Re: Giving Feedback on Project Management

[Bernie McCann <BernieMc -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

Sorry, just 2 cents worth (time at a premium)

Firstly, you state that you are a "consultant" (do you mean temporary
contractor?).  You must now ask yourself, to whom are you consulting, ie
Company, President or Manager?  (This question is not as easy as it may seem).

Secondly, there is great value in constructive feedback, and this doesn't have
to consist of "critical comments" (there is an allusion of severity there).
Putting this on paper will test your writing skills, and it would be a good
idea to have someone else read (edit) it, but bear in mind that you have a
responsibility here (a personal test perhaps), and it may be worthwhile
sitting in the President's chair for a moment.

Good luck.

P.S. Robin says it all.

Bernie
Canada




In a message dated 98-06-29 17:12:21 EDT, you write:

<<
 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.
  >>