Re: Writing procedures/info mapping

[Shelley Strong <sstrong -at- TECHREPS -dot- COM>]

Dee wrote:
>I'm in a new job where the co. is trying to get things better organized.
One of
> the things we're all tasked with doing is writing down the procedures for
various
>processes.  I've never written this type of procedure before and as I am
head of
>Tech Pubs it's up to me to define the format.  Is there a book that I might be
> able to find at the library or my local book store that would help me out?

And Don Turnbill asked:
>Please let me know if you can find out anything about info mapping.

******
Well, maybe I can help you both, and maybe not, but . . .

I think *highly* of Information Mapping format for policies and procedures.
The problem is that you have to fork over the big bucks (somewhere in the
range of $1,200 to $1,600) to go to their 4-day class, or borrow and study a
manual from a cohort who has already done so.  I have colleagues who found
the class to be  worthwhile and relevant, especially when they were
anticipating work heavy on the procedure-writing side.

I borrowed a book and worked with someone who had taken the class.  The
concepts are not hard to grasp with a little hand-holding. But we found that
we seldom could follow the "approved" format precisely: we ignored a few
rules, bent some others, and created a few new ones.  It helped immensely to
use the template disk for Word 6.  (I think other programs are available to
support Info. Mapping format.)

I can provide the company's address and phone number for anyone who's
interesed. I just don't have it handy now.

Good luck!


Shelley R. Strong, Editor             Give a small boy a hammer
Tech Reps, Inc. Albuquerque, NM       and soon he will discover that
sstrong -at- techreps -dot- com                  everything he encounters
(505) 266-5678 ext. 264               is in need of pounding.