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Amanda Abelove wondered: <<And that was the other side of it... the
company wants to teach requirements writing offshore. It seems to me
you can't write up requirements for a system remotely from the customer
site...>>
Sure you can... it's just more difficult and takes longer. The simple
Rube Goldberg way to accomplish this is to set up an instant messaging
("chat") session using your favorite software, and keep the chat window
open on one part of your screen. You can then use anything from a Web
page that you update and re-upload manually (to reflect the ongoing
state of your revised design) to a Wiki or other online collaboration
tool to handle the revision and update more elegantly.
This suggests you should re-ask your question here to find out how
other techwhirlers are doing this kind of long-distance collaboration
so you can include that in teaching your course.
Also, as noted in my previous message, there are going to be cultural
differences, and you'll need to teach your Indian colleagues a fair bit
about Western etiquette. (As you know, there's a considerable amount of
racism out there, combined with resentment over jobs being offshored,
so perhaps that's one of the unpleasant things you'll need to warn them
about.) We Westerners have a somewhat deserved reputation for being
rude and etiquette-free in contrast with other cultures, but all
cultures, including ours, have written and unwritten rules. (You
shouldn't be the only one who learns something about other cultures
during this exchange! <g>)
A great way to do this is to role-play a typical situation. You come up
with a design that your Indian students are going to have to interview
you to learn. Pay close attention to anything that makes you even the
slightest bit uncomfortable as you respond to their interview
questions: the discomfort is a hint that the student may have
transgressed some unspoken American cultural assumption, and with some
thought, you can figure out what that is and teach it.
There are several Indian tech writers on this list, so why not take an
opportunity to ask them for advice on this topic. It should be very
revealing, and of interest to all of us if the discussion can be kept
civil!
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