Re: Deadlines
No, there are only three possible answers to the lack of
confessed deadline-missing:
a) Our profession attracts only the most able and
conscientious individuals, for whom, as John P put it,
a missed deadline is not even within the realm of the
conceivable.
b) When tech writers miss a deadline, they are drummed
out of the profession forever (think of the 60's TV
series "Branded").
c) The final possibility is so remote that I hesitate
to even mention it: perhaps some of us *have* missed
deadlines and lived to tell the tale, but are so
deeply ashamed that they will never admit it to
anyone.
How about:
d) We missed a deadline so long ago, and are so deeply ashamed
of it that we've blocked it out of our memories?
Actually, I KNOW I've never missed a pubs deadline, but that's not
because I walk on water. It's because I started out in the proposal
writing business, where you don't miss deadlines. Ever. Because if
you do, the potential customer won't read it. And you can't get the
contract.
After the brutal quality triage that environment sometimes required,
I've found other writing domains (relatively) easier to meet deadlines in.
Less damaging to the ego, in terms of compromises, too.
Which is not to claim that the software writing I do now doesn't require a
lot of change tracking and damage control as the winds of change shift our
project plans around. But I have a very clear understanding of which end of
the product "dog" is my part--and I don't wag the dog. The product will ship
without doc or with insufficient doc rather than ship late. So I make darned
sure my doc is ready to go when the product is.
V.
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References:
Deadlines: From: Tom Storer
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