4. Technical Documentation & Process Improvement
Key Skills
Process Improvement, Technical Writing, Version Control (Git), Standard Work
Core Tools
LaTeX, Overleaf, Git, Microsoft Office
Outcomes
Replaced inconsistent Word/PDF forms with a version-controlled, standardized, and easily maintainable LaTeX workflow.
4.1 Project: Registrar's Office Process Improvement
This project demonstrates process improvement and automation in an office environment. At the Registrar's Office, many critical forms were legacy Microsoft Word documents or static PDFs.
The Problem
The existing documents were prone to formatting errors, inconsistent branding, and were difficult to update. There was no version control, leading to multiple conflicting "final" versions existing on different computers. This created confusion for both students and staff.
The Solution
I initiated and led a project to migrate these operational documents to a centralized, version-controlled **LaTeX workflow** (using Overleaf with Git). LaTeX, the industry standard for scientific and technical documentation, enforces perfect formatting, separates content from style, and is plain text, making it ideal for version control.
4.2 Document Examples
I rebuilt several key public-facing documents from scratch in LaTeX, ensuring consistent branding, correct information, and a professional, clean layout.
Downloadable/Viewable Assets
Below are the final PDFs and the original LaTeX source code (.tex) files for each document. This demonstrates the separation of content (the .tex file) from the final, perfectly-formatted presentation (the .pdf).
1. FERPA Reference Sheet
A one-page guide for faculty on student privacy laws.
2. Change of Personal Information
A complex, multi-field form for student record updates.
3. Academic Calendar
The official 2025-2026 calendar with critical dates and deadlines.
4. Diploma Pickup Verification
A 3-up, perforated form for efficient commencement day operations.
4.3 Code Showcase: `ferpa_reference_V1.tex` (Excerpt)
This snippet from the FERPA reference sheet shows the LaTeX preamble, which sets up the document's structure, fonts, and layout. This is where the standardization and branding are enforced.
% Preamble
\documentclass[11pt, letterpaper]{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{geometry}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{tgheros} % Font: TeX Gyre Heros (Helvetica clone)
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{textcomp}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage{hyperref}
% --- Page Geometry ---
\geometry{
letterpaper,
left=0.75in,
right=0.75in,
top=1.0in,
bottom=1.0in,
headheight=38.32pt, % Height of the header
footskip=0.5in
}
% --- Colors ---
\definecolor{MinesBlue}{RGB}{9, 41, 71} % Official Mines Navy
\definecolor{MinesLightBlue}{RGB}{0, 163, 224}
\definecolor{MinesGray}{RGB}{162, 169, 173}
% --- Header and Footer ---
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{} % Clear all header and footer fields
\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{1pt} % Header rule line
\renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0.4pt} % Footer rule line
\headrule
\footrule
% Header: Logo on left, Title on right
\fancyhead[L]{\includegraphics[height=1.2cm]{logo.png}} % Logo
\fancyhead[R]{%
\color{MinesGray}
\sffamily\bfseries\Large
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) \\
\sffamily\bfseries\large
Quick Reference Sheet
}
...
4.4 Why This Matters
Migrating to a LaTeX workflow is not just about aesthetics; it's an engineering approach to an administrative problem.
1. Version Control
Because the source is plain text, the entire history of every document can be tracked in Git. This eliminates "final_v2_FINAL.docx" problems and provides a single source of truth.
2. Standardization
The preamble (shown above) acts as a template. All documents automatically have the correct logo, fonts, margins, and colors, ensuring perfect brand consistency.
3. Maintainability
When a policy changes, I only need to edit one line of text. I don't have to fight with text boxes or image alignment. This reduces update time from hours to minutes.
4. Quality & Accessibility
LaTeX produces vector-based PDFs of the highest typographical quality. They are sharp, professional, and have a smaller file size, making them more accessible.