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Subject:Re: Help with Outsourcing Tech Pubs From:"Neeraj Bhatia" <bhatianeeraj -at- softhome -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 6 Jan 2005 15:43:59 -0800
Hi Amico,
Part of my team is in India. And I've had the opportunity to work from the
India office and from the office in the valley. I'd say we've had a pretty
good experience with this geographically distributed model, though I know
folks who haven't had much success with similar models.
Some things that worked for us:
- Trying to assign tasks based on where the module is developed. Proximity
to the engineering and QA teams is a definite advantage.
- Regular conference calls, even there is no specific agenda at times. Makes
folks at the "remote" site feel part of the team. The occasional visit
to/from the remote location helps.
- Regular feedback, and lots of it. There are differences in writing, some
based on cultural and educational differences. Having a good
reviewing/editing process will help, at least till the team comes to speed
with your writing conventions, styles, etc.
- An understanding that technical writing is just coming out of the nascent
phase in India. Finding writers with more than a few years of experience can
be a challenge.
- Encouragement to join the local STC chapter. The chapter organizes regular
learning sessions in a lot of cities, which are often quite helpful.
Finding writers with technical writing education might be a challenge, but
you could find good writers with a background in journalism/advertising.
Yes, some private institutes offer training and a couple of universities
offer technical writing courses. But for most folks, training is on the job.
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