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Reporting Structure/Work Model for Documentation Department
Subject:Reporting Structure/Work Model for Documentation Department From:mary -dot- kendig -at- convergys -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:17:57 -0500
Greetings, tech writers!
I'd appreciate receiving input from you about how your doc group is
organized. Specifically:
How many tech writers are in your doc group?
How many (or about how many) developers are in your development group?
How early in the development cycle do you get involved? (Do you attend
requirements meetings and produce a formal requirements doc, or do you get
involved during the design phase and produce the design doc, or do you get
access to the application you're documenting after it has been developed
and document it as best you can?)
Do you report to a documentation manager, or are you part of a development
team and report to a development manager? (Or do you have dual reporting
responsibilities to both a doc manager and a development manager?)
Do you and your fellow tech writers work in the same location, or are you
located closer to the developers you work with?
Are developers or any other technical resources responsible for writing or
updating any chapter, guide, appendix, etc.? If so, what piece or pieces
are they responsible for?
Is the doc group responsible for supplying templates to others in the
company for use in producing requirements docs, design docs, system specs,
etc.?
Does the doc group function as a "center of excellence," producing doc
standards and templates for others in the company to follow, providing
guidance and recommendations for all doc issues, etc.?
Any information you can provide is very much appreciated. And a company
name or contact name would be wonderful, if you care to share that info.
Mary Kendig
Specialist, Product Documentation
Convergys Corp., Lake Mary, FL
mary -dot- kendig -at- convergys -dot- com
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