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> This is backwards. Writers should be working to complete deliverables
> that are accounted for in a project plan.
Amen. Some companies have gone too far by 'metricizing' everything. Metrics,
6-sigma, DMAIC, etc. was a great innovation for optimizing industrial
processes
(i.e. optimizing the output of a production line which is making millions of
widgets
per day). It's not a very effective way to improve manual production though.
All the extra overhead and bookkeeping for all these metrics actually
becomes
counterproductive for the writers (that's been my experience). Managers
should
have enough common sense to see who is producing and who is not. I know this
stuff usually comes down from the CEO-level and you guys end up bearing with
it.
I suppose the only positive thing for me to contribute is an extra wrench to
your problem.
Writers have different strengths and weaknesses (tools, technical knowledge,
SME
relations, etc.). One project may be simple for a writer with strong
engineering knowledge
but complex for another writer who has other strong SME relations (and
vice-versa).
If you want to optimize your writers, you may want to take this into account
when
assigning your projects and analyzing job progress.
Michael Schiesl
Michael Writing & Illustration
michael -at- michaelwriting -dot- com
262-705-9444
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