RE: Style guides - doc standards vs processes

["Steve Hudson" <steve -at- wright -dot- com -dot- au>]

Ok - technically speaking I am on hols now and should be down at the local
screaming madly at horses.... HOWEVER, an excellent reply has intrigued
me... if it seems a bit ranty it's the mode you induce regularly oh Cap'n
Rant :-)

OK. I am glad to see you *are* in favour of consistent (documented)
processes, yet realising, as most of us do by default I think, that ad hoc
does have its place. After all, no job is EXACTLY the same as the last and
producing Q doco SHOULD be our goal.

> Yes. During periods of downtime a group of writers should establish some
ground rules and standards.

The question was, if given NO or VERY LITTLE downtime, is it worthwhile to
commit resources to such? Obv GIVEN the downtime, sure. But if not - as is
the case with many writers on this list?

As for the next bit - "One of those realities is that process is a myth." -
I am afraid, as an experienced worker for many large multi-nationals, that
this is MOST untrue. To further expand and qualify - even the 'small-assed'
company I know work for values and demands consistent processes as it is the
ONE cruicial area that has CONSISTENTLY let them down. This was *not* MY
decision - it was theirs BEFORE I arrived.

Again - given your real druthers - would you prefer to operate an
undocumented process or a documented one? Yes - the harsh cold reality may
mean that there is no process in place - it is one of our (As a Tech Writer)
functions to embody this. By doing this we add value to the services and
products provided by the company as we help to move the delivered result
closer to the expected result.

> The only think that can guarantee quality is intelligence. Smart,
dedicated people who can make decisions and get the job done will
consistently produce quality results regardless of the environment.

#1 - a few words missing but I think I have the gist

#2 - based on this argument, is it totally unfair to say "Smart people
understand Q and work within its processes naturally"? I find it a bit
irrelevant - the point is we are ALL human and thus FALLIABLE. Doco helps
reduce this. The dumb-asses (read LCD, Joe Blow or whatever - the point
being COMMONERS mean they are COMMON) still need direction. If you don't
provide an idiot child direction, can you REALLY be upset when it knocks
down your house of cards?

To sum, ISO provided the distilled essence of many very intelligent and
experienced people so that the muggins get the picture.


> My guarantee for quality: hard work.

Completely utterly disagree. Get yourself the hardest-working
cattle-wrangler in Texas. Stick him in ya job. Oh... he fails. Obviously
there are a few more variables involved... lets get real here Andrew please.


> At the end of the day, I'll slap my quality down on the slab with any big
ISO9000 process.

#1: Yoor results are more than likely comparative.

#2: Are you the same size as the other orgs seeking Q? Oh - thou art smaller
and thus Q is easier for you - so easy thou does not require a manual
guiding oneself to such...

#3: You, as an Int-based writer, probably practice many ISO principles
naturally. So thus, what you are saying is "Yes, I'll slap my ISO-equivalent
processes down next the ISO ones". However, with the amount of disrepect you
show fo such, I can't help but wonder:

a) What records you keep?
b) What is where and what? How did you do it? If I was to decide tomorrow
that you suck and should go, how easy would it be for your replacement to
take over? My business is MUCH more important than a single employee's
skills...


> Others ponder, I move.

Great - good for you Andrew. I ponder while most move and when its
demonstrated to them that they have moved in the wrong direction and wasted
their time and efforst (read company money), they have to come back.
Planning pays. Doing does. What is done may NOT be what is needed.


> Now, get back to work, you. Time to lean, time to clean.

Nope :-) I took the day off just before replying, I only replied because
this _stuff_ (not word of choice) is important to me. I have seen, very
first-hand, the benefits it brings and the problems that non-compliance
raises. I run lean, as a sole writer for an R&D house doing everything from
P&P to .readme I HAVE to be. I don't have time to run internal audits, I
don't have time to implement a document numbering standard. I DO have time,
coz I must, to ensure releases are to spec and match any approp std. I DO
know WHERE it all is, and can easily determine from properties WHAT it is on
about.

As for cleaning - that is my mode at present lol. Like I said just
previously, my three projects are out on review so now I cleans up my
mailbox along with everything else...

Now, why don't you get down to work and make enough dollars to afford to pay
me to come lecture to you and yours on how to do :-)

<much, (too) much cheek on our semi-holiday>

Steve Hudson , HDK List MVP
Wright Technologies Pty Ltd (Aus)

PS: > Seriously - standards are fine ... when they work and don't take
longer than the actual job to set up.

Agreed. The REAL bottom line is: Cost vs Cost. I find the myriad benefits of
Q much more cost-effective than not and I'm sure u do 2 when all is said and
done.




> ISO9001 was the end-result of a large number of large companies seeking
to
> improve their processes through consistant application of solid
principles.
> Obviously you have a much better system and all the standards bodies of
the
> world know jack-all compared to you.

No - I am a realist. I remain 100% grounded in the gritty, depressing
realities of business. One of those realities is that process is a myth.
Its a good idea that helps steer you in the right direction. But it
doesn't answer the phones, sell products, make clients happy, or
revolutionize e-commerce. Process must always help people - flesh and
blood - to do these things better.

Most process is merely something for the process-maker to enjoy. The
people who have to actually carry out those processes don't always like or
use them. Therefore, they aren't very good processes.

> So, how do you guarantee quality? Oh - Mr Plato works on it. Well the
rest
> of us need some sort of auditable proof.

The only think that can guarantee quality is intelligence. Smart,
dedicated people who can make decisions and get the job done will
consistently produce quality results regardless of the environment.

My guarantee for quality: hard work. I'll work until 4am, polish BBs, eat
dandelions...whatever it takes. I don't need a process, I have something
more powerful and more valuable - motivation. While others are obsessing
over working smarter, I am working harder. While they dream up new mice
traps, I've caught all the mice and fed them to some hungry cats. While
they pro-actively leverage their synergies and build best-of-breed
intermediaries, I've taken the contract, closed the deal, made $96,000 in
profit, and bought a new Mercedes for my Dad.

Others ponder, I move. Its not the most elegant method, but it works. And
that's all that matters. Movement, even in the wrong direction, is more
insightful than inactive ponderance.

At the end of the day, I'll slap my quality down on the slab with any big
ISO9000 process.

ISO9000.... just don't even go there. ISO9000 (or whatever its called
these days) is just weapons grade stupidity. I'd like to go back in time
and find the communists in Europe that dropped this giant turd on the
universe and have them flushed away.

ISO9000 merely lets some pencil-necked geek in Europe accept your company
as a supplier. Sheesh, we liberate these toads from the Nazis and what do
they give us in return - ISO9000. Gosh thanks. You can have it back.

:-)  Tee hee. Okay, I am getting silly here.

Seriously - standards are fine Steve, just when they work and don't take
longer than the actual job to set up.

Now, get back to work, you. Time to lean, time to clean.

Andrew Plato





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