Should the Doc Manager be equal to the Dev Manager? (LONG)

["Teemu S." <tselane -at- home -dot- com>]

Do you think the Documentation Manager should be equal to -- or report to --
the Development Manager?

I know several posters have said that it doesn't matter where tech writers
sit in the org chart because results speak for themselves. While I agree, I
also think that that acting as a user advocate requires some authority.

I currently work for a small software company (30 people) as a lone senior
writer, but have the responsibility of a Doc Manager. I currently report to
the Development Manager, who in turn reports to the VP of Operations. I have
asked to report directly to the VP of Operations so that I can have equal
authority to the Development Manager.

Here are some reasons for and against this idea:


General Reasons for NOT Reporting to the Dev. Mgr
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. A Documentation Manager has similar responsibility to the Development
Manager.
I have to gather deadlines and requirements from our Marketing and Support
staff, determine the best user assistance (help, better UI, print), select
the tools, prepare the deliverables, ensure their accuracy and completeness,
and deliver them. Given an impossible staffing situation (me and a summer
intern), I have to make very difficult tradeoffs almost minute by minute
when selecting which deliverables get first priority.

2. Tech writers need authority to negotiate with Development.
I would prefer to have some authority to make demands of Development when it
makes demands of me. I assist the Dev. Dept. in designing UI, testing,
configuration management, controlling development processes, determining
product requirements, liaising with marketing and support staff, and several
other areas. Development has started to expect me to provide documentation
before testing begins. It also expect me to provide documentation in time
for "product readiness reviews" a week or two before release, which
negatively affects other documentation priorities.
In return, Development offers me access to developers for interviews, some
UI feedback, and reviews, which is all great. However, it does not provide
me with other resources, such as: development project plans; current,
accurate and complete specifications; a UI that is frozen a few weeks before
release; executables that I can run several days before release; etc.
Development is improving steadily, but I have to compensate for areas where
it is weak.

3. Tech writers are the resident authority on user assistance and may be
more customer-focused than development staff.
This argument is value-laden and open to debate. I'll leave it as an open
claim.


Company-Specific Reasons for NOT reporting to the Dev. Mgr
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------

1. One of the primary documentation audiences is Support staff.
Our products are quite complex and are always installed and configured by
our Support staff. I do some user documentation, but it has to be second
priority after installation and configuration instructions. I decided to
take the time that I would allot to user documentation time and spend it on
UI improvements instead.

2. The Dev. Mgr has "too much" authority.
Development Manager also acts QA manager, product manager, project manager,
and doc manager. There is no one equal to him. (There is no support manager;
support staff operating relatively independently.) The only people higher
than him are his boss (VP of Operations), the VP of Marketing, and the Pres.
I think having someone equal to the Dev. Mgr would provide some
accountability and balance.

3. The Dev. Mgr is a "driver" personality.
Our Development Manager is a charming bully. He's very intelligent, and he
gets things done. When he wants to be he can be very charming. But it's hard
to make him listen; you have to have to be willing to battle (or nag) for
your ideas, or he will ride roughshod over you. He's a great debater and
controls every meeting, even with senior management present.


Reasons for Reporting to the Dev. Mgr
--------------------------------------------------------

1. Documentation is part of the development deliverable.
Since tech writers produce deliverables that are part of the CD (help and
PDFs), we need to be integrated as part of Development.

2. The Dev. Mgr. doesn't need to be an authority on documentation to control
documentation.
The Dev Mgr said can't be expected to be able to perform the jobs of most
his staff. Each staffer is an expert in his or her area. That doesn't mean
they all don't need direction from a central manager.

3. One person -- the Dev. Mgr -- has to have to clear vision of the entire
product.

4. The Dev. Mgr. may be better able to acquire more tech writing resources
than a Doc Mgr.


Thanks,
Teemu (pseudonym)


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