Documentation teams transmogrifying into Training teams?

[karen_otto -at- agilent -dot- com]

After watching it happen twice in different teams, I'm wondering if this happens more often to other documentation departments.
It goes roughly like this:
1. A nice docu department exists. Creates manuals and other necessary basic documentation. Often they also write training material, but there's always a struggle between training and required documentation.
2. Someone comes along who decides that "We must do more training!!!" (There are usually exclamation points and PowerPoint presentations involved) Then a tension builds up on the resources, since there are generally no more resources assigned. 
3. The doc team struggles along, torn between training and required documentation, until someone with passion decides that training is either
   a) not getting enough attention
   b) could be a profit center (in contrast to manuals which are generally a cost center)
4. Then someone gets the bright idea to change the group, divide the group or create a totally separate training department.
5. That works for a while. Hopefully the two departments have reached an amicable agreement on how to divide up content and leverage each other's work.
6. Eventually something breaks down: either one department collapses from lack of support or resources, or the need for a strong emphasis on training goes away.
7. Eventually the two groups merge again, hopefully wiser. The end stage is pretty much stage 1.

What irks me is that often the people leading the effort don't realize it's been tried before, and try to learn something from it. It ends up being a big peak of Chicken Little crying "We're going to lose customers if we don't do this IMMEDIATELY!!!"

I think this is the normal way of things. Is it what you've experienced?

regards,

karen o.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Check out SnagIt - The Screen Capture Standard!
Download a free 30-day trial from http://www.techsmith.com/rdr/txt/twr
Find out what all the other tech writers, including Dan, already know!

Order RoboHelp X3 in November and receive $100 mail in rebate, FREE WebHelp
Merge Module and the new RoboPDF - add powerful PDF output functionality
to RoboHelp X3. Order online today at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.