Re: Ever wonder why techwhirler lives seem so crazy?

Subject: Re: Ever wonder why techwhirler lives seem so crazy?
From: "etymes -at- lts -dot- com" <etymes -at- lts -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 10:46:50 -0700


John Posada wrote:

I don't think that planning the whole project is the best way. Not
only do projects change so much that planning is a waste of time, but
it prevents you from taking advantage of opportuinities that weren't
expected in the beginning.

Unfortunately, when contractors bid on a job a project plan, complete with dates and milestones, is expected or required. Your challenge as a contractor is to write enough conditions into the rest of the offer to cover the consequences of slipping any of the dates or milestones. And that, of course, is why they (used to) pay us the big bucks. <g>

I suspect most managers realize that any plan is subject to changes along the way, including the opportunities that crop up. But it also outlines where you intend to go and the itinerary along the way, and picks target dates for the milestones. Based on that, a manager can go up one or more levels, obtain funding and other resources, and allow those others to make their plans too. Most company cultures understand that project plans amount to a stake in the ground, and that variations on chaos are likely to happen along the way. The challenge to all is to get to a reasonable approximation of the original goal without exploding in the process. And yes, sometimes that looks chaotic.
What makes it especially difficult for tech writers is that what we do involves reacting to changes made by others, frequently in a situation where others have used up all the allowable slack. When the client has agreed to a contract that contains very clear consequences for slippage, writers have a chance of completing their portion of the project on time.
Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems



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