RE: Why don't technical writers do case studies?

[Marguerite Krupp <mkrupp -at- cisco -dot- com>]

Actually, we used to do that in-house in a company long ago and not so far
away. The results applied to our own processes and procedures. We called it
a "Post-Doc," which seemed more positive than "post-mortem." We did learn
from these exercises. But release cycles were longer then, and we had more
time for detailed post-partum analysis.

Nowadays, our engineering organization (including the writers) involved with
a project gets together after a release to analyze what went well, what
didn't, and what we should do better next time. The results, of course, are
highly specific and frankly company confidential. 

The key point is that we talk about *what went right* as well as what went
wrong. It's an analysis, not just a gripe session. The focus is on doing
better next time. We all get a copy of the minutes and the action items. It
works. But it's not something I could share with the list.

Marguerite


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