Update Mifos User Manual for Mifos 2.1
- Ed Cable
Background
The Mifos User Manual is a core piece of documentation to assist users in properly configuring and using the Mifos software on a day to day basis. Functionality in Mifos 2.1, shipped in March 2011 needs to be reflected in the user manual which is currently only up to date with our Mifos 2.0 release. Significant new functionality including variable installment loans, new interest rate types, and early repayment of fees is available.We're seeking a volunteer with strong documentation/tech writing skills to update the User Manual to provide coverage of latest functionality. Our user manual is now easily maintained and updated in a convenient online tool, FLOSS Manuals.
Status
Documentation on
- Variable Loan Installments and Cash Flow Comparison Functional Spec- ability to configure a loan to have variable installments and also enter in client's cash flow details
- Assigned Volunteer:
- Early Repayment of Fees - ability to pay client fees before the next meeting, and also partial payment
Contact
Please email mifos@grameenfoundation.org if you are interested in helping on this project.
Mentor
Ed Cable
Current Volunteer(s)
We want this to be you!
Time Estimate
5-10 hours per specific functionality
Prerequisite experience
- Previous experience writing user or technical documentation
- Experience writing documentation for business applications/software.
- Knowledge of microfinance or financial services is helpful.
Details
The Mifos User Manual needs new sections written and current sections adjusted to properly document how to use and each of the new features. .
Documentation will be drafted based on the functional specifications which provide a detailed overview of various use cases of how the feature is used. Volunteer will write the following, based on the functional specifications:
- Short overview of each feature
- Update or expand current section in user manual with step by step instructions.
User documentation will be written according to our style guidelines in FLOSS Manuals and will include relevant product screenshots.
Steps
General
- Sign up for a free account on FLOSS manuals
- Visit the Mifos Demo Server (User ID: mifos | Password: testmifos) to understand how these features work and to take screenshots.
- Review functional specifications for these features:
- Read up on the writing conventions for guidelines on formatting/style
- Draft documentation and edit the page in FLOSS Manuals editing interface on Booki (inserting screenshots):
- Variable Loan Installments:Â
- Create new sub-section in the section called How to define new and change existing loan products which is in the how to manage products chapter.
- Create new section within the Loan Accounts chapter for how to create a variable installment loan.
- Variable Loan Installments:Â
- See also:
Below are the specific tasks/processes that must be documented for each new feature.Â
Variable Loan Installments
- Brief overview of Variable Loan Installments
- How to configure variable installments when defining a new loan product
- How to configure Compare with Cash Flow settings when defining a new loan product
- Go through scenario of creating a new loan account with variable installments
- How to specify gaps in installments with a variable loan
- Go through scenario of creating a new loan account with variable installments and cash flow comparison configured
- How to specify installments and compare against repayment capacity and expected cash flows.Â
- Explanation of new terms and how they're calculated - Indebtedness Rate and Repayment Capacity