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.
Re: The Documentation Being Put Through Qual Assistance Process
Subject:Re: The Documentation Being Put Through Qual Assistance Process From:John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:Agnes Starr <zigrocstarr -at- yahoo -dot- com>, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Sun, 3 Sep 2006 08:57:39 -0700 (PDT)
Agnes...change is not bad. You fear the process because you don't
understand it. IMO, there is nothing wrong with putting documentation
under QA...I've been under QA, as well as under Dev, Marketing,
Engineering, and others. One of the things I've seen that all of
these had in common was that when documentation was initialy put
under them for the first time, they were just as apprehensive...
Don't think that what we do isn't as much a black hole to them as
they are to you. You need to meet with your new boss and attempt to
create a map that allows your expectation to come to terms with
their expectations. Your new boss may be as much in the dark about
what you do as they are to you.
Don't think of this as working within a process you don't know or
understand...think of it as an opportunity to learnm another way of
doing something...a new skill. Learning another skill or process is
ALWAYS GOOD.
Oh, and BTW...
> His only way of judging me is whether or not a deadline is met.
That IS the primary concern...what does it matter how good the
documentation is if the software doesn't go out? Hate to say this,
but none of what you've ever delivered was perfect...none of mine has
ever been, nothing that anyone on this list has producted has been
perfect. We do the best we can with what we got, and we get it out.
If it doesn't go out, it's a waste of time
Besides, sometimes techniques ya pick up by being involved with a new
process make it just a little bit better.
And
> whole orientation is from a Qa standpoint and my new hat just feels
> like it is very production and QA oriented.
It should be production oriented. It then becomes a process that can
be repeated and improvements to the process become part of the
process.
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."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
