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Subject:Re: Tec Pub's Reporting Structure From:Kent Newton <KentN -at- METRIX-INC -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 23 Jan 1996 17:56:00 PST
At my company, documentation is part of Post Sales Operations (i.e.,
support). This group consists of front line and back line support,
education and training, and documentation. The feeling is that all of
these services are designed to assist users after they have purchased a
product. Overall, this arrangement works pretty well (better than I
thought it would when we were first reorganized).
By placing these departments under one group, we get great feedback on
what users want or need in the documentation. For example, when a
customer calls front line support with a question on how the software
works, front line looks for the answer in the documentation. If front
line can't find the answer, they pass that information to us so we can
either index the material (if it is in the manual) or add it (if it isn't
in the manual). Also, documentation and education work closely together
to ensure that training material and reference materials are consistent.
(There is some talk about having documentation take over the production
of the training materials.)
Documentation used to be part of R&D. Because we are a mid-size company,
the move to another group hasn't reduced our interaction with R&D at all.
We work closely with them when we develop/revise our manuals.
Overall, I'd say our organization works.
Kent Newton
Senior Technical Writer
Metrix, Inc.
kentn -at- metrix-inc -dot- com
Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 09:58:57 EST
From: Bob Boeri <76001 -dot- 2114 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM>
Subject: Copy of: Tec Pub's Reporting Structure
---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: Bob Boeri, 76001,2114
TO: Tech Writer List, INTERNET:listserv -at- vm1 -dot- ucc -dot- okstate -dot- edu
DATE: 1/19/96 12:50 PM
RE: Copy of: Tec Pub's Reporting Structure
-- snipped --
I am interested in current organizational reporting structures for
technical
publishing groups. To what organization is your technical publishing
group
attached? That is, does your technical publishing manager report to the
head
of
Marketing Communications? Research and Development? Information Systems?
Other?
How well does that reporting structure work; do you wish it were
otherwise? If
so, what would you prefer? In my distant experience Technical Publishing
tended
to report to R&D; had the advantage of being close to the subject matter
experts; had the disadvantage of being downsizing targets when R&D
budgets
shrank.
