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Steve Shepard asks:
> Occasionally we get requests from clients for our docs to be
> provided to them in Word format so they can customize them
> for their particular workflow. I am resistant to this for
> several reasons:
>
> 1. It's very time consuming to convert our FrameMaker
> projects to Word.
Let the client do the conversion. Tell them that they can have the
Frame files, but any conversion is at their own risk, their
responsibility, and that you are only available to answer technical
questions about the software and documentation, not about the mechanics
of using the doc files.
> 2. In the past, we end up fielding a lot of how-to Word
> questions when the clients start to work on the docs.
See above. You should answer questions about the technical aspects of
the software, not the way the documentation was done.
> 3.I have problem with our hard work being butchered by
> amateurs and then it reflecting badly on us.
Please... If a client wants to butcher the docs for their own use, they
will find a way.
> 4. We are no longer under control of our proprietary information.
You still hold the copyright.
> 5. It basically renders our copyright meaningless.
You still hold the copyright.
> 6. And I think most importantly, I don't think we should give
> our hard earned work away for free. Yeah, the printed and
> online docs are part of the purchase price. But the design,
> planning, information gathering, development, and writing
> involved in developing a doc project isn't.
You aren't giving it away for free, you are supplying a client with a
request. You can charge more for the doc files. You can sell them
separately.
> I am suggesting to my company we do one of the following:
>
> 1. Explain that we don't provided our copyrighted material
> for editing. But, we do offer a service of customizing the
> documentation to suit a client's needs and charge them
> accordingly. As long as we can get the staffing we need, it
> works out nice for us as we would actually be generating revenue.
Nice, but in places where I've worked that have done it this way, the
workload increases so much that it makes more sense to start a
consulting arm and have them handle it. Or recommend a tech writing
company that can do the customizations.
> 2. If we absolutely want to provide the client with a
> editable version of our docs, then charge them per page. And
> charge a lot.
Then you may lose customers. Basically it seems that the customer is
saying "You're software is great, but it only does 80% of what we need.
We'd like to make it better in our environment." Sort of writing the
customizations yourself, the customer is offering to do it themselves.
Perhaps they want to write their own User Guide or Quick Start or
something that contains only the procedures and information that they
use, not the extra features that they don't need. They want just what
they want. Why antagonize them? Find a way to satisfy them. That's
how you keep customers.
=====================================
Steve Arrants http://www.compbear.com
"The dream was marvelous, but the terror was great.
We must treasure the dream, whatever the terror."
---Gilgamesh
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