Master Information Suite

A comprehensive skill for creating structured information documents — covering knowledge base articles, internal wikis, SOPs, runbooks, onboarding guides, and technical documentation with consistent formatting and progressive disclosure.

When to Use This Skill

Choose Master Information Suite when you need to:

• Create knowledge base articles for internal or customer-facing use
• Write standard operating procedures (SOPs) with step-by-step instructions
• Build onboarding documentation for new team members
• Structure runbooks for operational procedures
• Organize complex information with progressive disclosure

Consider alternatives when:

• You need API reference documentation (use an API docs skill)
• You need marketing content (use a content writing skill)
• You need code documentation (use a code documentation skill)

Quick Start

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# Create a knowledge base article
claude "Write a knowledge base article for our support team explaining how to troubleshoot user login failures, including common causes and step-by-step resolution."

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# Troubleshooting User Login Failures

**Audience**: Support Team (Tier 1)
**Last Updated**: 2024-12-15
**Estimated Resolution Time**: 5-15 minutes

## Quick Diagnosis

| Symptom                    | Likely Cause          | Jump To          |
|---------------------------|-----------------------|------------------|
| "Invalid credentials"     | Wrong password        | §1 Password Reset|
| "Account locked"          | Too many attempts     | §2 Account Unlock|
| Blank page after login    | Session/cookie issue  | §3 Session Fix   |
| "Account not found"       | Wrong email/SSO mismatch | §4 Account Lookup|
| 2FA code rejected         | Time sync issue       | §5 2FA Reset     |

## §1. Password Reset
1. Verify the user's email in the admin panel
2. Confirm the account exists and is active
3. Send password reset link: Admin → Users → Reset Password
4. Ask user to check spam folder if not received
5. If link doesn't arrive after 5 min, check email logs

## §2. Account Unlock
1. Navigate to Admin → Users → Search by email
2. Check "Failed Login Attempts" counter
3. If counter > 5, click "Unlock Account"
4. Advise user to reset password for security
5. If account locks repeatedly, check for brute force

Core Concepts

Document Types and Templates

Document Type	Purpose	Structure
Knowledge Base	Answer specific questions	Problem → Solution → Steps
SOP	Standardize repeatable processes	Purpose → Steps → Validation
Runbook	Guide operational procedures	Trigger → Steps → Rollback
Onboarding Guide	Ramp up new team members	Day 1 → Week 1 → Month 1
FAQ	Address common questions	Q&A grouped by topic
Decision Matrix	Guide complex decisions	Criteria → Options → Scores

Progressive Disclosure Pattern

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## Structuring Information by Depth

### Level 1: Quick Answer (30 seconds)
Summary table or one-paragraph answer for experts
who just need a reminder.

### Level 2: Step-by-Step (5 minutes)
Numbered procedure for competent users who need
the full workflow but not explanation.

### Level 3: Deep Explanation (15+ minutes)
Background context, reasoning, edge cases, and
troubleshooting for learners or complex situations.

## Example: "How to deploy to production"

### Level 1 (Quick Reference)
`git tag v1.x.x && git push --tags` → CI deploys auto

### Level 2 (Full Steps)
1. Create release branch from main
2. Run test suite: `npm test`
3. Tag release: `git tag v1.2.3`
4. Push tag: `git push --tags`
5. Verify CI pipeline completes
6. Check health endpoint: `curl /api/health`

### Level 3 (With Context)
[Full explanation of deployment pipeline architecture,
rollback procedures, monitoring, common failures...]

SOP Template

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# SOP: [Process Name]

**Document ID**: SOP-[DEPT]-[NUMBER]
**Version**: 1.0
**Effective Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Owner**: [Role/Team]
**Review Cycle**: [Quarterly/Annually]

## 1. Purpose
[Why this procedure exists and what it ensures]

## 2. Scope
[What's covered and what's not]

## 3. Prerequisites
- [ ] Access to [system/tool]
- [ ] Training completed: [course name]
- [ ] Approval from: [role]

## 4. Procedure
### Step 1: [Action]
- Detail with expected outcome
- Screenshot or command if applicable

### Step 2: [Action]
- Detail with expected outcome

## 5. Verification
How to confirm the procedure was completed correctly

## 6. Exceptions
When to deviate and who to escalate to

## 7. Revision History
| Version | Date       | Author   | Changes            |
|---------|------------|----------|--------------------|
| 1.0     | 2024-12-15 | J. Smith | Initial release    |

Configuration

Parameter	Description	Example
document_type	Type of information document	"knowledge_base" / "sop"
audience	Target reader	"support_tier1"
detail_level	Depth of explanation	"quick" / "detailed"
include_toc	Include table of contents	true
review_cycle	Document review frequency	"quarterly"
output_format	Delivery format	"markdown" / "confluence"

Best Practices

1. Lead with a diagnostic table, not paragraphs — Readers come to knowledge base articles with a specific symptom. A quick-diagnosis table that maps symptoms to solutions lets experts find their answer in seconds without reading the entire document.

2. Write SOPs at the level of someone doing it for the second time — First-timers need training, not an SOP. SOPs should be step-by-step references for competent people who need reminders on sequence and details. Skip lengthy explanations of why each step matters.

3. Include expected outcomes at every step — After each instruction, describe what the user should see if it worked correctly. "Click Deploy" is incomplete. "Click Deploy — the status should change to 'Deploying' within 5 seconds" lets readers verify they're on track.

4. Date every document and set review schedules — Undated documentation is untrustworthy. Include a "Last Updated" date and a review schedule. If a document hasn't been reviewed in over a year, flag it prominently so readers know to verify accuracy.

5. Use internal links aggressively — Don't duplicate content across documents. Link to the canonical source. When the procedure for "resetting 2FA" is documented in one article, every other article that mentions 2FA should link there, not repeat the steps.

Common Issues

Documents become outdated within weeks of creation — The product changes but nobody updates the docs. Assign document owners explicitly, integrate doc reviews into sprint retrospectives, and use automated checks (broken link detection, stale-date warnings) to surface outdated content.

SOPs are too detailed for daily use but too sparse for training — This happens when one document tries to serve both audiences. Split into two versions: a concise reference checklist for daily operators and a detailed training guide for new staff. Link them to each other.

Knowledge base search returns irrelevant results — Poor article titles, missing tags, and duplicated content degrade search quality. Standardize naming conventions, enforce keyword tagging, and regularly deduplicate articles that cover the same topic from different angles.