Re: Cost Analysis for FrameMaker

["Wing, Michael J" <mjwing -at- INGR -dot- COM>]

I'd be very cautious in following this advice as presented.  Especially
since you just moved into the job.  The advice is too arrogant and is built
on sand.

I'll wager that pontificating (paraphrased) "that everyone knows that
FrameMaker is the industry standard, and, therefore I shouldn't have to
prove anything" will not endear you to your new manager.  My guess is that
your manager wants you to back up your wants and desires with justifiable
facts. I guess some people just like facts before they make large purchases
and retrain personnel.  They're funny that way.  The, "everyone knows" reply
is not a fact.  It is hearsay.  Besides, FrameMaker is a favorite among
Technical Writers who still produce tree-killing tomes of the printed word.
It in no way dominates or even comes close to a majority of the word
processing market;^)

Also, taking the "It's not my job" attitude may insure that a Technical
Writer is all you will ever be.  I say, "do get sucked in" and not only
that, hit a home run.

Faced with this task, I would try the following:

- Check an internet search mechanism for the terms "FrameMaker",
"PageMaker", and "comparison"

- Visit Adobe's and PageMaker's web sites.  They probably have some
marketing collaterals and white papers with their metrics.

- Check the on-line archives of PCComputing, ZDnet, or some other magazine
that does product comparisons and ratings.

- Call Adobe and Pagemaker directly and ask if they have metrics.

- If you have a copy of each program, put them on similar machines and test
them one against one another.

Mike

Michael Wing (mailto:mjwing -at- ingr -dot- com)
Staff Writer/ Web Applications Developer
Intergraph Corporation; Huntsville, Alabama
http://maps.intergraph.com


> Kari Alt wrote:
> >Hello,
> >I just moved into a new Technical Writing job where the TechComm
> department
> >uses PageMaker for the majority of their technical user manuals which are
> on
> >average 100-200 pages long.  <snip>
>
>
> I would say that I don't know how to do a serious cost analysis, and that
> that isn't what I was hired to do. And besides, I would tell my supervisor
> that there is plenty of documentation to the fact that FrameMaker is now
> the
> industry standard for the kind of work I am doing, and I shouldn't have to
> "prove" anything any more.
>
> What your super is asking for would take you hours, if not days to
> calculate, and would be based almost entirely on APPROXIMATIONS. Don't get
> sucked in.
>
> IMHO,
>
> Fabien Vais
>
> ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
> Fabien Vais - Documentation Analyst
> Technical Writing, Technical Translation/Globalization, Editing,
> Publishing,
> Teaching, Training
>
> e-mail: phantoms -at- total -dot- net
> Mailing address: 38 Elderidge, Montreal, Quebec, H9A 2P4
> Phone/Fax: (514) 685-4752
>
>
> From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=
> =
>


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