The necessity of creating some form of documentation represents an opportunity to establish or enhance professionalism, credibility, and a lasting company image, both internally and externally. Perhaps you have never been responsible for doing documentation before. Don't dread it. TalentNation.net can help inexpensively, non-intrusively, and quickly. Don't procrastinate doing documentation. If it's not in writing, it doesn't exist. In this case, the "it" that wouldn't exist would be lost opportunity. With TalentNation.net's help, you can still focus on your main job.
Choosing the right subject matter experts (SMEs) comes first. Allow your SMEs sufficient, although minimal, interruption in their day-to-day responsibilities interacting with TalentNation.net. Appoint an SME to do documentation tasks and allow (minimal) time sufficient to do the job.
Set an attainable overall goal as well as milestones and stick to the plan. Polished documentation comes together through a process. Commence with planning and progress through the varying stages of refinement that culminate in publishing. TalentNation.net will work with you to organize, plan, and work fast.
A plan gives you a sure way to make clear, decisive, informed, intelligent decisions mid-project. Even a less-than-perfect plan is better than no plan. Once you start, perhaps the project won't progress as you envisioned. Then change it. Involve the "ownership" of others. Recognize the cycles of busyness in your business and work smart. Don't try to do everything at the end of the year.
Don't spend a nickel or a second on anything you're not sure of. Conversely, let the documentation consultant you have chosen run with the project. The right writer works fast, yet accurately, makes the most of every interruption of each SME's day, knows what to do with the material your organization supplies to the effort, and consistently builds deliverables that are accurate, clear, concise, in-scope, on-schedule, and on budget.
The ideal documentation consultant identifies potential pitfalls during planning, yet also identifies opportunities. Just as you attune your expertise to your chosen field, the right writer should adapt to the unique demands of your business environment, identifying how the project should work and dangers that could prevent success, based on verifiable past performance.
Your reputation is on the line if your identity is on the documentation, so get the details right consistently. Insist that your documentation consultant be an expert writer, researcher, grammarian, layout designer, illustrator, graphics designer, and project manager with academic credentials and proven historical performance. Question the writer. For example, what is the rule behind a certain sentence construction or graphic? Why do you follow certain conventions? Ask lots of "what-if" and "why" questions. Devise hypothetical scenarios if for no other reason than to test the consultant's expertise. The success of your documentation depends largely on how completely you can let go of worrying about how well your chosen consultant will run the project.
The opportunity to establish a legacy in the form of permanent documentation is yours. Brainstorm. Daydream. Scratch out rough ideas on paper, a cocktail napkin, or church bulletin. It's OK if it's not pretty and has misspellings or typos. Capture the vision. Rely on your SMEs to do the same. Start by getting something down. Set up a time frame and a budget. Then engage the documentation consultant to bring it all together.
Seven Rules
for
Documentation Success
- Identify, prioritize, and delegate
- Schedule and adjust
- Rely on expertise
- Seize the opportunity
- Insist on excellence
- Execute. Act.
Insist on predictable results. On-schedule, on-budget, and on-scope are standard operating procedures for TalentNation.net. Because we know the rules, you can plan on success. Plan to benefit from our decades of proven dedication to white papers, copywriting, research writing, user guides, training manuals, help authoring, editing, proofreading, operations and maintenance manuals, and more, including translating (English into Spanish, Spanish into English, English into Portuguese, Portuguese into English, English into French, and French into English), with credentialed native translators in both directions.