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> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
> Behalf Of SB
>
> All the departments have been growing
> steadily but the
> Technical Writing Department (me!).
Good for them, but not for you.
> So yes, I am the only technical writer and ... I don't have a life
> anymore, no evenings, no weekends, and no nights anymore
> either.
Once again, good for them, but not for you.
> However, I can't meet the deadlines anymore and a lot of
> projects are behind
> now and others are on hold, which is now backfiring on them.
>
> For a while, I was contemplating leaving this position but I
> want to believe
> (or rather hope) that they are showing signs that they might
> start doing
> something about it now that the pressure also comes from
> additional sources.
>
> I will be meeting with the top management visiting from the
> US in a week or
> so
So, where are you?
> I can say "I
> am overwhelmed" and hand him a list of the things I am doing
> but what will
> it really mean to that manager? How do I convince him that
> this is really
> vital now and get him to act upon it?
This might not be the best approach. Your comment puts the emphasis on your
inabilities to do the job. Although, realistically, you are unable to the
job because you are only one person. I think you should put the emphasis on
the work and say something like, "This workload requires more than one
person." You can also add that, "based on my 12 years of experience, yada,
yada, yada..."
> How do I get then to become more aware and request that they value the
> documentation more than just "something that must be
> delivered with the product" because it is a requirement?
They never will. To them, it is just a requirement. There are few managers
that even truly care about the product, let alone the support of the
product, like documentation. Managers care about what their managers tell
them to provide. If deliverables need to be out by certain deadlines at the
lowest cost, then they will overwork their people to get that done.
> If they hire more technical writers, does this mean that I
> might possibly
> become a "documentation manager"? If yes, what would this mean?
I don't know. They could hire a manager instead, or you can be a lead, or
you can be a rogue group of tech writers.
> Can someone help me have a good idea of how to estimate
> projects?
Review your past projects when you were still working acceptable hours and
make an estimate from those. You will need to break out your documentation
projects into phases and, with your managers, you may need to be clear that
if Project A takes 100 hours and Project B takes 100 hours, then doing
Project A and B together will take 200 hours and not 100 hours. Some
managers do not understand this.
> I mean, I am trying my best to do everything they want me to but it is
> just ridiculous
They might be pushing you as far as they can to see how much work they can
get out of you. Have you ever squeezed a lemon? What if you only had one
lemon and you wanted a really tall glass of lemonade? You would squeeze
that lemon until there is nothing left. In this case, you might be their
lemon.
> How can I bring solid proof with possible literature support
> that what they
> are requesting is unrealistic?
Literature might be difficult because every project is different. My
approach in your case would be to say, "In my 12 years of experience, I have
seen that projects this complex require 3 or more people." You might want
to exaggerate how many people that you need if you do mention numbers so
that they can talk you down to what you really need and to what they can get
away with.
I did have a job where the manager realized that I needed more people to
help. I think that I have may have told her after I did a couple of manuals
and I developed and reviewed the project list. I was getting overtime, and
that may have also been a factor.
I also put out documentation that missed "completeness." I was very clear
about where I was cutting corners. This was for a training group, so the
resolution was that the trainers would need to fill the gaps in the
documentation. I got two more people and I was the defacto lead before I
left, but I was not interested in leading the group or staying with the
company.
> What do you do when
> there is an unrealistic deadline that you can't meet? Just
> exclude part of
> the features?
Don't make this decision by yourself. Your managers want you to put out as
much work as possible and they won't read "signs" that you have too much
work. You must tell them. They don't want to be taken advantage of by
somebody that isn't working, yet they do not know the amount of work
required for documentation, so they may think that it doesn't take as long
as it does.
Tell your managers what they will get if you keep the deadline, which is a
document that is missing features. And tell them how much time it will take
you to complete the document with all of the features. Now is a good time
to develop and hone project management and planning skills. When you can
manage and plan a project, then you can illustrate to management what is
required to complete the project.
I developed an interesting habit of documenting all of my projects on a
whiteboard behind my desk. I had a list that included project and task
names, status, start and estimated end dates, and any comments that I
thought were important. My managers see this, especially when they talk to
me and I keep the board behind me so they have to see it when they talk to
me. Managers always know my workload, or they don't bother me because they
don't want to know my workload.
> do I just... move onto something else?
At some point, you will need to learn to deal with the situation, and you
might as well do that now.
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