RE: Desiging your Documentation/Writing Department

Subject: RE: Desiging your Documentation/Writing Department
From: <j-m -at- creativeoptions -dot- com>
To: "'Al Geist'" <al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com>, "'TECHWR-L'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 15:52:42 -0500


Al,

I think your plan is absolutely right on. It would alleviate so many traffic
jams, conserve our fuel resources. On a more personal level eliminate
excessive time management, stress and family relationship issues. In my
mind, this is an ideal to shoot for. But:

How would you resolve these kinds of issues:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2000268,00.asp?kc=EWGOVEMNL080906EOAD
(Another VA computer goes missing)

How would you address the need for managers to feel needed and other similar
corporate control issues?

J-M


-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+j-m=creativeoptions -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+j-m=creativeoptions -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Al Geist
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 2:24 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Desiging your Documentation/Writing Department


Being recently relieved of all my contractual obligations with
IBM-Burlington (along with 400 other contractors), I look at designing a
documenation/writing department different than most of what I've read
here.
I would go for as much of a virtual office as possible. Vermont has a
directive to connect 100 percent of the state to the Internet via broad
band
by the end of the year, and they're pretty close to doing it. This is
happening all across the country. When I lived in Alaska, a significant
portion of the population had beyond dial-up Internet access, so it can
be
assumed that this is happening all across North America. For a long
time,
companies searched close to home for qualified writers, or asked them to
relocate if they were hired. Yet, more and more companies are allowing
some
form of telecommuting. In my redesigned department, telecommuting would
be
the rule and not the exception. The only resident workers would be those
who put the actual print matter together (if the project is to develop
printed matter), translators and the people who make the coffee in the
morning...er wait, that's me.
Al
Keith Hood wrote:

Structuring the group is of course very important; others on this list have
written good advice on that.

But, you also have to consider the interfaces. Of high importance is to
connect the group to the rest of the company at the highest level possible.
In a perfect world, the person in charge of the documentation group has the
position to go into planning meetings and compete for budget and hiring
allocations and other resources. If the head of the documentation group
reports to the Deputy Assistant Manager of Something, it will never be able
to get the means necessary to expand in the future. Also, if the
documentation group is too low on the food chain, there would be too many
bosses who could place demands on the group, which could make it difficult
to maintain standards, meet schedules, or assign tasks efficiently.


----------------

Keith Hood
Senior (only) tech writer
ACS, Inc.

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Winning Videos, Professional Photography
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Re: Desiging your Documentation/Writing Department: From: Al Geist

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