Fujitsu Ltd. Case Study

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Introduction
Producing graphical documentation efficiently and swiftly
Make once, use many times
In-house training for Visio implementation

Introduction

Fujitsu, with 180,000 employees in 100 countries, is an information-technology pioneer and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computers, telecommunications, and peripherals. Recognizing the global shift in information-technology priorities from hardware to software and services, Fujitsu is playing a leading role in the development of Electronic Commerce (EC) and Commerce At Light Speed (CALS). 

Fujitsu has been able to use Visio® software as a component in its promotion of EC/CALS and to standardize its creation and reuse of graphics, thus making information universally available to its customers. This case study is based on conversations with members of Fujitsu's CALS Technology Service Division.

Visio stencils customized by Fujitsu. Documents containing component specifications can be hyperlinked to these stencils.

Producing graphical documentation efficiently and swiftly

A major CALS issue is the more efficient production of documentation. As recently as a decade ago, hardware designers spent the bulk of their time producing drawings; today, with the widespread acceptance of CAD and other drawing-related technology, that time has been drastically cut. However, in that decade the number of systems that rely on a combination of hardware and software functions has increased, requiring the production of large volumes of documentation as a part of the design process. These documents include many graphical components, such as system blueprints, function charts, structural diagrams, installation diagrams, timelines, and flowcharts; and designers are spending more of their time constructing such graphics. This is important, because graphics play such a significant role in the promotion of coordinated work efforts spanning multiple divisions or corporations. There is simply no better way to communicate ideas, concepts, and information across barriers of culture and language. Ensuring that graphics can be created quickly and accurately makes for a more tightly integrated work environment (and should result in a more efficient graphics-production process).

In the latter part of the 1980s, Fujitsu was asked by its major U.S. clients to provide electronic versions of the manuals those clients purchased in large quantities. Fujitsu accommodated these requests by using numerous (and expensive) word-processing systems. In the 1990s, customers with multi-vendor strategies requested that their numerous suppliers standardize their documentation, and Fujitsu began working to bring its documentation into conformity with Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) for text and with the Computer Graphic Metafile (CGM) format for graphics.

Fujitsu recognized that standardizing and sharing drawings would go a long way in reducing costs and increasing productivity when creating documentation, so it set out to find a tool that offered quick and simple drawing capability, easily shared and reused drawings, and had seamless integration with word-processing and other programs. It was during this process that the Fujitsu teams began using Visio® software and were impressed by the technology's easy handling and drawing flexibility. Fujitsu standardized both its Japanese and English manuals with a combination of SGML and Visio drawings.

Make once, use many times

A standard phrase in CALS is "input once, use again and again." One of the major focuses of efforts begun by Fujitsu's CALS project team in 1996 to promote CALS was achieving "make once, use many times" capability with graphics. The process of designing a cellular handset that fits in the palm of your hand, for example, would require over 10,000 A4-size pages of technical documentation, while the creation of a manual for a large-scale telecom system could require over 100,000 pages of documentation.

Roughly a third of that documentation is graphics. This is where Visio technology considerably speeds the process with its drag-and-drop functionality and easy sharing of files: a single drawing, once created and stored, can be used again and again ("make once, use many times"), eliminating the need for redrawing as well as the chance of mistakes creeping in during the process of redrawing. The results are time gained and consistency reinforced.

In-house training for Visio implementation

Because Visio technology is so easy to use, Fujitsu was able to hold its class on basic operations and standard stencils to one to three hours. With Visio training, creation of original stencils (symbol libraries) becomes quite simple. Staffers with no specialized experience in graphics creation could easily create drawings on screen by merely combining Visio SmartShapes® symbols. Students were also taught the benefits of sharing symbols and, hence, standardization within the enterprise.

The CALS project team promoted the standardization of symbols in three ways:

1. Standardization of Visio stencils

The objective here was to reduce the number of symbols that must be newly created, increase the reuse of symbols, and thus improve the quality (and accuracy) of documentation. The ultimate goal was to implement use of companywide standard templates and to standardize company documentation.

2. Assistance with Visio add-on development

By providing a forum for the exchange of technology between developers of Visio add-on software, the CALS project team hopes to provide for more efficient development and to reduce time wasted on duplicated efforts. Since Visio products come with Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) and can be customized with languages such as Microsoft Visual Basic and C++, they can be utilized as a development platform for custom solutions.

3. Standardization of modeling expressions using Visio technology

The team's goal here was to create models of business processes through IDEFO (Integration Definition for Function Marketing) and other methods with the objective of reviewing and improving upon those business processes. Additionally, a future aim is to link IDEFO charts produced by Visio software with business-process assistance systems to automate the operation of those systems.

For more information: https://www.microsoft.com/office/visio