RE: Hardest part of getting started?

["Maggie Secara" <maggiros2 -at- home -dot- com>]

As far as I can tell, these are the right things to start off any writer who's
new to your group, junior or senior.  I've been at sea in places where these
things weren't clear, it it seemed that I was expected to already know them.
Sure, you can ask, but how much time are you comfortable spending to ask every
question separately when it could be taken care of up front!



Maggie Secara


Steven Brown said:

> Three things come to my mind, which are probably not
> unique to a junior writer.
>
> First, assuming most of us are left-brained, introduce
> the writer to the company's product line,
> organizational chart, and documentation set. I've
> always felt most comfortable with a new job when I
> understand the big picture BEFORE being given the
> departmental style guide or release notes to write.
>
> Second, outline and explain your workflow. How does
> the department (and subsequently, each writer) know
> what to work on? How is work assigned or prioritized?
> How does the software release process work? Where do I
> go or what systems do I use to access information to
> write release notes, system guides, install manuals,
> etc. Is there anything "quirky" about these processes
> ("A developer named Joe Smith is notorious for not
> documenting his bug fixes in the system, so you have
> to go into his folder on the network to find out
> exactly what he did.").
>
> Finally, when you first assign the writer his first
> task, be sure to fully explain your expectations so
> that he/she understands what needs to be documented,
> how much detail to include, how to structure the
> information, etc.
> >



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