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> Any success dealing with SMEs must come on the basis of personal
> initiative, ingenuity, charm, back-scratching and
> arm-twisting.
I've found if you tighten-up your interviewing techniques, they'll be
more open to working with you. Sometimes the SMEs are afraid you're
going to take too much of their time, so they don't want to give you ANY
time.
Approach the SME and say "I've got four questions, so it shouldn't take
more than 30 minutes of your time, and it would really help me out. When
can you meet with me?"
When you come up with a time to meet, make sure you show up promptly!
Ask your questions (make sure they're specific and well thought-out) and
make sure you stay inside your predicted amount of time, even if you
actually have more questions.
This will show the SME that you respect his time and his workload. Often
times if you need more time with the SME, he'll give it to you out of
his own generous nature.
And then when you're done, thank the SME for his time profusely. I've
found that SMEs are always hungry, so if I found they were really
helpful, a cookie goes a long way to secure another question session.
--
John David Hickey
Mtl_techwriter Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mtl_techwriter/
Documentia Inc.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada eh? http://documentia.ca
514-488-5430
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