TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:FW: Offsite Management From:Lynn Perry <clperry -at- WALLDATA -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 23 Jun 1998 11:02:23 -0700
Anon wrote
>I would be interested to know if anyone has, or feels it is possible to
>manage a pubs department while working off-site either part time or full
>time. Does the size of the department affect one's ability to do this? Or
>do you think it just is not a good idea?
I have been a group member in this situation. What we found was that having
the team leader off site resulted in our group not being represented in
project meetings. We also missed the impromptu hallway meetings so common to
project development. If we had had at least one person on site full time,
the project would have gone better.
In the plus column, the documentation was fairly well done and completed
mostly on schedule. I think we would have done more with tutorials and other
step-by-step information if we had worked more closely with development, but
what we produced was generally satisfactory.
I suspect the size of the department inversely impacts project success with
an off site lead: the smaller the group, the less workable the situation,
IMO.
LyP
clperry -at- walldata -dot- com
My opinions do not reflect those of Wall Data Incorporated and vice versa.