Re: Measuring TW Performance (was Documentation Estimates)

["Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>]

Go back to the source, the person in the organization who was the
driver behind hiring tech writers in the first place.  What arguments
did that person present to upper management to justify hiring the
writer(s), and what benefit did whoever signed off on the decision
expect to see?  Then summarize how you have achieved that end.

You can try to make all sorts of cases for what will happen if the
company fails OSHA, ISO or other audits, but then you will need
to make the case that it is documentation that prevents this from
happening, that it will happen without documentation if it has not
happened yet or that it would not have happened if there had been
documentation.  And even if you can do that, let's not forget that
there are companies out there who measure the need to meet
safety requirements by adding up the cost of meeting vs. the fines,
and other consequences of someone being maimed or killed
because they didn't meet them and opt for whatever is cheaper.

In my most recent round of interviews (with my current
employer), I looked my prospective bosses right in the eye and
said that if they wanted someone who would be an evangelist for
documentation and sell its value to management and the organization
that would not be me, but if they had already made that judgment
and wanted someone who could tell them how to get it done then
I could do that for them. I don't object to demonstrating my
effectiveness, but life is just too short to have to waste any of it
justifying my existence.

Gene Kim-Eng


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dori Green" <dgreen -at- associatedbrands -dot- com>