Re: Who Decides?

[Tom Johnson <johnsont -at- STARCUTTER -dot- COM>]

Well, it is marketing who should be deciding what the customers want. Who
is doing the audience analysis? If marketing is deciding which market to
cater to, I think maybe they would have some valuable input. If I were
making wagons for little kids, I might decide that white may be a good
color because it won't get hot when left out in the sun. But marketing
knows that kid just has to have a red wagon because it looks "faster." As
engineers or writers, we could design all sorts of nifty features as part
of our product that will function flawlessly. But, if we don't provide what
the customer will want or use, it is a lesson in futility. There probably
isn't much point in getting into a turf war. Marketing should know what the
customer wants, from that point it should probably be a mutual decision.

Tom Johnson
Elk Rapids, Michigan - On the freshwater coast

johnsont -at- starcutter -dot- com     work
thomasj -at- freeway -dot- net          personal


Linda wrote:
In your company, who decides what the documentation requirements are?

We are implementing the Software Product Life Cycle concept (attempting to
impose order on chaos), and I just got out of a meeting in which I was
informed that Marketing decides what documentation is required, whether a
user manual, or online help, or both or something else entirely, and this
seems ridiculous to me.

I can see Marketing making *recommendations*, but I think that the decision
about what documents are created should be made by the people who have the
best idea what vehicle will best serve the product and the audience in
question.

What do you think?


 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=