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Worzel Gummidge wondered: <<Does anyone out there have any PowerPoint
presentations (or willing to share presentations) that relate to (one,
any, or all): * How docs, a writer, or tech pubs dept. impacted and
influenced customers (customer wins for example)>>
There's been a lot published concerning "value added", including a
1995(?) special issue of _Technical Communication_ that provided
several decent case studies of the value-added by technical
communicators. Hit the library and you can pull tons of useful
statistics out of this survey.
<<* How docs can save (and saved) a company (your company's) bottom
line>>
Until someone documents both the costs of documentation (easy to do)
and the income generated by these sunk costs (trickier), you'll have a
hard time proving your point. However, here's one crude calculation you
can do: Let's say your company produces software at a cost of $100,
including your department's salaries, donuts etc., then sells it for
$200. Each of the hundred dollars spent to produce each copy of the
software generates $1 of income _after repaying its own cost_ (i.e., a
100% return on investment). If your documentation department accounts
for $5 of that $100 cost, then you've generated $5 income for your
company for each copy of the software that you sell at that price.
Guess what... you're actually a profit center!
Want more suggestions on "guerrilla" tricks to prove your worth? See:
Hart, G.J. 2001. Prove your worth. Intercom July/August 2001:16-19.
<<* How docs, a writer, and/or tech pubs dept. provided real value for
your company * How a tech writer or tech pubs dept. changed old
methodologies and introduced positive new methodologies>>
Back before I left FERIC to go freelance, our communications group held
a "Kaizen" exercise to improve our review and revision process. We cut
document production times by more than half as a result. (I hope to
publish a case study next year, if I ever have time to write it up,
that provides harder numbers. But the 50% time saving is easily
defended.) That's pretty clear payback.
--Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
