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.
Subject: Slow Down Development, NO; Speed up Minds, YES
From: Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 09:33:30 -0700 (PDT)
X-Message-Number: 32
Andrew Plato wrote:
> ... I also don't have to worry about engineering changing the product on
> me (too much) because I am jamming out the document so quickly and so
close
> to FCS (First Customer Ship) that they can't change it. ... I wouldn't
> recommend this method to just anybody. You have to know your tech stuff
> very well and need to be able to rapidly express complex ideas. Beginners
> and process freaks probably are not well suited to a JIT environment.
This way of working may appeal to some people, but it burns out development
teams. In this economy we don't have enough workers as it is.
JIT is anything but macho heroics. JIT is sophisticated, well-designed and
effective process; it is nothing like "jamming out the document." True JIT
requires extensive training and coordination of various components of a
well-orchestrated process. Over the long haul, JIT is sustainable and
repeatable and will hum along quite effectively long after methods which
require last-minute heroics have worn out development teams.
Speed does matter in the new economy, but being first won't sustain you for
long if users don't like your product, and once they have a low opinion of
it, it's tough to turn that around. Fast time to market is a double-edged
sword, because your organization is not the only one committed to it. If
users try your product and don't like it, they don't have long to wait for a
competing product to appear.
