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> >>but the QA geek didn't hire us. They hired him to do what he
> does,
> and unless he is instructed by his management that his job includes
> documentation review (like around here), he'll do what management
> requires of him, and they didn't say "review docs".<<
>
> And he's absolutely correct -- I've seen, at a couple of shops,
> responsibility for doc/help reviews added to Job Descriptions for
> the
> appropriate personnel -- this, of course, did not make the problem
> vanish overnight, but it certainly helped.
When I was at B&N.com, we had a very involved project plan, and it
worked. The reason it worked was that the manager knew project
elements are always very fluid and he'd have a meeting with all the
developers at least every third day to compare progress against the
plan and make adjustments as needed. The final date wasn't moved, but
he was ready to change priorities to make the process the most
efficient.
Thye problems was, I couldn't get developers to review the
documentation. They'd say yes, they'd smile, they'd take my
printouts, but then nothing would happen.
Then one day, I was discussing my progress with the manager and I
told him of the problem I was having, and that I believed it was
because he wasn't including any documentation time in the plan. It
was like a lightbulb went off in his head and he said "You're
Right!". From that point, doc review time was included and it was
like night and day. I'd submit, they'd review, we'd all smile and
sing kumbaya with arms intertwined (ok...forget the singing and the
arm thing). But, I did get reviewed. It was a BIG difference.
It really does make a difference.
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
"I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."
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