Developing Measureable Career Goals/Objectives

[Ruth Markham <Pmar8899z -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

I'm in the process of defining non-subjective, measurable career
objectives/goals for myself.  Because I believe much of what we do as
technical writers is subjective, I'm having a difficult time coming up with
more than a few objectives.  This is also compounded because currently my only
career path option is to move into testing since there is only one level of
technical writer at my company (my boss and I are trying to remedy that
situation).  Without having a career path (that I'm interested in), I find it
difficult to develop goals that are meaningful for reaching the next step in
my career development (and yes, I do realize that at some point that may mean
moving on; at this point, however, I still have a lot of learning to do and
I'm given the opportunity to wear many different hats and use many different
tools).

Some of the long-term goals I've defined:
- Development/integration of formalized technical writing standards,
- Developing a CBT course using Authorware,
- Create project plans for the technical writing tasks of a project

Several short-range goals:
- Redesign of an online help system eliminating of topics by 10% while
providing the same or better information (this goal has been met)
- Increase online user base for the xyz project from 0 to *** through a well
designed, functional online help system.

What kind of rating matrix is in use at your companies?  I'd appreciate input
of any type regarding this matter.

Thanks

Ruth Markham
Technical Writer
Clark Refining & Marketing
ruth -dot- markham -at- clarkusa -dot- com


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