Technical writing in the development process? (take II)

[Beth Agnew]

Oh, you still feel responsible. And sometimes people like to try to make 
you responsible, but when you wave the doc plan and shrug, "What was I 
supposed to do?" they let you off the hook. Resting on the doc plan 
alone doesn't work entirely, of course. One must be proactive and try to 
help the managers be successful in giving you what you need. It gets you 
nowhere to just pass the buck to someone else. If you can at least 
demonstrate that you tried everything, the pressure's off. It's 
particularly important if you work in a punitive environment, like some 
financial institutions. :-)

Gene Kim-Eng wrote:
> You've never been held responsible for something that turned out
> badly because your alerts to management went unheeded?   I'm
> jealous. :)
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Beth Agnew" 
> <beth.agnew at senecac.on.ca>
>
>> This does two valuable things: It puts management on the alert that 
>> those resources will have to be allocated to your project, and it 
>> shows that you cannot be held responsible for their failure to do so. 
>

-- 
Beth Agnew
Catch the Buzz: http://bethbuzz.blogspot.com
STC Presentation archived at:
http://www.301url.com/podcasting

Professor, Technical Communication
Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology
Toronto, ON 416.491.5050 x3133
http://www.tinyurl.com/83u5u