RE: New TECHWR-L Poll Question

[Jean Weber <jean -at- wrevenge -dot- com -dot- au>]

Process guides and style guides may cover quite different issues, both of 
which are important in orienting writers new to a company.

Process guides (should) include things like this:

*Who is responsible for what and when (writer, editor, reviewer, manager, 
subject matter expert, graphic artist, and anyone else who might be 
involved). For example, who approves a project and its budget; who needs to 
sign off on a project; how many reviews are required and at what stage of a 
document's development; who reviews a document and for what; and so on.

* What's the timeline? (For example, at what stage of development are 
reviews held?)

* What procedures are to be followed to initiate a project, call a review, 
etc? Other planning issues. Tools to be used.

* Where are documents stored (in a directory on the LAN?), file naming 
conventions, document numbering, document version numbering, check-out and 
check-in procedures, etc.

The first three in particular are often *very* company-specific, and 
writers new to the company could well get in deep political doo-doo if they 
assume things are done they same way they were done at the previous job.

Of course they can find out this stuff without a process guide. A chat with 
a co-worker may suffice, and has the advantage that new writers might learn 
the difference between the official process and the way things are *really* 
done in the company. <grin>

Regards, Jean
Jean Hollis Weber
mailto:jean -at- wrevenge -dot- com -dot- au
The Technical Editors' Eyrie  http://www.wrevenge.com.au/


Iggy wrote: