FW: Reviews

[Sheldon Siegel <sheldon -dot- siegel -at- ATTWS -dot- COM>]

Karen Serenil wrote (snip):

>I am looking for ideas/suggestions on getting useful and thorough reviews
of
>documents from developers and engineers. Our review process could stand
some
>improvement, but the reviewers don't take it seriously or seem to
understand the
>importance of it.

and Tim Altom replied (snip):

>But what helps the most is politics. No kidding. And that means making
>friends with department managers, reviewers, your boss, and everybody else
>in the process. It means scheduling, coordinating and facilitating review
>meetings. That's no simple feat until they get used to the drill. But
you'll
>have to be smilingly pushy and not take "No" for an answer. If you're
>stymied, back up and try another tack. But get your review meetings. One
>word of caution...people in organizations trust those who don't let them
>down. In your review meetings, YOU chair the thing and move it along. Do
>everything, and I mean EVERYTHING you can, to prepare for the meeting and
>not waste the reviewers' time. They appreciate it and they'll start coming
>to trust you. Be crisp and organized. Have a specific list of questions
>ready and circulate it beforehand. If somebody can't come, see if a deputy
>can. Or hold the meeting in the offices of the most-pressed member. I've
>found that such gestures go a long, long way toward convincing them that
>you're not just whining, that you're a serious professional with a damned
>serious job to do.


Since it's Friday, I think I'll let a little venom loose. THIS LINE OF
THINKING REALLY GETS MY GOAT! Why do we have to bow down to prima donna
programmers, begging them to *please* review the doc, please, please, please
... we'll be your friend! we'll ask about how your summer home is coming
along! we'll bring the donuts! GIVE ME A BREAK! We are professionals; they
are professionals. We need to treat each other with the professional
courtesy we both deserve. We are both on the SAME TEAM ... we both want to
produce a high quality product, which requires both of our areas of
expertise. WE SHOULD NOT DO ANYTHING TO ENCOURAGE THE CONTINUANCE OF
BIG-BABY BEHAVING programmers/reviewers who have to be coddled into working
with us in a professional manner -- to produce a professional product, which
keeps *all* of us employed ... management, up to the highest levels, should
not stand for it (and should allow time for reviews in the schedule) ... I
could go on and on, but I won't ... I'll be too busy buying the bagels so my
developers will look at my Help system.

 --Sheldon Siegel
sheldon -dot- siegel -at- attws -dot- com

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