Re: Would you like a fries with that style guide, redux

[Alan -dot- Miller -at- prometric -dot- com]

Andrew:

I agree. It's not just the Plan, it's also Execution. Where I must
respectfully disagree, however, is that good planning does not hide, but
almost always shines a bright spotlight on the lazy, incompetent,
incontinent, etc. members of the team. These guys, after all, are the ones
not meeting the Plan.

Planning is just another tool in a good writer's kit. I never start a job
without a Plan--though I rarely write it down (I've had clients that wanted
a written plan, and I always obliged--hey, they're paying for it), too busy
getting the job done and paying the bills. Which brings up the issue of
Priorities--lemme see, should I make a Wonderful Plan (not billable) or
write the damn manual (billable)? Hmmm. Tough choice.

Regards,
Al Miller
Chief Documentation Curmudgeon
Prometric, Inc.




Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>@lists.raycomm.com on 04/05/2001
10:06:17 AM

Please respond to Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>

Sent by:  bounce-techwr-l-40429 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com


To:   "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
cc:   bbatorsk -at- nj -dot- devry -dot- edu

Subject:  Re: Would you like a fries with that style guide, redux


"barry batorsky" wrote...

> Instead of all this grounds-shifting, straw-man argumentation (the
> documentation process after all is not the same as the writing process,
and
> I should know, I teach both),

The writing process and the documentation process are the same. Explain to
me
how you document something without writing?  Reverse, how do you write
without
documenting something, even a thought or feeling?

The tools, media, and information may change from project to project, but
the
basic process: learn, write, edit, refine is universal.

And just because you teach it doesn't mean you have a proprietary handle on
the
truth.

> try this old formula for describing the
> results of a plan (read: process or procedure):
> Q(p/d) x (E+C)=R

> The Quality of a plan or decision multiplied by the Effort and Competence
> to implement it determines the Results.
>
> A poor plan with good effort and/or competence can produce the same
results
> as a good plan with poor effort and/or competence.
>
> Do the math.  It may help avoid these ground-shifting, straw-man
arguments
> that circulate endlessly.

Wait, so you're telling me that good planning can overcome incompetence and
lack of effort.

No, it cannot.

Good planning can temporarily cover up and hide incompetence and laziness,
it
can never overcome it.  A team with lazy or incompetent people cannot
consistently produce decent documents.  They may have a few successes here
and
there, but the overall quality will be poor because the real work being
done,
the writing and thinking, cannot be "processed out."  Only an intelligent
and
determined person can write and think effectively.

I've seen countless organizations that had exquisite planning procedures
spend
weeks, days, and months planning out their brilliance. And for some
gosh-darn
reason their stuff sucks all the time. Why?  Well, they always find
somebody to
blame and its usually Microsoft.  When that doesn't work, they usually go
back
to blaming the fact that they didn't plan enough. As if that would help
cover
up the real problem: they're idiots. The people doing the work (and
planning)
were morons who were suckered into a fundamentally flawed philosophy that
procedure, process, and plans = efficiency, quality, and profit.

Quality comes from smart people who have the motivation to succeed and the
ability (tools, incentive, and direction) to get it done. Planning HELPS
achieve quality, but it does not insure it.  I know PLENTY of software
companies with millions in profits that have minimal planning.

Andrew Plato



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems 
Available 4/30/01 at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001 Conference East, 
June 4-6, Baltimore, MD. Now covering Acrobat 5. Early registration deadline 
April 27. http://www.pdfconference.com. 

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.