Re: getting contractors up to speed

[Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM>]

Miki Magyar wrote:

> If you're a contractor - what kinds of information would be helpful? If =
> you hire contractors, what information do you provide, and how well does =
> it work? I suppose the flip side (any other 'age-enhanced' people remember =
> where that phrase came from?) is to add what kinds of things get in the =
> way of contractors doing a good job.

We are currently working on some contracts as Auspex, here in Silicon Valley,
and I find the information available to us as contractors among the best I've
seen.  There is a TechPubs Handbook with a lot of useful process information, a
fairly detailed intranet with lots of links and pointers (including an online
phone/email directory), online directories of previous manuals, a special area
with current and in-process templates and tips for handling various problems,
and very active email lists.  Further, the company know how to work with people
who work offsite, and has facilities for that.  Finally, there are weekly status
meetings that are briskly run in an effort to not waste people's time.

In addition to that, there seems to be an overall climate of respect for what
you know and what experience you bring to the project.  As writers, we've been
welcomed and folded into ongoing projects almost seamlessly.

One last note: the pubs manager, despite having been on board only a few months,
appears to have found ways to get engineering and marketing to pay attention to
the needs of TechPubs.  This has important implications for things like getting
adequate source material or access to source people and getting timely reviews.

Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems


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