TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
> My question is: should I go ahead and send the updated, proper
> document to the customer? Would it be confusing for them to receive
> two documents that said essentially the same thing? Should I wait
> until there is an upgrade? I would rather our customer had a
> well-structured, proper-English document (which IMHO is much easier
> to understand) with part numbers and everything, but possibly it
> would cause more confusion than it is worth. Has anyone else been
> through this sort of thing? What did your company do?
What does your boss say. If I was your boss, here's what I'd say.
First, question...was the instruction that was sent by the SE
factualy correct? Would anything break/stay broken if the instruction
was followed? Was it acceptable to your legal entity?
If it was correct and legal, even if it looked like crap, leave it be
with that customer and make sure that the new stuff is used from that
point on. The fact that your nose is [justifyable] bent out of shape
is not the customer's issue
If it was NOT correct, contact the customer, tell the customer that
they received instructions from outside the loop and incorrect, and
that you are sending him revised instruction that should be followed.
Then make sure your boss and the SE's boss know that incorrect
information was sent out and the process was circumvented.
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
?I can win an argument on any topic,
against any opponent. People know this,
and steer clear of me at parties.
Often, as a sign of their great respect,
they don't even invite me."
Dave Barry
Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author
content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No
proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
