RE: Anyone know of tech writers that became program/product manag ers?

[mlist -at- safenet-inc -dot- com]

Joe Malin
> The last one is
> hard to define. The program/product managers that "make it" 
> are the ones
> that consistently deliver "the goods".
> 
> This is, by the way, a very high-stress position. You have to be the
> ultimate owner/problem-solver/sh*t-disturber/woman on a white 
> horse. The
> upside is that you have tremendous visibility in an organization. Most
> Silicon Valley CEOs I know have some product management background.

I've worked with some good product/program managers, and 
they made my life as a techwriter ever-so-much easier.

Two things:

 - As a techwriter, it is possible to be a kind of procrastinator. 
  That is, when you normally have several projects on the go, you 
  can start looking at one, then just put it on the back burner, 
  to percolate in your own mind (and to develop a bit in engineering) 
  before you come back to it. Then, as the overall project nears its 
  end, you can make a moderately heroic effort and churn out the docs
  and come in under the wire.  You can do that, because you start 
  priming the pump and then let certain processes take place in the 
  background, both inside your head and in other departments.

  As a product/program manager, you can't do that. You must really, 
  REALLY keep on top of all the project details and push them 
  forward each and every day.  You don't get to just check in, 
  once in a while, to see that things are on-track. OTHER people 
  check in with you, and your little feet must be paddling 
  furiously beneath the water as you calmly dispense answers, 
  instructions, and plan updates on the surface... often for 
  several projects that are competing among themselves for the 
  same resources... including those pesky techwriters.

  You also need to be on top of the people who don't feel the 
  need to check in. They need more attention some times, so 
  that their critical contributions don't become bottlenecks.

- As a program/product manager, you need to be able to make a 
  decision and crack the whip. You have to regard your word 
  as "law" and you have to convey that belief to everybody 
  else (in the nicest steamroller way, of course :-), or you 
  will never get everything done on time.  Pareto and the 
  80/20 rule apply, with a vengeance.  It's just like the 
  scramble to line up your ducks as techwriter deadlines 
  approach, except there are a lot more ducks and most of 
  'em are actually cats... cats whom you herd and cajole 
  while pushing string, tap-dancing... and did I mention 
  Meri-Jo who did all that while getting an MBA?   :-)

Kevin

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