Getting more than nits from reviews? (take III)

Subject: Getting more than nits from reviews? (take III)
From: Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>, Susan Hogarth <hogarth -at- gmail -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 11:05:48 -0400

Susan Hogarth replied: <<OK, I am properly raked-over-the-coals.>>

It is barbeque season, after all. <g>

<<However, I haven't presented it exactly right.>>

Now you learn the heavy price of laziness! <g>

<<These are more team members than SMEs - THEY have done the writing.
They send it to me. I knit the pieces together loosely. My boss says
"They need more details" (he always says that) and I ask them to
provide more details. They may be doing an entire re-write at this
stage. Still copyedit?>>

Sounds like you've got exactly the kind of seemingly logical but
hopelessly inefficient process we used at a former employer. (Where
we got fed up, did a Kaizen exercise, and cut report production times
by something like 75%.) The key here is to learn the concept of
outlining before you begin writing: nail down the content _before_
you start writing, and you cut the number of iterations enormously.
For details:
Outlining: http://www.geoff-hart.com/resources/2006/outlining.htm
Review process: http://www.geoff-hart.com/resources/2005/reviews.htm

In any event, if these people are team members, you should be
emphasizing discussion and consensus, not endless shuffling of
documents between desks.


----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
--------------------------------------------------
Coming soon: _Effective onscreen editing_ (http://www.geoff-hart.com/
home/onscreen-book.htm)

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References:
Getting more than nits from reviews: From: Stuart Burnfield
Re: Getting more than nits from reviews: From: Susan Hogarth
Getting more than nits from reviews?: From: Geoff Hart
Re: Getting more than nits from reviews?: From: Susan Hogarth
Getting more than nits from reviews? (take II): From: Geoff Hart
Re: Getting more than nits from reviews? (take II): From: Susan Hogarth

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