Re: A Long Time Ago

Subject: Re: A Long Time Ago
From: Jay Maechtlen <techwriter -at- covad -dot- net>
To: vrfour -at- verizon -dot- net, TechWrl list <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:04:06 -0700

James Barrow wrote:
> In a Tech Pubs department far, far away...
>
> In my little part of the world there's an IT department (me), and a project
> management office (PMO; them). The org chart for our entire organization is
> very strange. Project managers don't really get down in the trenches and
> manager projects. Instead, they sit in ivory towers and allocate resources,
> create timelines, etc. IT managers do all of the day to day activities.
>
> The IT dept. has a dozen current projects and zero documentation. Zip.
> Nada. None. One of these projects is upgrading a system (legacy app) that
> users have been using for several years. The new app contains significant
> changes, but is based on the legacy app. The developers for the new app
> have been hired and are sitting in the cubicle farm...doing nothing. Why?
> Because they need some sort of documentation for the legacy app before they
> can proceed.
>

> Enter the PMO. "Oh no, no, no. You must document every process and
> procedure, for every module, for every facility." This increases the doc
> plan to 133 documents...due on April 13. Doable? I have no idea any more.
>

Sounds like those developers doing nothing should be assigned to you to
help figure out the bloody mess, and rough in the docs. You create a
very simple framework, they fill in the blanks.
(yeah, I live in a dreamland, don't I?)
--
Jay Maechtlen
techpubs -at- covad -dot- net
626 444-5112 office
626 840-8875 cell

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