Re: multiple TWs for a project

[Kathy10th -at- aol -dot- com]

Gil Yaker writes:

<< Guys, I eagerly await your responses...>>

Well, I'm not a guy, but I'd like to respond anyway.  <grin>
 
 <<What's it like working on a team of tech writers? Lets say 1, A small team 
of
 3-5>>

I work on a small team.  There are four of us, including our manager.  We've 
been fortunate so far.  We've had so many projects that we've been able to 
work independently of each other.  We've only used each other as editors.
 
 <<It's hard for me to see that teams can create documentation with any real 
consistency.>>

Because we've always worked on separate projects, consistency was only 
important within a document, not between documents.  But, we're heading into 
a huge beast of a project that we'll have to work on as a team.  It should be 
very interesting to see how well we do.  Right now, we're trying to work up a 
style guide specifically for this project.  That should help us keep some 
semblance of consistency throughout our work.
 
 <<There's one other point I'd like to touch on. A few of the list members 
have
 shown (daily) their strong opinions on a single 'right' way of doing things. 
In
 the same spirit, I'm kind of hard-headed in so much as sentence A can 
clearly be
 better than sentence B, and to this I would fight to the end.  Are people 
like
 this a detriment to a team of tech writers, especially if they are not in the
 Sr. position?>>

Writers should feel strongly about their work.  I know I do.  But, I also 
know when it's time to let others have their way (at least a little).  A 
little compromise now and then goes a long way towards keeping the peace 
within the team.
 
 Good luck,

Kathy Kurth
Graebel Companies, Inc.
kathy10th -at- aol -dot- com