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:Re: Project Management Skills and Tech Writing. From:"Race, Paul D" <racepa -at- WHQPOS4B -dot- DAYTONOH -dot- ATTGIS -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 30 Aug 1995 16:09:04 -0600
Mark Crane wrote:
>I'm curious about the phrase "Project Management Skills" seen in so many
>position descriptions. Is it fairly common for TWs to juggle three or
>four projects simultaneously? And, if this is true, were you born with
>this ability or did you acquire it out of necessity? Finally, does
>anyone use project management software to control their writing projects?
Paul Race says:
Yes, juggling multiple projects is the rule rather than the exeption.
Ability to manage projects is acquired by necessity as a survival skill.
PM software is used to report "progress" to management so they have nice
charts to look at to feel better about all the things you're doing that they
don't understand in the least. It doesn't provide much help in
"controlling" writing projects