RE: Updated documentation

["diotima" <diotima -at- myway -dot- com>]

sarah wrote:



>The small start-up where I work is still in anarchy mode, so I have situations such as this: a software engineer was contacted directly by a customer, asking for instructions on a procedure. The engineer wrote up the instructions in whatever format pleased him, sent out the documentation, and then notified me of his fait accompli....



boy do i know that situation!! the small start-up where i'm at was very much still in anarchy mode when i first arrived, but i and a few others have been changing that...



here is what i would do. i would contact the customer directly by phone, ideally the very person who used (or tried to use) the document that was sent. introduce yourself, and see if they'd like an improved version of the document. while you are chatting, this is your opportunity to talk to the user. take advantage of it. form a relationship. find out what their needs are, how you could develop better documentation for them. what's helpful? what's not? give them your contact info and encourage them to contact you.



then you're going to have to take an assertive and proactive role in implementing a *process* for getting docs to the customer and making sure that everyone knows and follows it. (this can be kinda fun if you like kicking some butt like i do). you want to get people to the point that anytime they think about anything documenation, they think of you and push it over your way.



there comes a point in every start-up's life where seat-of-the-pants-anarchy not only begins to be less and less effective, but more and more detrimental as the company begins to transition into the next stage.



feel free to contact me on or off the list for advice or commiseration. i totally understand what you're going through, but really, in this case, a problem really IS an opportunity! take it!



start-up environments really can be a blast!



-diotima











We have procedures in place for documentation, which include review and approval, and this guy simply bypassed them. I know there will be no consequences to him. :)  My problem is this: I have now reviewed, edited and properly formatted his instructions. It is now authorized for distribution to customers.<br><br>My question is: should I go ahead and send the updated, proper document to the customer? Would it be confusing for them to receive two documents that said essentially the same thing? Should I wait until there is an upgrade? I would rather our customer had a well-structured, proper-English document (which IMHO is much easier to understand) with part numbers and everything, but possibly it would cause more confusion than it is worth. Has anyone else been through this sort of thing? What did your company do? <br><br>Thanks in advance.<br><br>Sarah

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