Book
Group
In collaboration
with IdeaWatch, a Special Interest Group of several STC chapters
in Region 4 (US Midwest), we participate in a monthly discussions
about a popular book in general business or technical communication.
To participate
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Bibliographies
and Authors
Abstract
from Process Constraints in the Management of Technical Documentation
The long-term
success of technical documentation projects within an organization
requires understanding the overall processes involved. Beyond
managing what could be considered static or limited elements of
a project, the technical documentation manager must handle overlapping
projects, measure multiple audience results, and create multiple
documents from single source documents. The solution is to maximize
the effectiveness of the documentation system by reducing the
effects of constraints to the dynamic processes involved. A realistic
list of process-oriented constraints provides concrete examples
for managers who want to use this approach to manage a documentation
department. This broader understanding of managing a documentation
department as designing a dynamic system is necessary to handle
the growing complexity and continual change in tools and requirements.
(c) 1996 ACM
published in proceedings of ACM SIGDOC 1996 Conference
Conclusion
from Process Constraints in the Management of Technical Documentation
When you read
or hear the word "documentation" do you think of the
product (the document) or do you think of the process (the acts
involved with creation and delivery of the document)? In the evolution
of the role of technical documentation within an enterprise, first
there was product management, then project management, and now
process management. Where emphasis on the functionality of the
product was replaced with emphasis on managing larger elements
of the project, now a more comprehensive approach must include
management of the processes within an enterprise. Project management
has limited itself to using such quantifiable items as dollars/page
instead of dollars/hour, number of pages instead of information
flow where needed, and hours writing instead of effectiveness
of communication. None of these more useful measures can be accounted
for in traditional project management. The route I have take is
to replace the phrase project management with a more accurate
phrase for what we do these days, process management.
The management
of technical documentation can be the most fun when managers of
the process recognize that their role is to minimize constraints
to a dynamic process and not to juggle static elements. This broad
systematic view helps managers realize that given limited tools,
limited resources, and limited time, they can get the job done
as effectively as possible.
(c) 1996 ACM
published in proceedings of ACM SIGDOC 1996 Conference
Bibliography
of Journal Articles
- Stuart
Anderson, Deborah Fisher, and Vipul Gupta, "Total Constructability
Management: A Process-Oriented Framework," in Project Management
Journal 26, no. 4, (December 1, 1995): 3-10.
- Deborah
Bosley, "Designing Effective Technical Communication Teams,"
in Technical Communication 38, no. 4 (Fourth Quarter 1991):
504-512.
- Martha
Cover, David Cooke, and Matt Hunt, "Estimating the Cost
of High-Quality Documentation," in Technical Communication,
(First Quarter 1995): 76-83.
- H. William
Dettmer, "Quality and the Theory of Constraints",
in Quality Progress, (April 1995): 77-81
- Ralph J.
Jones, "Managing by the Numbers", in Technical Communication,
(Fourth Quarter, 1990): 409-414.
- Janice
Redish and Judith Ramey, "Measuring Value Added,"
in Technical Communication 42, no. 2 (Second Quarter, 1995):
322-327.
- Peter Smudde,
"A Practical Model of the Document-Development Process,"
in Technical Communication 38, no. 3 (Third Quarter, 1991):
316-323.
- Chris Theissen,
"Planning the Documentation Project: Estimates, Guesstimates,
and WAGS," in INTERCOM, January 1994: 3-5.
- Rodney
Turner, "Process Management: The Versatile Approach to
Achieving Quality in Project Based Organizations." in Journal
of General Management 21, no. 1 (Fall 1995): 47-52.
- "From
Project to Process Management: An Empirically Based Framework,"
in Management Science 41, no. 3 (March 1, 1995): 458-462.
Bibliography
of Books
- Daryl R.
Conner, Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers
Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail. Villard Books, NY 1993
- John Diebold,
Making the Future Work. Simon & Shuster, NY 1984
- Peter Drucker,
Managing for the Future: The 1990s and Beyond. Truman Talley
Books, NY 1992
- J. Davidson
Frame, The New Project Management
- JoAnn Hackos,
Managing Your Documentation Process,
- Gabriel
Lanyi, Managing the Documentation Project
- Derek Torrington
and Jane Weightman, Effective Management: People and Organization
- Paul B.
Williams, Getting a Project Done On Time: Managing People, Time,
and Results, Amacom, NY, NY 1996.
- Michael
Hammer, Beyond ReEngineering, HarperBusiness, 1996
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