Writers on Development Teams

["Johnson, Mike C. @ SLG" <MCJOHNSO -at- SLC -dot- UNISYSGSG -dot- COM>]

I like *NOT* being on a development team because it gets me out of a lot of
meetings and other time-consuming, painful, political experiences not
directly related to the project at hand.  I *DO* like to get well acquainted
with the principal players on the team, however.   They are frequently my
only reliable information sources.   Maybe it's just my personality, but I
have to do this one-on-one.

I get the most cooperation from engineers and programmers when I volunteer
to help them with their documentation problems--writing specs, designing and
spell-checking screens, etc.  I've also been known to help with an
occasional resume (after hours, of course).  Helping with the paperwork
frequently gets the developers off dead center, too.

I think a lot of us mistakenly typecast the reticent engineer or programmer
as a prima donna when in fact the poor sucker has no idea how s/he's going
to do what s/he's supposed to do when s/he's supposed to do it.  And like
the behind-the-curve writer, s/he's not anxious to spread that embarrassing
fact around.

As Abe Lincoln once correctly observed, it is better to remain silent and be
thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Happy New Year!

Mike Johnson
mcjohnso -at- slc -dot- unisysgsg -dot- com
mikey -at- wasatch -dot- com