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Subject:Re: In the Trenches, A Bit of Venting From:Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 13 Nov 2002 18:40:36 -0800 (PST)
<unclebonsai -at- hotmail -dot- com> wrote in message news:176347 -at- techwr-l -dot- -dot- -dot-
>
> My attitude is to write the documentation
> NOW and worry about structure, workflow, etc. as it comes up. (Note--I am
> speaking of the structure and workflow of the documentation PROCESS, not
> of the documentation itself.)
You make me smile.
> Instead, Mr. MFA has spent the past week
> searching company servers for all the documentation available and proposes
> spending two weeks reviewing the documentation for its appropriateness for
> the application. I should mention that the application can be considered
> new in that it is a complete rewrite of the application, features and
> interface. The older documentation I have seen doesn't really apply. And,
> I think our time would be better spent writing than meeting about writing.
Its always more fun to talk about working, then actually work. Losers talk about
working, winners just do the work.
> While I have been a technical writer for a number of years, I haven't
> really been in this position before--defending my decision to document
> instead of wool-gathering. Have others been in this position? What advice
> can you give me? The job market is very tight right now, I love where I
> work. And I don't want to make any mistakes that might cause my contract
> to not be renewed. Your advice is appreciated.
Factor Mr. MFA out of the equation. Chunk off work for him to do and then go off
and do your own work. Remove all dependencies between you and him. On deadline
day, you hand the boss/reviewers your completed work and then let Mr. MFA look
like a moron.
I worked with a guy like this before. They are their own worst enemy. Just make
sure you don't become associated with his failures.
Andrew Plato
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