Reducing engineers' workload and creating an environment focused on development — Efficient operational system realized through Web manual creation using Markdown × GitHub

Interview Cooperation
Gen-AX Corporation
Project Support Team:
(From left in the photo)
Mr. Rei Nagano (Product Planning Department, Product Planning Section, Product Manager)
Ms. Miwa Kanaya (Product Planning Department, Product Planning Section, Product Planning)
Mr. Takahiro Sasaki (Product Planning Department, Product Planning Section, Product Planning)

Overview of Gen-AX Corporation

Established: July 7, 2023 (Company name changed: June 1, 2024)
Capital: 1.25 billion yen
Shareholder: SoftBank Corp.
Business Description: Provision of SaaS business utilizing generative AI and specialized consulting services
URL: https://www.gen-ax.co.jp/

Gen-AX Inc. has the mission of "fusing autonomy with self-governance to create the next 'flow'," and develops and provides SaaS products utilizing generative AI, as well as offers consulting services to support companies' AX (AI Transformation).

Services Utilized

・Investigation of products and specifications, and organization of information necessary for manuals
・Creation of operation manual drafts in Markdown format
・Design of web pages using a static site generator
・Construction of web publishing system using GitHub
・Support for migration to web server for manual publication

■Technical Configuration
・Editor: Visual Studio Code
・Static Site Generator: VitePress
・Data/Version Control System: GitHub
・Web Server: Azure

Introduction to Gen-AX's Products

First, we will introduce the Gen-AX products involved in this project.

The company's flagship product, "X-Boost," is a generative AI SaaS platform that supports inquiry response operations at contact centers and aims to improve operational efficiency through collaboration with back-office functions.
A key feature of X-Boost is its adoption of an autonomous AI that understands "meaning" and responds using an LLM (large language model), rather than relying on scenario-based responses. It is equipped with "LLM Ops," which learns from customer conversations and inquiries to consistently provide optimal responses and proposals, and it mainly offers the following three features:

1. Knowledge Search and Automatic Answer Generation: Automatically generates the optimal answer from accumulated data
2. Intuitive and Easy-to-Use UI/UX: Provides an operator-friendly interface
3. Data and AI Model Maintainability (LLM Ops): Improves accuracy through continuous learning and enhancement

Project Challenges and Background

There is an urgent need to launch the product quickly while efficiently creating manuals without burdening the engineers
Gen-AX is a startup company that has been operating for about a year, and the tools and environment for document creation were not yet established. With the urgent need to launch the product, it was difficult for the in-house engineers alone to handle the task. Additionally, there was a shortage of departments and personnel with the specialized knowledge and know-how required to create manuals that reflect the product’s brand image and tone, ensuring consistency.
Therefore, aiming to efficiently create high-quality manuals without burdening the engineers, they decided to consider outsourcing.

Reasons for Choosing Human Science

Past Achievements, AI Initiatives, and Proposal Capabilities Were Decisive
● Solid Evaluation of Manual Quality
At the company where Mr. Kanaya previously worked, the manuals created by our company were highly praised, providing a sense of security regarding quality.

●Extensive Experience in AI-Related Initiatives
Creating manuals for AI-powered products is still a field that many companies have yet to experience. In this context, being able to present our company’s AI-related initiatives and production track record provided reassurance. Additionally, we were highly evaluated for our ability to respond with an understanding of the technical complexity and uniqueness of the target product.

●Ability to Translate Abstract Requests into Concrete Proposals
We quickly transformed the initial image of what they wanted to achieve into concrete and feasible proposals. By adopting a technical approach using Markdown × GitHub and presenting a solution optimized for Gen-AX’s challenges, we received the evaluation that "there is no room for hesitation in placing the order."

Manual Organization and System Construction Process

●Requirements Organization and Production Policy Formulation
Through investigation of the product and specifications, we identified the information necessary for the manual. We also organized the requirements for building the web-based system and, after sharing the image of the final form, formulated a concrete production plan.
While Markdown is simple and easy to handle, it has the drawback of limited expressiveness. This time, to make the X-Boost operation manual a highly visible web manual, we adopted VitePress, a static site generator that converts Markdown into HTML. The adoption of a static site generator suitable for expressing the elements required in a web manual was a great advantage in designing the template.

●Manual Creation
The manual, divided into two themes for users and administrators, was structured with a table of contents tailored to each usage scenario, and the drafts were written and created in Markdown format.

●Building the Web-based System
We leveraged the GitHub and Azure development environments already implemented in Gen-AX to establish a system that manages manuals in the same way as code assets. This not only provided cost benefits but also enabled centralized management of manuals and code within the same environment, making updates and operations easier.
Additionally, to reduce the engineers' workload, we automated the web publishing process after manual creation.

Customer Feedback

Operational Efficiency Using Markdown × GitHub
By adopting the Markdown format, it became unnecessary to write tags like in HTML, allowing manuals to be written in an intuitive and easy-to-understand notation, which smoothed out maintenance tasks. Additionally, because properly defined templates were provided, writers could focus solely on writing text and placing images without worrying about design or layout. Furthermore, by using Visual Studio Code as a Markdown-compatible editor, visibility was enhanced, and editing tasks such as diff checking, searching, and batch replacement became easier.

The greatest benefit is the automation of the deployment process. With a system where authors only need to push to GitHub for the website to be automatically deployed, the communication of "asking engineers to deploy" is no longer necessary, creating an environment where engineers can focus on product development.
Additionally, managing through GitHub clearly records "who updated which part and when," making it easy to manage update histories. Handling reverts (operations to undo changes and return to the previous state) is also simple, and since it is immediately clear "how far the release has progressed," mistakes such as deployment omissions have been prevented.

Project Progress and Output Quality
They quickly transformed abstract requests into concrete and highly accurate deliverables. As a result, we were able to focus on our core tasks, and the project progressed with the feeling that "the documents were completed before we knew it."
Additionally, when specification changes occurred while producing the manual in parallel with development, they responded flexibly and promptly. Their understanding of the product was very fast, and high-quality output was achieved with minimal communication.

From Human Science representatives

In technology companies, creating an environment where engineers can focus on their core development tasks directly leads to product success. In the project with Gen-AX, we proposed a manual creation approach using Markdown×GitHub with the goal of "reducing engineers' workload and enabling them to concentrate on development."

In the technically complex field of AI-related products, progressing with manual creation in parallel with development was not easy; however, through efficient hearing design and flexible project management, we were able to respond swiftly to specification changes and provide highly practical manuals without placing excessive burden on Gen-AX.

We are greatly encouraged to be recognized as a "partner who supports development efficiency and jointly fosters product growth" through this technical approach and our supportive attitude. Moving forward, we will continue creating manuals that integrate the latest technology and technical communication to help everyone proceed with manual creation efficiently.