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Subject:RE: Re: What I want to say.... From:"Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> To:cm -at- writeforyou -dot- com, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:20 Jan 2004 23:22:58 GMT
Having spent time on both sides of the process
(engineering/product support and documentation),
I would say that "something" at product release
is better than nothing, so long as the sacrifices
made to meet deadline are of quantity rather than
quality. A grossly pared-down document that conveys
critically needed information accurately will
serve the user/customer better than delivering an
installation CD or a box with switches and knobs
and no instructions at all and making them wait months
for "complete" documentation.
With regard to the original post, it actually sounds
rather promising to me. Telling the engineers and/or
programmers that you're reporting directly to the person
who's name is at the top of their org chart often does
wonders when doors need to be opened, and if you start
out by sitting down with Mr/Ms Big, detailing the issues
facing the required docs and getting sign-off on a
realistic plan for producing the most critically needed
info by the delivery date you might actually have a
chance of succeeding and getting a follow-on contract
to produce future revs with the rest of what's needed.
If the initial meeting reveals an unwillingness to face
reality (most of the time you can tell in the first 20
minutes or so), then you can always pass on the job.
As for the other points of the posting, the CEO likely
wants docs that avoid jargon because he/she doesn't
understand it any more than the intended audience and the
emphasis on "user-friendly" suggests that while the app
uses "complex statistical algorithms," the users don't,
or just don't want to have to use them (this is a guess,
since you didn't post the company name or product); the
3 month time frame is when they're on the hook to deliver,
not how long they actually think it'll take for the job,
and it's up to you to determine how to deliver the most
bang for the buck for 3 months worth of writing; and the
CEO has probably never even heard of a Technical
Communications degree. I have, but in 12+ years as a
publications manager, I've yet to see a resume from
someone who has one cross my desk. Most tech writers
still have backgrounds in English, journalism or a tech
discipline.
Gene Kim-Eng
------- Original Message -------
On
Tue, 20 Jan 2004 14:32:47 -0800 Chuck Martin?wrote:
But I disagree with one thing. I'm not convinced that doing "something"
within a deadline is necessarily better than nothing at all because that
"something" is likely to be less than accurate, ridden with gaps, and
resulting in user frustration and higher support costs.
