RE: writing quality

[KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com]

Ah, youngster, perhaps it is too early to reveal the 
awful truth but...

... there IS no "real" world.

I've been out here for years, and it's all still 
disturbingly unreal.

But as to your question, only the most esoteric corners 
of this, our collective unreality, have ever played host 
to <shudder, cringe> protocol analyses.

All seriousness aside, what *we* do is:

 - somebody asks for it
 - Kevin tells 'em to "make that official if you want it this year"
 - "somebody" sends an official-looking e-mail, or actually gets 
   the required document named in a project doc
 - Kevin writes it, drawing heavily on local expertise, as well 
   as making lots of it up, out of thin air
 - the Builds group (all two of 'em) create a "nearly-final" CD
   of the software
 - Product Verification weenies take that CD (or its image), along 
   with the nearly-released hardware and run through their 
   test cases -- one of which is to follow Kevin's manuals in 
   naive fashion
 - Kevin re-works the manuals, incorporating all the unkind 
   remarks from the PV weenies
 - semi-final draft gets waived in front of prod/proj mangler, 
   who may rubber-stamp or who may pore over with micron-toothed comb
 - Kevin re-re-works, as appropriate
 - "final" draft gets dumped in front of PV manager, who races through 
   it, while displaying an uncanny knack for spotting glitches, but 
   before she finishes, somebody announces that there's a last-minute 
   product change, and can I take out/add in just this little thingie?
 - Kevin... re-re-re...
 - flurry of rubber-stampings
 - BOOT!  (sound of product, including manuals being booted out the door)

Feeling disillusioned yet?   Well, I'll try again later, then.   :-)

/k

> -----Original Message-----
> From: TSilvergirl -at- aol -dot- com [mailto:TSilvergirl -at- aol -dot- com]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2001 1:20 PM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Re: writing quality
> 
> 
> What about a protocol analysis?  I admit I'm only a lowly 
> student, but this 
> is standard in my tech writing classes----is this not the 
> case in the "real" 
> world?
> 
> Christy Turner Pintagro
> 

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