Compare and Contrast Doc Group Performance -- What's aWorld-Class Doc Group Look Like?

[Stuart Burnfield]

Hi John -

The OP was after some means of comparison with external doc groups. On 
the measures of correctness and 'meets requirements' there's no easy way 
to compare with how someone else would do with your users. But as a 
general measure of quality I think the STC awards are a reasonable 
proxy. I guess I would try to do both--measure how well our docs 
contribute to users' "efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction", and 
see how the STC judges assessed our work compared with other groups who 
are producing comparable work.

Stuart

John Rosberg wrote:
> Stuart -- a sterling suggestion, one my boss forwarded.
> 
> My only gastro-intestinal distress with the idea (as a multi-time
> entrant, judge for the better part of a decade, and the poor soul that
> ran the regional competition, once) is the fact that the competition
> judges docs completely out of context.
> 
> Is the doc correct? Was it done on time? Did it meet requirements? Does
> it actually help customers perform their daily tasks?
> 
> None of these are addressed by the competition.
> 
> My apologies if this seems like an anti-competition rant -- it really
> isn't, and awards certainly do fulfill the goals you lay out below. 
> 
> I guess I'm struggling mightily to confine our efforts around really
> doing a better job for our customers, and, therefore, our company.
> 
> rosberg
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stuart Burnfield [mailto:slb at westnet.com.au] 
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 10:57 PM
> To: techwr-l at lists.techwr-l.com
> Subject: Re: Compare and Contrast Doc Group Performance -- What's
> aWorld-Class Doc Group Look Like?
> 
> You could put some of your team's work up for the STC Publications
> Competition. A couple of Distinguished or Excellence awards would
> look very impressive in the trophy cabinet.
> 
> I wouldn't assume that a top STC award by itself equals
> "world-class", but combined with Gene's suggestions it would make a
> very persuasive case.
> 
> The awards would also make useful fodder for the News or Achievements
> page on  your company's web site.
> 
> Stuart