Re: Query: Top Ten Things you wish you'd Known...

[Jeff Hanvey <jewahe -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

I came into my present job when they department was in
the middle of a project (a training manual), and found
it in this state:

-The last tech writer left 5 mos ago, and little
documentation has been kept on any new policies or
procedures. (She wasn't that great a tech writer
anyway, based on what I've seen of her "filing system"
and a couple of manuals she'd drafted).
-The manual has been 'written' (and I use the term
loosely) by committee - a person with no writing
experience, a person with finance experience, and a
person with Legal experience. No one really knew what
the manual was supposed to cover, and everyone wanted
it to cover a different information. In fact, the
project lead thought we were doing 2 manuals, which
would be combined later.
-This department's in the middle of an internal audit
(if they don't pass, the manager will be out the
door), so I keep getting pulled off the manual to
write instructions for the latest and greatest form
they've come up with to have more control over their
managers.  

To make matters worse, this is my first "real" tech
writing job, and the original job description called
for an intermediate-to-senior level writer. I am not 
naive enough to believe that I don't need guidance;
that all my "education" has adequately prepared me for
this job. I expect to make mistakes, and would like
someone with with experience standing beside me to
help me figure them out or give me the benefit of
their experience.

I certainly am not ready to be the only tech writer -
and project manager - for an entire department. Thank
God they have hired a "database administrator" who has
a strong background in tech writing (nothing like
having back up).

Anyway, enough background, and on to the point:

Besides the fact that I would like to have been
involved in planning the manual when it was first
conceived months ago (when I was desperately seeking a
tech writing job and kept getting rejected because I
didn't know Framemaker or have 3 years experience),
there are two things I wish I had known more about:
interviewing techniques and scoping a project.

Interviewing is essential because everything is in
someone's head - and no one writes it down. So you
have to find the right person, pick his/her brain, and
then follow up to be sure you got the right
information. The main problem is "Where do you start?"

Scoping a project (or planning, or whatever you want
to call it) is essential to getting everyone on the
same page. It also tells you where to start.

Oh, and a third thing I'd mention is "get familiar
with FrameMaker!"

Jeff Hanvey
Memphis, TN

--- "Peter Shea (USF)" <pshea2 -at- luna -dot- cas -dot- usf -dot- edu>
wrote:
> As part of my informal research for giving a tech
> seminar, I'd like
> members of the list to think about the following
> question: What bits of
> knowledge do you wish you had when you did your
> first
> professional tech writing assignment? 


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