RE: Questions To Ask Of Tech Writing Firms

["John Posada" <JPosada -at- isogon -dot- com>]

>We are all first-timers when it comes to working 
>with an outside tech writing firm. I want to do 
>a good job in holding these meetings and making 
>them worthwhile. What questions should I be sure 
>to ask of the tech writing firms as they make 
>their sales pitch?

1) Make a short list of the technologies that you document and make them
prove their expertise in those areas. In other words, if part of what
you document is databases, make them demonstrate that some of the
writers involved in your documentation are expert in database
management.

2) Different technologies require availability to certain software tools
(not writing tools). Make sure they own and have licenses for those
tools.

3) They are going to be inheriting some of your legacy stuff. Give them
a complex sample, request certain changes, and see how they complete the
operation. In other words, let's say you're using FM. Give them a book,
make them make certain changes, then request a finished book in FM and
PDF, including TOC, Index, cross-references, graphics, conditional
markup, change bars, and PDF bookmarks. 

4) Have them write something and see if you are satisfied with the
writing in all aspects, including proper phrasing for your targeted
audience.

5) Ask to meet with the person who will be your point of contact and be
satisfied with his/her approach to how projects are managed.

6) Get in writing the process for creating new material and the process
for implementing your changes.

7) Anyone can come up with 3 references where they never had a problem.
Instead, ask to speak to an existing client where there was a big
problem and find out how they handled it and what lengths they went
through to fix the problem.

John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
Isogon Corporation
http://www.isogon.com
  "Realizing Your Business Goals 
   Through Software Asset Management"

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