Re: Customer satisfaction survey?

[jim guarino <jag9330 -at- earthlink -dot- net>]

When I was just starting out in this business, I read a Tech Comm book by a man named Lannon, who is a professor of (some sort of) Communications at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. I believe his name is John Lannon. His book contained an excellent template for a usability survey. I'm not suggesting that anyone copy Lannon's work, but it could serve as a pretty good model from which to develop your own survey.

Jim Guarino

-----Original Message-----
>From: Peter Neilson <neilson -at- alltel -dot- net>
>Sent: Feb 17, 2006 7:55 AM
>To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
>Subject: Re: Customer satisfaction survey?
>
>Geoff Hart wrote:
>> Jennifer Gidner wondered: <<Our small (2-member) Technical Writing shop 
>> has been told that we will be measured this year by the results of a 
>> customer satisfaction survey that we must create.  Yikes!>>
>> 
>> The first step in designing such things is to sit down with the people 
>> who will be interpreting the results and find out their parameters for 
>> success: What metrics do they want you to collect, why, and how do they 
>> intend to use those metrics? For a few thoughts along those lines: 
>> http://www.geoff-hart.com/resources/2004/metrics.htm
>
>Doing job reviews for people who are all performing well is notoriously 
>hard, especially when you are trying to justify what you are doing.  To 
>some, it seems somehow more "scientific" if you have numbers.  I submit 
>that this sort of measurement is bad at best, and counterproductive or 
>severely harmful at worst.  The trouble is that you'll get what you 
>asked for, without realizing what you were actually requesting.  Maybe 
>the good folks will just leave, or will start "working to spec" instead 
>of being properly innovative.
>
>The job review for a thief or a total nonproducer is easier--fire the 
>SOB.  (We just did that.)
>
>Sometimes the lower (so-called "middle") management is told to rank 
>everyone in the department and get rid of the bottom 10%.  This is not 
>an effective strategy for small departments that function well!
>
>I've often been told that my resume should include strong data, like the 
>amount of money I've saved or extra revenue produced.  But we as tech 
>writers know that those figures do not exist.  How much did I save on 
>the preliminary plans I wrote for the project that was cancelled before 
>I could do the actual work?  How much did I save for the company that 
>was totally scuttled by poor management on the upper levels?  What 
>revenue did I generate in getting ready for the contract that fell through?
>
>One might try looking into the cost of not having the documentation, or 
>of having it written by the SMEs at the cost of lost design and coding 
>time, or something like that.
>
>My wife says, "When they start talking that way [reviews based on silly 
>numbers], it's time to look elsewhere."  Bonne chance!
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