How To Interview For a TW Job

["Anthony Markatos" <tonymar -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

Tony Markatos said:

Unfortunately, about ninety-eight percent (98%) of all companies are at CMM 
levels 0 or 1.  And it is impossible to get real respect in such companies.

Mary Reinhardt asks:

In relation to most companies being at a level 0 or 1 on the Capability 
Maturity Model (CMM), my question is, how can you tell from the outside what 
level a company is at in their documentation processes?

Seven months ago when I was graduating from a master's program in tech 
writing and interviewing with numerous companies, I tried to ask questions 
about processes, audience analysis, etc. aimed at figuring out what level a 
prospective employer was at. The problem was, 99% of them gave answers that 
would have put them at a level 2 or even 3.

Any suggestions for interview questions which let you know exactly what type 
of environment you're in for?

Tony Markatos responds:

The vast majority of job interviews are more like a frat-house rush party 
than a serious negotiation.  Even when the applicant is serious (which you 
obviously were), it is almost impossible for the company to be.

THE APPROACH TO TAKE IN JOB INTERVIEWING

1.)  Realize that you can ask questions forever and never find out what it 
is 'really' like within a company.  Been there.  Done it.

2.)  Realize the truth in the old saying 'the first steps are the hardest' 
(and the most important).  In software, the first step is analysis. All 
other processes are dependent upon the output of the analysis phase; if the 
analysis was conducted poorly, it is impossible to implement effective 
processes downstream (in design, testing, and documentation).

3.)  Ask for about 45 minutes to review the output of the analysis effort 
for the software product you will be working on.  (This animal is often 
called a Software Requirements Specification.)  If they have not started 
analysis, ask to see the output of the analysis effort for a similar 
product.  (Within a given company, the quality of the analysis seldom varies 
from project to project.)

4.) If the analysis output (i.e., the spec) has true value, a computer 
novice should be able to study it for about 45 minutes or less and gain a 
fairly rigorous understanding of the essential tasks that the system is to 
perform and how all of those tasks interrelate (unless, the system is truly 
monstrous).  You want to gain an understanding of WHAT the system does 
(i.e., what end user goals it supports) not HOW it does what it does.

5.) If you find a company having analysis output of such quality -- go to 
work for them!  Don't ever leave them!  If they have not currently 
implemented a set of formal processes for design, test, and documentation, 
doing such is relatively straight forward.

6.)  Unfortunately, very few software companies produce specs to the quality 
mentioned in Step 4.) (above).  In considering the others, it is a matter of 
how bad are things.  Can you at least get the gist of the essential tasks?  
If so, than it is a better than average company.  The worst cases: totally 
unreadable or even no formal analysis analysis output is produced.  These 
are your Level 0 and 1 companies.

CLOSING REMARKS - The Importance Of Process Maturity

I started my corporate working career back in the 80's at Hughes Aircraft 
Company.  I was fortunate to be a member of a small team of software 
professionals who were really gun-ho on Structured Systems Analysis 
(SSA)techniques.  SSA techniques are implemented through a set of rigorously 
defined processes.  I lead projects in which we were very successful with 
these techniques.  I learned that once you have experienced the joy of high 
productivity only possible by working within the constraints of defined 
processes, going back to the old (ad-hoc) way of doing things is very 
depressing.

Tony Markatos
(tonymar -at- hotmail -dot- com)







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