re: Users writing their own procedures

[holmegm -at- comcast -dot- net]

Eileen Neumann wrote:

>I maintain an employee intranet that holds banking procedures. Another
>division has decided that they need their procedures to go online as well.
>As my department doesn't have the resources to start documenting these
>other procedures from scratch, the powers that be have decided to have an
>experienced user document the procedures and have me fix them up
>afterwards.

Makes sense to me.  Happens where I work all the time.  In fact, we try
to be on the lookout for good user-written procedures, so we can assimilate
them :)

>I'm a little miffed at the idea that of course 'anyone' can write down
>procedures if they know them.

Well, surely they can simply *write them down*, if they are literate. ;)

>However, I also think this might work and save us some time. I'm thinking
>of giving the individual a template and have them write in FrontPage. They
>won't know html, but front page is pretty easy, seems to me.

If you just want the content (probably) then Word or somesuch would be easier.

>Anyone have any experience with this type of situation? Thoughts or tips?

User-written procedures exist, whether officially sanctioned ot not.  The 
proliferation of such procedures may be a good indication of the health 
of your official documentation (or knowledge that it exists, accessibility of 
it, etc.).  Some amount is almost inevitable, given a sufficiently complex 
system. Too much means a failing of the "official" documentation effort.  Of 
course, I have no *objective* way to measure how much is too much :)

Greg Holmes