RE: Looks like we'll have to agree...

Subject: RE: Looks like we'll have to agree...
From: KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 14:23:30 -0500

So, maybe you need to recruit Customer Service to help
make your point to other management.

The benefit should be to reduce the number of calls --
especially repetitive ones -- to Customer Service.

Now, keep in mind that that's a benefit only if your
company has some product guarantees and sells service
contracts, where fewer actual calls means that the
company keeps more of the money.

If the company charges for every service call, then
it's actually NOT in their interest (well, in the
short term) to have solid documents that reduce the
Customer Service revenue stream by cutting down on
the number of calls...

Of course, if the Customer Service gang is willing
to fight for you (in their own enlightened self-
interest), be sure to have at least one viable
proposed solution for management to embrace. No,
a lengthy requisition form is not a solution. You've
already seen that people don't like filling out
forms.

However, they'll probably answer the same questions
if you ask them in person or in several e-mails...
one or three questions per e-mail.

You don't say where YOU attach in the reporting
structure. Reporting directly to a Veep can be
good, but only when you are equipped to fight
your own battles and do your own management,
and need to invoke the big gun on only the
rarest of occasions.

Reporting to someone farther down the food chain
can mean that you may get more hands-on management
than you entirely enjoy, but it also can mean
that you have an ally to turn to for the trench
warfare.

Now, IF it happens that your manager feels
rather stuck with you, and that only because
he/she didn't duck fast enough... then maybe
you should investigate the possibility of
having your little two-person doco group moved
to someone else's bailiwick. PV/QC has worked
out really well for me, and only some of that
has to do with the calibre of the manager.

The fact is that your delivery happens at the
end of every project. It can only help to be
allied with somebody else who ALSO regularly
feels the crunch of "sorry, we've used up all
the project slack again" and delivers their
stuff at the very end. That's QC or PV or
whatever your company calls the people who
must sign off that the product actually
kinda works.

As well, it can help if your scheduling is done
along with the scheduling of the testers who
have to test the product... and your docs.

The fact that we do it the way we do it at
our place tells me that there's no inherent
reason why RC 1 needs final docs. If you were
talking about HELP, now, I could see the point.
But stand-alone document files simply do not
have an impact on the integrity of a software
installation CD. The builds librarian can easily
leave an empty placeholder directory. Your
docs can go in when the release is stable, and
only cursory testing is needed to ensure that
the addition of your docs to the build did not
break anything.

If the word of God has commanded that "RC1" must
be exactly what goes out the door, then you can
lobby for a pre-RC1 stage, during which the
necessary things can happen. It's just a name game.

/kevin

> Don't think that I haven't talked to
> management about it, because I have. I think the value of the docs is
> evidenced by the fact that customer service regularly
> consults them to solve
> customer issues. I am constantly pointing this out, and I meet with
> customer service to get their feedback on the docs (they have
> been quite
> helpful).

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Collect Royalties, Not Rejection Letters! Tell us your rejection story when you
submit your manuscript to iUniverse Nov. 6 -Dec. 15 and get five free copies of
your book. What are you waiting for? http://www.iuniverse.com/media/techwr

Have you looked at the new content on TECHWR-L lately?
See http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ and check it out.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Previous by Author: RE: dreaded part of the job - and OCR software Q
Next by Author: RE: Other handshakes?
Previous by Thread: RE: Looks like we'll have to agree...
Next by Thread: Dual Monitor Support


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads