[Fwd: Re: Can you suggest a way to manage this process?]

["Lisa A. Roth" <roth -dot- lisa -at- jimmy -dot- harvard -dot- edu>]

Hi there,

Your story is the story of my life, albeit I don't usually have such a 
tight deadline.

As much as the WebWorks idea that someone offered is probably a good idea to improve efficiency later, 
I am not confident that messing with new software is the bext plan, seeing that your deadline is tomorrow!
We currently work with paper copies for precisely the logistical reasons 
you described in your message regarding tracked changes.

If I we you I would do this:
* Give paper copies for everyone to mark up by EOD with them being 
returned to you.
* Burn the midnight oil processing the changes and making a matrix of 
any conflicting feedback.
* Schedule a meeting NOW (to give advance notice) with all involved for 
mid-morning tomorrow, at which time you will discuss with them any 
conflicting opinions on particular pieces of text and seek a consensus.

One element that I must stress, though, especially with your schedule, 
is that not every single person will possibly be able to review every 
single change recommended by someone else. There's just no time for 
that, and when time is tight, decision-making is needed--not a 
re-opening of issues that were officially decided long ago (but perhaps 
not to the satisfaction of all involved). There needs to be an 
understanding that X person is the expert on topic Y, and his/her 
changes will be implemented without a round robin asking every other 
person in turn if it's OK with them.

If your situation is such that all seven are the experts on the entire 
subject (unlikely but possible, I guess), then you could so it this way:

* Assign each person a section/chapter/whatever to mark up explicitly 
but still hold each person responsbile for reading the entire thing. Any 
changes a person wants to recommend OUTSIDE of his/her assigned section 
must not be marked up on paper yet, but rather discussed in tomorrow's 
meeting. This might help cut down on the conflicting opinions.

Just a few thoughts -- The first strategy works well for me; the second 
is an off-the-cuff idea. I have to do this all the time!



O'Shea ,Elizabeth wrote: