Re: Accounting for TW time

[Megan Golding <mgolding -at- secureworks -dot- net>]

Laura asked how many of us keep exact accounting of our time at work.

---

Keep formal report of my time?
Yes

> __Do you work for small/medium/large company?__
Small

> __What is your role in TW (i.e., "captive," contractor, manager, company
> owner, or
> other)?__
employee

> __Is this required of other groups as well as TW (i.e., Development,
> Project Management,
> etc.)?__
Yes, but not followed religiously by others

> __Are you a lone TW or TW working in a group?__
Lone TW

> __What is your geographical locale?__
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

> __Is the report information used by management to measure productivity
> and/or ROI-type*
> statistics?__
TQM was the original reason but I've continued it for project management
purposes. I frequently work for other departments and use my exact
accounting to show how much time I spent helping others. Helps show my
value AND make my estimates better in the future.

> __Any other comments?__
I use a stopwatch-type application in Linux called GNOME Time Tracker to
keep exact accounting of my tasks. I add projects to the timer and
switch the timer over when I switch my work. Easy, keeps exact
accounting, etc.

The hardest thing to get a handle on was how to categorize the time.
I've settled on:
1. End user documentation
2. Internal documentation
3. Support (of various internal depts)
4. Administrative
5. Web site updates
etc...
Tweaking the categories took some experimentation, but I'm happy with
the way things break down. 

Oh yeah -- I have found through this that in a good week, 6 hours in an
8 hour work day is all I can expect on project-related tasks. Longer
days extrapolate linearly. By the way, the other 2 hours are usually
taken up in support, administrative (reading email, getting settled,
chatting w coworkers, wasting time :), and professional development.

Meg

-- 

Megan Golding (mgolding -at- secureworks -dot- net)
SecureWorks, Inc.

Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.
	-- Timothy Leary


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