TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Starting a documentation team From:Goober Writer <gooberwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:15:20 -0700 (PDT)
> The best groups like this have 1 leader, a handful
> of content-experts, an
> editor or two, a clerk/secretary type.
>
> Leader sets templates, guidelines, design, etc. as
> well as some docs.
> Writers generate content.
> Editors keep it clean
> Clerk handles the logistics.
IMO, this is an archaic model. I prefer to poise for
adaptability.
Let everyone handle the logistics (a little dirt under
the fingernails is good for the ego).
Leader, well, that's a very strong term. There is a
big difference between a leader and a
design/style/structure expert. Anyone can be a leader,
and it doesn't hurt to have more than one per
organization. Leaders lead, managers manage, designers
design.
Writers should be involved in content, editing,
design, and publishing. And everything in between.
Recognize their strengths and address their
weaknesses. The more they can handle, the more
adaptable your team is. That way, if a project is
thrown at your group out of the blue, you don't have
to shuffle resources to get the "expert" for that type
of project onto it. If everyone has a broad spectrum
of expertise, everyone is more flexible to move from
project to project with minimal ramp-up time.
In a perfect world, I'd say Andrew's model would work.
But, given the nature of most working environments,
adaptability and nimbleness are far more useful. When
things stabilize, sure, go for role-based structure,
but that's not a very secure plan of attack these days.
=====
Goober Writer
(because life is too short to be inept)
"As soon as you hear the phrase "studies show",
immediately put a hand on your wallet and cover your groin."
-- Geoff Hart
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com
RoboHelp for FrameMaker is a NEW online publishing tool for FrameMaker that
lets you easily single-source content to online Help, intranet, and Web.
The interface is designed for FrameMaker users, so there is little or no
learning curve and no macro language required! Call 800-718-4407 for
competitive pricing or download a trial at: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l4
---
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.
