Fifth Phase of the Project – Punishment of the Innocent
The guilty have been identified. Management has taken the appropriate action to address employees or vendors that contributed to the demise of this project.
The deadline is approaching and management is feverishly meeting with the remaining project team to see what can be done by the deadline date.
As long as management continues to take action regarding any issues that impede the project deadline, the better it is for management. No one can mention the mistake that lead to this demise out of fear of being identified as one of the guilty.
In addition, management begins to solicit advice and information from people outside of the project team. The objective is to tap every resource available as the deadline approaches. The project is far from perfect but something is always better than nothing.
The Fourth Phase of the Project
Search for the Guilty!
It has become evident that the project is now in jeopardy. Everyone is beginning to see why the project was projected to be six months instead of four weeks. Management is aware that they must now take action to address the issues that will arise from missing the deadline date.
The witch hunt begins and the managers spin the bottle.
Round, and round, and round it goes, where it will stop, nobody knows.
Will the bottle point to you or maybe you over there? We must identify the guilty parties. Those chosen by management will take the blame, somebody has to.
The Third Phase of the Project – Panic
The rumors are circulating.
Promised due dates for early deliverables have not been met and talk of mandatory overtime are abound as employees mill about in conspiratorial whispering at familiar locations.
Key technical employees have resigned in a huff, leaving critical staff openings while irreplaceable talent walks out the door, passing an in-stream flow of independent consultants on their way in.
Panic has gripped the departments and careers are hanging by an untenable thread as flurries of meetings are conducted much the same way as a military inquisition.
The copying machines are now going into overdrive as resumes take priority over project and status reports. Absences are at an all-time high and morale is inversely lower.
Vacations are placed on hold, if not canceled altogether. There is a standing joke among the ranks that simply states: An optimist is a person who brings their lunch to work!
The Second Phase of the Project – Disillusion
That’s right; the kick-off meetings are done. The funding for the new project has been distributed to the appropriate departments, but the illusion of how easy this project will be starts to diminish.
The management committee appropriated the funds based on a 4 week project instead of a six month project in order to ensure project approval. If the project is completed in 4 weeks it will increase corporate profits and market share. This market assessment is accurate but completing this project in 4 weeks to produce the desired result is not realistic.
Hmmm, this sounds like a project that will require daily status reports, milestones, and critical paths. Management prepares to start work immediately.
Fast forward to tomorrow, the third phase of the project.
The First Phase of a Project
Today we will begin with the first phase of the project.
Wild Enthusiasm
In this phase, senior management has approved and budgeted the project and every one is enthusiastic about the benefits of project completion. Managers and Directors start the kick-off meetings to get staff and the necessary departments on board. The analysis begins and the appropriate industry experts are hired and excited about getting started and contributing to the company’s success.
What could go wrong? Good people, industry experts, what more could we need?
Join us tomorrow for the second phase of the project.
Email Campaigns, Social Media and Technical Communicators
How is social media impacting technical communicator email campaigns? Well, things are changing and there is never a dull moment. We are finding that there is an increase in advertising email campaigns moving to the internet and now there are discussions about including social media environments.
It is our understanding that advertising email campaigns on the internet is a lower cost advertising solution, thus a good choice in this economic environment.
From the perspective of content writing, we are noticing that newspaper and magazine advertising has reduced but internet and social media advertising has not been used effectively in many cases.
Our work with email campaigns has shown us that many companies do not know how to effectively implement these campaigns for reasons such as deadlines, cost, poor designs, and lack of web skills.
In addition, there are discussions about how social media will be impacting technical communicators, advertisers, and others, so this is definitely something to be watched.
Technical Communicators and the Wiki
Introducing new ways to organize the way companies communicate is a good thing. Companies are slowly beginning to look at public and private wiki applications that foster creativity and problem resolution.
The wiki moderator can invite the appropriate departments needed to reach solutions. In addition, vendors and contractors can be invited to the wiki to perform specific tasks for a specified duration. Security for some wikis can be applied to enable and disable access to complete tasks.
The wiki is a tool of innovation that companies are experimenting with to make ideas come to life, and then to market. It is our understanding this project began as a private wiki discussion and here is one result.
What ideas can your company come up with?
Dealing with Impossible Deadlines
Many freelance projects exist because the deadline has already been missed. One management solution to a missed deadline is adding more people; put more workers in the trenches! Well, if the trench can only handle two workers to allow room for shoveling than more than two is a problem.
We have seen cases where management will add so many people to a project and the result is that everyone gets in the way of getting the project completed. This is where your technical communicator skills can save the project from another missed deadline.
- Be articulate, and explain the issues impacting deliverables
- Use simple examples like, 10 gallons of water do not fit into a 5 gallon tank
- Introduce phased deliverables
Commitment to a phased approach is one of the key components and potential solutions to handling impossible deadlines. In addition, the first phased deliverable serves to educate your client about the issues that make the deadlines impossible.
Working with Difficult People
A technical writer needs many skills, including people skills. Learning how to work with difficult people can be a challenge in the software industry where technical communicators are often employed.
More information on this topic is being found in trade journals and booklets. We often have to take on the role of communicator/writer/consultant/analyst when working with difficult people. This multitasking role allows us to monitor the business environment for issues, produce documentation, and provide suggestions. Our clients with these issues have learned a great deal about how this issue impacts the writing and creative process in an organization. We walk though the process with them and make flexible agreements with the understanding that difficult people can negatively impact the outcome of projects.
Addressing this issue saves any company money and most managers dealing with this problem are aware of it. Productivity is lost, morale is low, and complaints never stop. In some cases, managers can assist but the problem still needs a solution.
We have found that introducing new terms and new rules can reduce the negative impact on the project deliverable at the start of the project. Taking a new rules/new terms approach at the beginning of a project can help identify those that are willing to help overcome the negative impacts of difficult people in the workplace.
Save Money with Telecommuting
Are you finding that driving to work is costing you more than you are willing to give?
Start a telecommuting policy and start to save money!
- Start with telecommuting 1 or 2 days a week
- Implement standard online meeting tools
- Need face to face time, be creative, use inexpensive webcams
Many technical communicators already incorporate remote work in their week. Publication writers and illustrators tend to be more productive when working in the environment of their choice. So talk to your writers, find out what works for them. Increase morale, reduce turnover, get better quality graphics, illustrations, writing and yes, save money on gas.
