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Case Study

Pirate Ship Knowledge Systems

A large-scale knowledge and enablement ecosystem spanning Notion governance, onboarding, SOPs, internal communications, training, cross-functional support, and reusable resources.

Knowledge managementNotion governanceInternal enablementSOPsTraining designInternal communications

Public-safe note

The shape is public. The sensitive details stay private.

The artifacts behind this case study include internal documentation, onboarding resources, SOPs, proposals, training materials, and communications. The page focuses on the system design and work patterns without exposing private operational details.

Screenshots and selected artifacts can be added later after they are reviewed, sanitized, and made safe for public display.

Problem

The information existed, but too much of it was scattered, fragile, or hard to use.

Fast-moving teams build knowledge constantly. The problem is that knowledge does not automatically become usable just because it was written down. Answers can live in old docs, Slack memories, teammate habits, outdated Guru cards, training materials, or someone’s head. My work focused on turning that scattered operational knowledge into clearer systems people could actually depend on.

Constraint

The system had to serve real people during real work.

This could not be a beautiful archive that nobody touched. It had to support teammates who were onboarding, answering customers, troubleshooting tools, following policies, preparing for meetings, or trying to figure out where a thing lived. That meant the structure had to care about findability, scanning, tone, ownership, and the everyday human reality of being busy.

Approach

I treated knowledge work as operations design, not just documentation cleanup.

The work included organizing Notion pages, rewriting dense materials, auditing outdated guidance, creating training resources, helping with HR and IT questions, documenting repeated issues, and turning fuzzy problems into clearer next steps. The pattern was always the same: find the friction, understand why people were getting stuck, then make the path easier to follow.

Outcome

The result was a knowledge ecosystem, not one isolated project.

Across the rotation and broader support work, this became a connected body of systems: governed Notion documentation, onboarding materials, SOPs, training modules, internal comms, macros, team guides, and tool documentation. It helped turn messy recurring questions into reusable resources and made the organization’s knowledge easier to navigate.

System architecture

Four layers of the work.

System layer

Knowledge hub governance

Organized and maintained a large Notion-based source of truth across HR, IT, PX, and management documentation so answers were easier to find, trust, and reuse.

System layer

Training and onboarding

Built Notion adoption materials, onboarding guidance, and new teammate resources that made the intranet feel less like a tool rollout and more like a usable home base.

System layer

Support documentation

Created SOPs, guides, scripts, macros, and plain-language resources for recurring support, technical, and operational questions.

System layer

Internal communications

Drafted and shaped internal messaging, leadership-requested communications, style guidance, event comms, and cross-functional updates.

Build notes

The system got stronger every time a repeated question became a reusable answer.

  • Governed a 774-page Notion knowledge hub with 3,100+ edits.
  • Consolidated HR, IT, PX, and management documentation into a more scalable source of truth.
  • Built Notion training materials and an interactive workbook to support adoption.
  • Converted recurring HR/IT onboarding and technical issues into clearer plain-language resources.
  • Created internal guides, scripts, SOPs, macros, and communications that made dense topics easier to scan and apply.
  • Documented support tools and worked with development, IT, and Information Security partners to expand CX resources.

Artifact map

The receipts behind the system.

Source of truth

Knowledge Dock

The central knowledge-home concept: a place where teammates could find policies, workflows, resources, and operational context without hunting through old channels.

Training module

Introduction to Notion Lessonly

A full learning module and workbook designed to make Notion adoption approachable, practical, and less intimidating for teammates.

Technical documentation

IT SOPs

Crew-facing tech guides and standard operating procedures for common support scenarios, access requests, troubleshooting, and device workflows.

Information access

Go Links Proposal

A proposal connecting findability, search behavior, internal navigation, analytics, and the business case for faster access to knowledge.

Voice system

PX Communications Style Guide

A tone and communication reference for making internal messages clearer, more consistent, and more recognizably human.

Onboarding

New Cadet Welcome

Welcome material created to help new teammates understand where they were, what mattered, and how to get oriented without feeling lost.

Enablement

Active Leadership Guide

Guidance material for team leads and managers navigating expectations, communication, and active team support.

Culture operations

Talk Like a Pirate Week

A branded employee-engagement initiative involving planning, stakeholder coordination, Slack communications, taskforce management, and execution.

Good knowledge systems store answers and make the next right answer easier to find, trust, and use.