Re: how do you....

[Chuck Banks <chuck -at- ASL -dot- DL -dot- NEC -dot- COM>]

For Glen Accardo, et al:

        One solution we have used is to volunteer to maintain the
product specification.  Since most of our product developers are
not interested in writing documents, they are very happpy to have
more time for coding and testing.

        To paraphrase M.A.S.H., this is "meatball" writing.  Your
audience does not include grammar sticklers.  In our case, many of
the developers use English as a second or third language.  They
are glad to have someone clean up the specification language.
Their attention is, and yours should be, fixed on technical accuracy.

        Maintaining the product specification also places you on the
"inside."  You're now one of "us" and not one of "them."  Just be
willing to accept notes on any scrap of paper or from E-mail or
markups on blurred Faxes.  I found many supervisors and managers had
been telling their people to clean up their handwriting or even
desktop publish their comments on user documentation before sending
them to us in documentation.

        You'll find you get all sorts of information that you usually
miss.  You'll find out how to access the latest and greatest stable
version of the product.  You'll learn ins and outs of the product
development environment.  You'll learn the language of developers.

        I know you don't have time to take on another document.  I
don't either.  But I've done it anyway, and found I saved time over
the life of the project.  No more chasing down experts, they come to
you.  A lot of time you have been wasting in paper and personnel
chases will be spent updating customer documentation.

        If you don't break even on time, you'll find more support
for an extension of a few days.  After all, you've made a valuable
and visible contribution to the product development effort.

I hope this suggestion helps.

Chuck Banks
--
__        ________     ______
|\\   |  ||          //              Chuck Banks
| \\  |  ||_______  ||               Senior Technical Writer
|  \\ |  ||         ||               NEC America, Inc.
|   \\|   \\______   \\______        E-Mail:      chuck -at- asl -dot- dl -dot- nec -dot- com
America, Incorporated                CompuServe:  72520,411
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