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Mysti Rubert wrote:
> Rule of thumb re relative staffing levels (coders vs. writers)
> comes from 7 years employee experience at 2 different companies
> (3 sites) and 5 years contracting at about 10 different co's, all
> server-related software gigs except one firmware place (dvd/web
> authoring in a fixed appliance). I didn't include the hardware or
> dvd authors in my count of that place....
I thought the most common rule of thumb for hiring tech writers was
to start with one for the entire company. Then, when that writer
burns out and has a nervous breakdown, replace him with two tech
writers. Each time a TW burns out, add an additional TW to the
overall total and redistribute the work load. Eventually, you'll
reach a point of stability. An insufficient number of burnouts
per quarter, however, means that you need to fire some TW's. Stockholders
just love that part. This has the advantage of minimizing the number
of TW's who survive to become vested, as you maintain a fairly hefty
churn rate. After all, in the current economy, there are plenty TW's
where they came from. You may have to hire some extra onsite security
to deal with the burnout cases, though: concertina wire, a mine field,
and an onsite SWAT team will help to protect the management bunker
from collective employee bargaining action. heh.
--
e=sc^3 (shiva -at- io -dot- com) Earl Cooley III
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