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Under the heading of not all things work for everyone, I note the following
snippet.
--- Jo Baer <jbaer -at- mailbox1 -dot- tcfbank -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Actually, I don't interview SMEs in person all that often. I use a question
> and
> answer template that I developed (took about ten minutes) and submit written
> questions along with any relevant written materials, such as a project
> requirements document or a draft of a manual chapter. I make my written
> questions as specific as possible, and often give a page (and sometimes
> paragraph) reference so the SME can go back to the document in question.
I'm not criticizing this method, especially if it works, but I've not had
success submitting written questions to SMEs and getting responses (let alone
timely responses). My experience has been that SMEs resent the extra assignment
and think the writer is trying to get them to do the writer's work for the
writer.
I have a lot more success with the face-to-face. I try to limit the time
involved to short bursts rather than having to clear a lot of time on someone
else's schedule. I prefer the 30 minute Q&A to the two hour, or half a day,
meeting. And I do my leg work ahead of time by reading everything we have on a
product, feature, or process. That way I'm not asking basic questions the SMEs
have already answered in some preliminary document.
FWIW, I find that I agree with the principles Jo mentions--being prepared,
respecting the time of others, being focused, etc.--I just find that different
methods work better for me.
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