Re: Our company's products

[Diane Peters <dj -at- IBAPAH -dot- RAXCO -dot- COM>]

> On 19 Nov 95, Karen Kay wrote:
> This reminds me of a question that I've been meaning to ask. I recently
> accepted a staff position at a small-but-growing company. I'm impressed both
> by the company's software and by the documentation for that software. I also
> really like the tech pubs manager and the writers (mine is an editorial
> position to start with), so it's altogether a very pleasant situation. Only
> 15 minutes from home, too, which is a minor miracle in the Bay Area.

> So, I guess what I want to ask is, Is everyone proud of what their company
> turns out? Do you feel like you're writing good documentation for bad
> software? (I guess this goes back to the writing-around-design-flaws
> thread.) Was your company's documentation good before you started working
 there?

When I started with this company (5+ years ago) it *was* a
small-but-growing company, and I felt very much as you describe the way
you feel about your current employer.  They had pride in their work,
they were managed in a way to direct but not dictate to their technical
staff.  It was heaven.  The products were good, the documentation
better, and I was very proud to work on this stuff and support it.

I felt that our reputation in the technical field was excellent,
that I was part of a winning team, and that I trully made a difference.

Since then the SBG company was made attractive the VC (venture
capitalists) and eventually bought out by a larger company.  This was
the _dream_ of the original management.  The new draconian management
began to treat technical staff like step children, at best, and never
received or sought their counsel on technical design elements.

I left to work for another SBG company, which was shortly thereafter
bought out by a huge corporation.  Similar events followed, but with
worse consequences: the infrastructure of our little division began to
self-destruct.  By then, my previous employer was asking me to come
back.  So, I returned with lowered expectations and took an automaton
approach to my work from then on.  The management idiocy and lack of
quality still bother me, but I don't take it to heart anymore.  In
summary: what you have is precious, enjoy it as long as it lasts.

> Karen
>   karenk -at- netcom -dot- com



Diane J. Peters
Technical Writer at AXENT Technologies (a division of Raxco, Inc.)
2155 N. Freedom Blvd., Provo, UT        ph. 801.227.3775
diapet -at- axent -dot- com (cc:Mail) or dj -at- ibapah -dot- raxco -dot- com (Unix mail)

        The road to enlightenment is long and difficult...
        So, bring snacks and a magazine.

BTW: My views are mine and mine alone.