Re: Looks like we'll have to agree...

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

> Sorry, I'm not asking for anyone to hand me a process, I'm asking my
> peers how documentation projects are kicked off at their company. I 
> would like to compare how things are done (or not done) at my company to

> how things are done elsewhere.  

We are giving you suggestions...it sounds to me like you don't want to
hear some of them. 

I have worked inside probably 100 or more organizations in the last 15
years. Whether it was docs, systems integration, or security, of those 100
companies maybe 1 or 2 had their act together and were organized. Most
were half-assed, barely planned, "slap it all together 20 minutes before
it goes out the door" kind of places.

Its why I gain such pleasure in pounding process freaks. I know they mean
well and honestly, I agree in principle with the ideas. Its just that most
processes are so terribly disconnected from reality that its almost not
worth thinking about them. Processes are usually adopted to make people
feel better - not actually work better. The odd thing is - when people
fell better, they will work better. Thus, people think the process makes
them more efficient, when it actually is just the feeling that you're
doing things "correctly" that is changing everything. 

> I am only asking for other people's input so that I can go to my
> manger with a concrete plan, and when he asks "Why should we do it this
> way?", I can say, "Well, I have been communicating with tech. writers
> from other companies, and they have given me these suggestions."  That 
> might have a bit more clout than "Because I said so." 

Eh...it might also infuriate the manager into saying "I don't care how
they do it elsewhere, its not how we do things here!"

> And for the record, I am very close to the product, close enough that I
> do internal and external training.  I am close enough that I can look at
> the source code for the SDK and point out missing and redundant methods,
> and you know what?  Developers don't like it when a lowly technical 
> writer does that.  It makes them look bad, and they've told me that.  So

> maybe if I dumb it down a little, they might learn to like me more.  

Its a common misconception that engineers don't like criticism. The fact
is, engineers don't like criticism from unqualified people. Therefore, you
have to EARN the right to criticize their work. 

You don't just get that right because you have a college degree or worked
for 10 years in high-tech. You have to EARN the right to criticize other
people's work. That usually means demonstrating your expertise with the
technology. Engineers are strange people and they don't respond to typical
human niceties. They also have powerful and focused "BS detectors." If you
BS an engineer, they will discount you. 

> The problem with having the docs done for RC (which means Beta where I
> am), is that the first RC could always be the last -- there is no fixed
> number of RCs that must be met.  How do I know that the first RC won't 
> be the last? 

You don't. So you do the best you can and fix the errors in the next rev.
This is technical documentation, not brain surgery. Nobody will die if it
isn't perfect. 

> I can't have my docs done for RC.  It's just not possible. 
> I can give them a draft, but then what if the product is ready to go 
> straight to Golden Release?  

Its just the way it goes sometimes. You have to adapt...or die. 

Andrew Plato



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