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:Re: FWD: Giving Feedback on Project Management From:Janice Gelb <janiceg -at- MARVIN -dot- ENG -dot- SUN -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 29 Jun 1998 14:23:56 -0700
>
> I am a tech writing consultant at a small company. I was hired to develop a
> user and reference manual, and online help system. The project was poorly
> managed from the start, which led to outrageous overtime and scrambling to
> deliver halfway decent documentation. Now, the president of the company is
> asking all staff (including me) to give feedback regarding how the project
> was run, what we could do better next time, etc. I have some good things to
> say, but also some critical comments, mostly concerning my immediate
> manager who lacks the necessary project management skills. Because of his
> poor judgment and bad decision-making, the documentation really suffered.
> My question is how to tactfully give feedback about his performance without
> losing my job or causing any hard feelings. I really don't want to cause
> trouble for him, but I do have some useful suggestions about how to better
> accomplish the job. Any feedback, posted to the list, would be appreciated.
>
I think this is a case where passive voice can come in very handy. For
example, "Project deadlines often did not reflect dependencies such as
internationalization requirements. Engineering feedback was not always
passed on to the documentation staff" And so on... Management can
figure out pretty quickly whose job it was to pass on the feedback
or take into account requirements that were handed to him.
********************************************************************************
Janice Gelb | The only connection Sun has with this
janice -dot- gelb -at- eng -dot- sun -dot- com | message is the return address. http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8018/index.html
********************************************************************************
