Re: Justifying a Separate Existence

[Vince Putman <PUTMV -at- MAIL -dot- SYNTRON -dot- COM>]

     George,

     All empire building managers think like yours.  Yup, it happened to me
     and one other writer.  We were pulled out of offices located near the
     project teams we get all our information from.  The net effect on our
     end users is the loss of information in our S/W Documentation.   We
     are now out of sight - out of mind, and we never overhear any info
     leads anymore.  (What does the other writer and I have to discuss?)
     The resultant loss of document content is management's responsibility,
     but you will be blamed.

     These actions remind me of the boss who gave a writer pen and paper,
     then stood behind and said "OK, you have everything you need, now
     write!!!"  "I need this technical manual in a month"

     Lack of info is a terminal disease for quality documents brought on by
     ignorant managers!


     Vince Putman             | Most people think new ideas are just
     putmv -at- mail -dot- syntron -dot- com   |      a criticism of the old!!! 713-647-7139
     Houston, TX |   Eschew Gratuitous Obfuscation

     BTW, the ratio of developers to documenters is about 8:1, normal from
     what I have seen.

     __________________________ Reply Separator ________________________

     Subject: Justifying a Separate Existence Author:
     george -dot- hayhoe -at- SRS -dot- GOV at INTERNET_MAIL Date:    2/22/95 7:01 AM


     My small software documentation team (which is currently part of the
     software development organization) is about to be consolidated into
     the company publications organization unless I can help my boss
     persuade his boss otherwise.

     I'd appreciate answers to the following questions from anyone on the
     list who does software documentation. (Please respond directly to me
     at the address below, not to the list.)

     1. Where in the company is your team located (for example, in the
     software development group, marketing group, company publications
     group, etc.)?

     2. What is the ratio of developers to documenters?

     3. If your group has been consolidated, have there been any negative
     effects on end users? any positive effects on end users?

     Thanks for your help. I'll let you know what happens.

     --George Hayhoe (george -dot- hayhoe -at- srs -dot- gov)
     Westinghouse Savannah River Company