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Subject:Re: FW: Everybody's a Reviewer From:Marv Cochrane <cochrane -at- JOCASNEXT1 -dot- EGLIN -dot- AF -dot- MIL> Date:Tue, 15 Oct 1996 08:18:23 -0500
Eric Ray forwarded, in part:
The entire R&D and QA staff has to read the entire book.
I have never heard of this kind of procedure before and it sounds to me like
the world's biggest nightmare, but my boss refuses to budge. Can anybody
give me some good arguments why this shouldn't happen.
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The return on this effort is likely to be very small. You have already done the kind of review these folks are likely to do. A sample target audience would be good. At this stage, you could also use a good, independent-of-your-project copy editor.
However, if the boss has the time and money, I always appreciate another careful review. All reviewers should know that the manual is going final, has been reviewed by the SMEs, and has been through internal editing. There must be a definite due date for the reviews. All review comments must be submitted on the original hard copy--no e-mail that on page x, nth paragraph, in the second sentence, and so on. You promise to fix all uncovered errors and consider all suggestions. If you can, return the hard copies with annotation of your action, if any. The magnitude of the nightmare depends on the size of the R&D and QA staffs and on their willingness to suggest/question rather than dictate. Similar nightmares have contributed to my own upcoming change of jobs ...
