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RE: Drafts -- some people not clear on the concept...
Subject:RE: Drafts -- some people not clear on the concept... From:John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 26 Sep 2002 09:49:17 -0400
>2. A good boss -- my definition, of course -- does not mind looking at a
>very rough, crude, even sloppy first draft. The purpose -- and the *ONLY*
>purpose, at such an early stage -- is to make sure that the writer is
>not, in some sense, headed down the wrong path on the project. A capable
>reader, and a capable manager, can read for the general direction or sense
>of things when necessary, as well as reading for details and fine points
>when appropriate (generally at a later stage of a project).
I'm in the process of creating a large, detailed set of documents. This is a
very ambitious project..4 books, 800 files, FM, Visio, MSProject, images,
with the books ranging from 100 to 800 pages. These books are created from
scratch, though bits and pieces of previous documentation are incorporated
as needed.
Every 10 days, we schedule a document review. The purpose of the review is
three fold.
1) Make sure I'm on track and heading in the direction he has in mind. he
has very specific opinions on this...some I even agree with.
2) See what other resources he knows of based on components of the document
I've introduced since the last review.
3) Refine the sequence that sections of information are introduced in the
document set.
I'm about 50% of the way through the project...some of the documentation is
polished, but more of it is rough, some VERY rough...pretty much random
collection of pieces that are being fleshed out as the project matures. The
condition of it was understood.
Just as a side note...my latest review was yesterday. His comment
afterwards..."I've seen alot of documentation...yours is one of the best
document sets I've ever seen...."
I guess maybe I'm on the right track. :-)
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
Barnes&Noble.com
jposada -at- book -dot- com
212-414-6656
"Be accurate...the 4am wakeup call you prevent could be your manager's"
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