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Subject:FWD: Contractors of Questionable Ability From:DURL <durl -at- BUFFNET -dot- NET> Date:Wed, 7 Jan 1998 10:27:23 -0500
One contributing, fundamental problem may be the contract itself.
When companies call in consultants, it's usually because they don't have
the resources inhouse to do the project. One logical result of this is
that the company doesn't know what to specify in the contract.
My experience comes from an operating manual that a utiity
contracted with an engineering firm to write. The utility called me in
because the resulting manual was unusable for the intended purpose.
However, the engineering firm had in fact met the terms of the
contract. Both parties were ignorant of planning and producing
documentation designed to
actually be read by users on a daily basis to standardize procedures and
provide a way to evaluate work performance.
The moral of the story is (1) talk to various consultants to learn
the jargon and what you can expect (2) be as specific as you can in your
contracts. If you can't tell them the methodology, *spell out*
deliverables and dates, and include penalty clauses for failure to meet
them.
Better luck next time!
Mary
Mary Durlak Erie Documentation Inc.
East Aurora, New York (near Buffalo)
durl -at- buffnet -dot- net
