TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
So I guess, let me ask: How can a writer to measure the good/poor
management of an organization when job hunting? ..... Really, how is it
possible to identify places that have just typical
work/industry problems vs. wacked out and out-of-control places that
practically create 5x as many problems as they manage to control in a day?
Tony Markatos responds:
For software system companys, always ask to look at the specifications.
Proper evaluation of such gives one a pretty good idea of the REAL
situation. In particular:
* Have they formally documented end-user requirements? This specification
document is generically referred to as "a bucket of shalls" - The system
shall do X, the system shall do y.
* Look at their software requirements specifications. (Software
requirements specifcations take the end-user requirements and model them
into a clear, concise, integrated whole.) Do they make sense? - a computer
novice should be able to understand the gest of them in one 30-60 minute
study. Do they employ data flow diagrams and entity relationship diagrams
(or their OO equivalents).
Tony Markatos
(tonymar -at- hotmail -dot- com)
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com