Paul Burchfield

Summary

My name is Paul Burchfield, and my goal is to help people understand. It seems simple, right? But it turns out that getting to the point of understanding isn't as easy as it may seem. Over the course of my career, I've helped thousands of customers to make the best possible use out of software — both professional and personal — and Internet services. I've developed training tools in multiple media formats — printed, online, audio, video, and in-person. And I've delivered delivered training in classroom settings and using distance-learning tools. The most fun part of my jobs have been working as the link between the end user of a product and the teams that develop those products. Being a customer advocate and understanding their needs to provide feedback and guidance to development teams is key to a development process. In my years working in the genealogy software/services industry, I came to appreciate how passionate people about their family history along with the tools used to help them find, organize, share, and publish that information. At Apple, my customers were sales teams--both inside and outside of Apple around the world--and the Apple product marketing teams I collaborated with. A lot of importance on attention to detail and creating useful (and good-looking) tools in very short timeframes was the norm over my time there. The goal was to help sales people focus on understanding a product's capabilities and customer's needs in order to recommend an appropriate solution. Along the way, I've been responsible for the creation and maintenance of knowledge base systems, customer support tools, and content management systems. Outside of work, I'm a mobile DJ and love working with couples to plan and execute memorable wedding celebrations. Specialties: customer support, technical support, training, knowledge base creation, community development, web development, copy editing, script writing, documentation, course development, voice over, on-screen talent