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.
Pace Gordon Graham, I still find lots of value in STC's journal "Technical
Communication"--and increasingly so since George Hayhoe took the helm and
began striving for a better balance between the academic and the
"practical". For instance, consider the following statistics cited in T.M.
Skelton's article in the February 2002 issue (Managing the development of
information products, Tech. Comm. 49(1):61-80):
McConnell, S. 1999. After the gold rush. Microsoft Press, Redmond, Wash.:
"About 75% of software teams begin their projects by 'jumping straight into
the coding without planning or designing the software first'."
The Standish Group. 2000. Chaos in the new millennium: the ghost of
Christmas future. (www.standishgroup.com): "A total of 23% of all projects
failed. Another 49% of the projects were _challenged_ (that is, the projects
were completed over-budget and late, and the resulting products lacked the
features and functions originally specified). Notably, 28% of the projects
succeeded (that is, the projects were completed on time, on budget, and with
most of the specified features and functions)."
You can argue with any statistics, of course, but it's safe to assume that
they're broadly valid even if the details are arguable: lots of folks don't
plan well or at all, and their projects often fail. It seems to me that this
presents a pretty good picture of why so many of us encounter chaos on the
job, and that any newcomers to the field should be aware of these stats so
they'll know what to expect at their first job: a 72% chance (or "a large
chance" if you don't buy the actual percentage) that they'll be dumped right
into a chaotic situation and have to learn fast how to cope.
In such a context, Andrew Plato's advice in such situations (forget about
"procedure" and figure out how to cope with chaos well enough to get the job
done) seems far more relevant than Joann Hackos' more theoretical approach
("procedure" can get you through any situation). Yes, I do disagree with
Andrew fairly often and fairly strenuously, most notably about STC, but that
doesn't detract whatsoever from the value of his broader advice on surviving
in our line of work.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is
noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience,
which is the bitterest."--Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478
BCE)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Free copy of ARTS PDF Tools when you register for the PDF
Conference by April 30. Leading-Edge Practices for Enterprise
& Government, June 3-5, Bethesda,MD. www.PDFConference.com
Are you using Doc-to-Help or ForeHelp? Switch to RoboHelp for Word for $249
or to RoboHelp Office for only $499. Get the PC Magazine five-star rated
Help authoring tool for less! Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
