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Re: How do you handle knowing "It Could Be Better"?
Subject:Re: How do you handle knowing "It Could Be Better"? From:Sean Hower <hokumhome -at- freehomepage -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 8 Oct 2002 15:26:53 -0700 (PDT)
You're too close to this project. I know how that feels. I've been there and I bounce in and out of that place once in a while.
You need to step back and remember a few things:
1: These are probably the best docs they've ever seen.
2: Your job is to write for your employers, not for yourself. So try to give up the personal goal of the perfect doc and shoot for your employer's goal with a few additional surprises. You'll be happier, you'll meet deadlines, and you'll still be doing a great job!
3: Sure, you can learn everything, but does everything have to go into the doc?
4: Take baby steps. There are always revisions. If this is the first set of docs this company has had, you will get plenty of chances to improve the docs as the company improves the product. While I'm not saying you should put out crap, you should follow a release schedule in which the docs get progressively better.
5: Smile.
"Whatever you do, do NOT let your editorial decisions be made by the squiggly spell-checking lines in Word!" ~Keith Cronin, Techwr-l irritant ;-)
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