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RE: Who is responsible? (was living doc article)

Subject: RE: Who is responsible? (was living doc article)
From: "Kat Nagel, MasterWork Consulting" <mlists -at- masterworkconsulting -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2003 16:11:56 -0400


At 12:08 PM -0700 4/8/03, Alan Bucher wrote:

I once "took the initiative" to interview the support team for more insight into customer issues. It allowed me to create better doc. But when the support manager found out, he told my manager that his team was under the gun and shouldn't be disturbed, so my manager told me to back off....I was told to run such things by him in the future. Initiative appreciated, but occasionally a non-starter. And not asking for permission after that would be an openly defiant act.

Your company doesn't have a common lunch or break room? There's never a line at the copier?

Initiating that sort of conversation with developers and tech support staff when we're in common "as long as we're just standing here" situations has always worked well for me. I mention that I'm working on Doc A and...hey!...is there anything anything new coming in the next release that I should be sure to include? Or, is there anything that I could put in or change that would make it easier to deal with support calls? Usually, even from people who are notoriously uncooperative, I get some of the information right there and then and a promise to unlock file X/drop off book Y/email a screen shot of Z. Worst case, I get the name of the feature or a sentence about the support problem with somebody else to bug about it.

I get the information I needed, or a pointer to a better place to look for it. No one interrupts anyone else, or is forced to take time from 'important' work. No one complains to a manager.

--
Kat Nagel,
who once worked a contract gig in a company that had whiteboards in the break rooms, all offices and conference rooms, one of the hallways, the reception area and the mens room. (In the womens room, too, after we used the stall doors and privacy panel. <g>)

"Power to the Info-Ferrets!"

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RE: Who is responsible? (was living doc article): From: Alan Bucher

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