RE: doc'ing the docs

Subject: RE: doc'ing the docs
From: KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2002 13:37:19 -0500




> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Posada [mailto:JPosada -at- book -dot- com]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 12:39 PM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: RE: doc'ing the docs
>
>
>
> >Thereby also clearing up the question of who your real audience
> >is.
>
> At every gig I've ever been at, I've never thought otherwise.

Exactly. But that can sometimes be just about the *only*
thing that's clear at the outset. Thus, we have concepts
like negotiations, proposals, progress reports, reviews, etc.

Sometimes you have to tell/show the boss/audience/customer
what it is that they want, but it's always subject to
negotiation, and decades of TW experience are handily
trumped by whim ... when it's the whim of s/he who controls
the purse-strings.

Of course, when the customer is not immediately seeing
the light as you argue from your professional experience,
you should always CYAWAM. Sum up the disagreement, and
state that "this is what I believe we have agreed".

If you don't actually get a written agreement to your
sum-up, you at least have the dated memo/e-mail to
show that you had expressed your understanding of
the client's wishes, way back when, and that they
had had X days/weeks/months to correct any erronious
impressions on your part. Digital signing and encryption
may be of some use, especially if your crypto application
time-stamps messages. You can also make use of the
"Confirm Receipt" and "Confirm when read" options of
some mail systems (like Outlook/Exchange), if the
recipients are silly enough to have left those options
turned on.

Doing this stuff with a professional, "just business"
air makes it appear like the simple, professional
records-keeping that it is, and not just CYA activity.

/kevin


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