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Arroxane asked how to reassure the powers that be that she's busy on
their projects even if they can't see her working.
I'm chiming in a bit late, sorry, but the weekly status/progress e-mail
might not be amiss: this is what I did this past week, here's what I
plan to be working on this week coming, and these are the issues (if
any) that we need to deal with that might affect my continued progress.
The suggestion to update the company's project plan (or to post one of
your own that is accessible to your supervisor) is a good one. I also
always use the company's software version control system (SourceSafe or
whatever) to check in/out my documentation versions. What's good for
code can be good for docs too.
As was mentioned, if they accept developers working 100% remote, there
should be no reason for them to worry about documentation being remote.
Find out how the coders report progress and do something similar.
Attending weekly project meetings (even by teleconference) might be
something to think about as well. Pop up on the bosses' radar every now
and then to reassure them. Doubt usually occurs when they really don't
know what it is you're doing, and perhaps they don't even know how to
manage a worker who has that much autonomy. Part of our job is to
educate and pacify. :-)
Oh, and we're writers -- remind your boss that s/he can tell you're
working when you're staring out the window.
--Beth
Beth Agnew, Professor
Co-ordinator, Technical Communication Program
Seneca College
Toronto, ON
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