Re: Building a documentation knowledgebase

Subject: Re: Building a documentation knowledgebase
From: "Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>
To: "Mark Baker" <listsub -at- analecta -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 14:14:29 -0800


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Baker" <listsub -at- analecta -dot- com>

> Well, that is certainly not the impression I have. Every presentation I have
> ever attended on a successful CMS implementation has stressed the importance
> of getting buy-in at all levels before proceeding and has also stressed the
> enthusiasm of most of the participants as they saw the benefit it brought to
> their jobs. Similarly, the unsuccessful ones were those in which the users
> saw no value. Perhaps you have some cases to back up you belief?

I do, but I doubt you would ever have heard of the companies involved.
My experience is primarily with startup companies moving into growth.
Most CMS presentations I see die a horrible death when someone highly
placed in management asks, "how do we get people to...?" The few
successful ones I have seen all stressed the long term benefit to the
company and were implemented by executive decree.

> Which is a very sensible question, and in fact, a much better question than
> "how do I establish a knowledge base". I simply pointed out that
> establishing a central knowledge base is not necessarilly the best answer to
> this question.

From a technical point of view, perhaps not, but that question followed a
paragraph in which the OP made it clear that management's "grand plan"
had *already been launched.* In such a case, *any* suggestion that involved
trying to get management to "unlaunch" the grand plan and rethink it is DOA.

> You might be right, of course. But the purpose of this list is to discuss
> technical communication issues, not corporate survival issues. If people
> post question about technical communication on the list, they may get
> answers which, while good answers, they do not feel willing to present to
> their management. That is their decision to make. However, on this list we
> should not censor the advice we give because the person who asked may decide
> that management won't listen. Here we should give the best technical
> communication related advice we can and let the person who asked the
> question decide what to do with it.

Well, maybe you do, but I've seen enough technical communicators shoot
themselves in the foot trying to promote grand ideas like "user advocacy"
and "communications expertise" that it's become clear to me that it's not
possible to separate "technical communication" from "corporate survival"
in the modern workplace. I'd never consider one without the other, and
I'm not going to advise anyone that way, either. People can decide what
to do with my advice as well as they can anyone else's.

Gene Kim-Eng


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References:
Re: Building a documentation knowledgebase: From: Gene Kim-Eng
Re: Building a documentation knowledgebase: From: Mark Baker
Re: Building a documentation knowledgebase: From: Gene Kim-Eng
Re: Building a documentation knowledgebase: From: Mark Baker
Re: Building a documentation knowledgebase: From: Gene Kim-Eng
Re: Building a documentation knowledgebase: From: Mark Baker

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