October/November 2003

Volume 44, Number 2

Tips from the trenches

by Deb Lockwood

Project manager

What meaning do you assign to that term? In my employer's software development environment, a project manager is a job title for someone who manages a cross-organizational project team. These teams consist of a software designer, software developers, a writer, a trainer, and staff from the conversions, implementations, and product organizations. This project manager creates a project plan using Microsoft's Project software application, monitors progress, and keeps everybody marching toward the goal, slaying dragons and removing obstacles along the way.

As content developers, writers, and editors, one element of our job is to manage projects. But how do we go about juggling multiple projects for multiple people, and still keep everything in balance? (There is also another entire issue of trying to balance home and work life, but I'm only going to address work life in this article.)

I've gleaned the information for this article from different sources over the years, and have added my own spin to them. The two sources that have influenced me most are as follows: Managing Your Documentation Projects by Joann T. Hackos, and Standards for Online Communication by Joann T. Hackos and Dawn M. Stevens, (See http://www.infomanagementcenter.com for information about Joann and the Center for Information Development Management.)

Also, remember to check out the STC's national Web site at http://www.stc.org/member_pubs.asp where you'll find a list of books that STC members have written and published.

Most authors that I've read handle this subject by listing the different phases of managing projects. In general, you'll usually see the following phases:

• Planning
• Outlining
• Writing
• Communicating
• Evaluating

Planning

During the planning phase, you should pay attention to the following tasks:

• Determine the project's deadline.
• Define the project requirements.
• Identify the audience.
• Establish the objectives.
• Estimate resources.

Outlining

During the outlining phase, you should do the following:

• Gather the source information.
• Review all available information and get a big picture view of this project.
• Outline the project - literally.
• Define manual specifications.
• Establish page and text formats.

During the writing phase, you do exactly what this phases' title suggests: write the content. To begin, review the project's requirements again and make sure you understand the deliverables, the time frame, and the project's scope. Then start fleshing out the document using the outline as your road map. Remember to follow your style guide of choice for consistency.

Communicating

Throughout all phases of the project, effective, clear communication is the key to effective project management. Communication takes place with:

• Your manager
• The project requestor
• Subject matter experts
• The editor
• Other publication staff members

Evaluating

Finally, the evaluating phase asks us to analyze how well we followed the project plan. We would ask the following questions:

• Did we write to our identified audience?
• Did we meet our objective?
• Did we deliver on schedule?
• Did we target the correct audience?
• Did we use our style guide?
• Did we organize the document effectively?

One aspect of this phase is the project wrap-up. Here's a couple of things you can do to gather evaluation information:

Write a Style Sheet for the project that contains basic project information and identifies any style decisions specific to this project. This is a very handy thing to have if someone else is going to write the next version of a guide.

Conduct a wrap-up meeting with the person who requested the project, or with the project team after the document has been delivered. Come prepared with questions like these:

• What communication technique worked well during our project?
• What didn't work well?
• What can I do better next time?

Tips

Here are some tips that may help you more effectively manage your documentation projects:

Assume nothing

There are times, especially when I am writing a first draft, when I will write the words "Assume Nothing" on a 3M note and put it on my computer monitor. Did the project requestor let the subject matter experts know what they are expected to do? Maybe not. Don't assume the trainer knows to contact you if he or she has changes to a document. When it comes time for the revision, ask. Do other writers or content developers know where the most current files are kept? Do you and your manager agree on what the most pressing priority is that's on your plate?

Make lists

We are writers, hence we are drawn to the written language. Use that knowledge to drive yourself to success. Make lists in your daily planner or in a notebook:

• To do lists
• "Don't forget to look for this stuff on the last pass through a draft" lists
• Project number lists
• SME lists

For instance, when I'm working on the final changes to a document, I keep a hand-written, running list of things that pop into my mind that I need to remember to check for when I'm doing the final page by page flip through before the document goes to final edit. Things like footer, headers, pagination, table breaks, updated TOC, and index.

End each day by spending five minutes organizing your tasks for the next day. Flip that daily planner page to the next day and note the major tasks you need to get done.

If you are anything like me, when I leave the office, I purposely leave work behind - both physically and mentally. So, when I come back in the next day, it takes me a couple of minutes to figure out where I was and what I was doing. I've found a way to minimize that time, however.

The last thing I do before I leave work is to stack up my work I'm to do the next day - in priority order - and place a paperweight on top. When I get in the office the next day, I have a visual jumpstart when I see my paperweight that says to me "Oh yes, that's what I need to do this morning." It's a visual clue as to where I was yesterday when I left.

Because I usually have multiple, concurrent projects, I've created a one-page spreadsheet that lists my current projects. This spreadsheet includes only the project's dates and a note about its current status. I always keep this form current, and I keep a hard-copy on my desk. Using this form, I can tell at a glance where I stand with a project and when the next draft is due. On Friday, I will usually highlight the next week's dates and leave this document on my desk so that I see it first thing on Monday morning and can jump right in to my next most important project.

Model Effective Communication

We need to be champions of effective writing. As such, we should constantly challenge ourselves to write cleanly, clearly, and to follow standard grammar rules.

Also, we should try to follow our style guide in all of our written communication. Modeling effective communication not only sets an example for others. It reinforces good habits for each of us.

Contributors: Leslie Bateman, Kit Brown, and Martha Sippel.