Costa Rica

Worked as part of a team of five to develop, coordinate, and present sustainable development case studies to North American college students during two semesters in Costa Rica. Responsible for teaching tropical ecology, research methods, and principles of sustainable development; supervising student research projects, student advising and counseling; writing annual reports; development and writing of risk assessment and management plans, budget preparation; supervision of two resident interns.

Research Specialist  --  May - August 1992

U.S. National Park Service - Rincon Mountain Wilderness, Saguaro National Monument, Arizona

Developed a proposal for funding and a project plan, and then conducted a breeding bird survey of sensitive raptor species, including peregrine falcons, northern goshawks, spotted owls, and zone-tailed hawks in Arizona mountain wilderness. Wrote a final report, presented results and management recommendations to U.S. Park Service managers at Saguaro National Monument, Arizona.

Research Assistant  --  May 1990 - June 1992

University of Arizona - Tucson, Arizona

Determined habitat use by desert mountain sheep on the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada. Assisted in capture of 18 individuals by helicopter net gun, transport, and release to a 320 hectare enclosure. Habitat use was similar to habitat use patterns described for free-ranging mountain sheep in other Mojave desert scrub habitats. This project was part of a long-term study by the U.S. Air Force to determine the effects of low-altitude aircraft on mountain sheep heart rate and behavior. 

Wildlife Field Technician  --  February - August 1989

Arizona Game and Fish Department - Phoenix, Arizona

Conducted peregrine falcon surveys on public land throughout Arizona. Documented new peregrine territories and return to historic eyries, mapped nest locations, and recorded productivity of active nesting pairs. From July-August, conducted Mexican spotted owl and northern goshawk surveys on the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona; climbed goshawk nest trees to collect eggshell fragments and prey remains. 

Wildlife Field Technician  --  April - July 1987, 1988

Colorado Division of Wildlife - Ft. Collins, Colorado

Determined productivity of wild peregrine falcons in Colorado through observation of nesting activities at 35 territories during two field seasons. Determined suitability of potential habitat, surveyed suitable areas for undocumented nesting falcons, and rappelled into active eyries to band fledglings and collect eggshell fragments.

Hack Site Attendant  --  August - September 1987

The Peregrine Fund, Inc. - Boise, Idaho

Cared for five fledgling peregrine falcons during their release from a wilderness cliff site near Cripple Creek, Colorado. Responsible for feeding and protecting the young birds, observing fledgling behavior during a 6-week period prior to dispersal, and writing a final report.

Wolf Ecology Project Field Technician  --  October 1986 - March 1987

University of Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit - Moose City, Montana

Monitored habitat use activities of "The Magic Pack" as they recolonized the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage - Glacier National Park and adjacent country - during fall and winter in northwestern Montana. Triangulated locations of radio-collared pack members, tracked wolf sign on the ground, and interpreted health and age of wolf kills. Mapped more than 500 miles of wolf travel routes, resource interactions, and wolf activities across Rocky Mountain wilderness.

Peregrine Falcon Survey Field Technician -- June 1986

National Park Service - Page, Arizona

Worked as part of a team of five to survey Lake Powell cliff sites for peregrine falcon activity. Survey were by small boat, shore and cliff recon sites to observe courtship, incubation, care of young, and territory defense activity. Results included documentation of a new wild nesting pair with a live brood of four.