atw: Re: Statistics to demonstrate value ...
- From: Peter Martin <peterm_5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:11 +1100
Caz.H:
I trust you'll forgive what some might see as a slightly intemperate rave in an
area where I'm actually inclined to agree with some of your analysis. I really
can't go along with the use of "this is just the way it is" argument which is
so often empty and which has its place in some very nasty historical areas.
("Yes, Albert.... light travels really fast, and that's just it. Get over it,
kid and get on with your next patent application".)
You wrote:
> Wow, so many gob-smacking statements, I don't know where to begin or end!
> Wish I had
> the time to do the thread justice, alas not, so I'll confine myself to a
> couple of
> brief thoughts.
>
> 1. There are no tender criteria that cover off how pretty the tender, nor how
> much
> everyone likes the sales guy. It's the quality, appropriateness, and value
> for money
> against the stated evaluation criteria that count - nothing else matters.
> This is how
> it works in both the private and public sectors, period.
Yep, a whole series of issues pop up, and a whole series of assumptions are
also built into that paragraph.
One such conventional assumption is that somehow the operation of "competitive
forces in an open market", actually is A Prime Force.
Another is that "quality, appropriateness and value for money" are really
valued and assessed above all other things when modern managers assess
technical writing.
Pause. Sure, some of this might have something to do with competition, and
Suzy's problems with an outsourcing proposal might appear particularly
vulnerable to that. But a gentle waving of Ockam's Razor might also suggest
they well have more to do with the inadequacy of many (albeit, not all)
managers, who have no idea how to assess the output of technical writing or
even the elements in written output that might need to be assessed. After
all, we've seen how managers handle things so well, recently, all over the
world.... And those of us who've seen a few financial ups and downs have also
seen how tech writers and trainers are the first out the door in so-called
"competitive" environments, because that's the formula managers find easiest to
apply.. Leading (by design, presumably?) to the ensuing shortages of trained
and well-versed employees....
The problem is that in the great recent flush world-wide of all those
efficient private markets and ubiquitous well managed public sectors, some of
us still struggle from mini-GFC to major-GFC, waiting in our little garbage
cans for Godot to arrive. And we wonder why someone doesn't tell the admirers
of the emperor's fashion parade that
"...the way it works in both the private and public sectors, period",
is actually exemplified by the GFCs, not by the Grand Economic Theory that
might apply one day Real Soon Now (once we stop having GFCs).
>
> It's actually not that difficult to demonstrate the value proposition of a
> good tech
> writer / document designer / writer / whatever. It's quite a concern that
> some people
> in the tech writing profession struggle to put together a solid business case
> in
> support of their own contribution to the success of an organisation.
>
One might demonstrate till the cows come home but this can be irrelevant if
managers already have a formularised agenda as to how to behave as a manager
when times get tight. (e..g., "Sack the trainers and doccos, then work up
through the juniors..." )
-PeterM
peterm_5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. - Chinese Proverb
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