TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Measuring a Doc Dept From:Pete Pollich <pete -dot- pollich -at- NWCS -dot- ORG> Date:Sat, 1 Oct 1994 21:50:00 GMT
Greetings,
I write manuals for a software company in Oregon that specializes in
software for the financial industry. In the last month the
Documentation Dept, where I whine and toil, was passed from Marketing
to Technical Support. It seems like a much better place to be at
first glance, and maybe it will turn out that way, but we've
inherited a VP who's crazy about numbers.
We've been charged with figuring out a way to measure our work. The
VP firmly believes that "metrics" (as he's fond of putting it) must
be established for our department. Though I have a few negative
feelings about the rigidity of said beliefs, baby needs new shoes.
Besides, I'm not planning on spending the rest of my career here.
So, are there others that have come down this road before? What are
your solution? What are your measurements? The only one I've heard
of consist of one page per day for each completed and out the door
document.
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks.
Pete Pollich
Technical Writer, CFI
Portland, OR
pollich -at- nwcs -dot- org
---
* POW 1.0 On Trial * Powerline Offline reader for Windows - New Windows OLR