TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Re: Question: Saving or storing comments and info from SMEs
Subject:Re: Question: Saving or storing comments and info from SMEs From:"Huber, Mike" <mrhuber -at- SOFTWARE -dot- ROCKWELL -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 14 Jul 1998 16:00:56 -0400
You can set the password protection in Word that allows others to make
modifications but flags them to be accepted or discarded later. It even
keeps track of who made each modification.
As for dealing with changes that I'm not going to use, I find that letting
the reviewer know that I appreciate and consider each comment, even those
that don't make it into the final document, goes a long way. And often a
wrong comment enlightens me to a problem that I hadn't noticed and the
reviewer didn't mean. If someone within the organization misunderstood what
I wrote, maybe the misunderstood part needs a second look. Even if the
reviewer is wrong.
---
Office:
mike -dot- huber -at- software -dot- rockwell -dot- com
Home:
nax -at- execpc -dot- com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: indresh chauhan [SMTP:indreshchauhan -at- HOTMAIL -dot- COM]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 1998 1:10 PM
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject: Question: Saving or storing comments and info from SMEs
...As far as letting them edit documents and templates, one could I
> suppose, keep two sets of documents; one, write and password protected,
> and the other, open for the technical personnel to carry out amendments
> they see fit. Of course, it is the technical writer who has the final
> say in carrying out the changes. But atleast, the environment would
> probably become more open and democratic.
> Again like rotten apples in any basket, there may be a couple of
> smartalec SMEs. Well, they can be dealt with in the following ways:
> a) Pretend you haven't heard them.
> b) Discuss their proposals in the open and expose them for what they are
> worth.
> c) At times, put them in their place (but with a smile on your face!).
> It is a good idea to have the various proposals out in writing. However,
> since it may not be possible to always have things on paper, it might
> help to jot down, on a diary, comments and ideas brought forward by
> others. But above all, keep an open mind. Who knows, one of the many
> so-called harebrained ideas might not be so bad after all!
>
