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Journals by EmailHaving recently been included in release readiness meetings, I’ve had a few more items on my weekly calendar. Before that was the communication vs. programming problem we worked through.
One of the project managers I work with came to my desk a couple of weeks ago and told me that he had just come out of a two-hour meeting that I probably should have been in. Apparently one of the primary users of one application can mostly navigate the complex set of business rules that the system supports and do what he needs to do, but he’s missing some of the nuances. So the manager said that the leadership team discussed possibly making some changes in the next few months, but they’d need me to take these business rules and boil them down to simple a cause-and-effect document. “I’ll make sure to include you in future conversations about this,” he said.
Technical communicators often talk about demonstrating value. With that in mind, and with these things going on around the same time, I devised a theorem; let’s call it “Minson’s Theorem of Perceived Technical Writer Value”:
The number of conversations you are involved in is proportional to the value you are perceived to have.
Most people don’t like meetings. I don’t mind them if they accomplish something and don’t waste time. But meetings aren’t the only conversations I’m talking about. Sometimes a question from a manager to a developer turns into a prolonged discussion, and they decide others need to be tuned in.
This may not be limited to technical writers, but my point is that the more value you are perceived to have, the more that other team members will want to keep you informed and ask for your opinion. In one of these release readiness meetings I was invited to a week or so ago, the attendees were discussing a newly discovered complication with Winword.exe. The basic question was “What is the best way to keep the users’ experience friendly when encountering this problem?” When a couple of options had been brought forward, the project manager asked me what I thought. A little surprised that I would be asked for my opinion, I gave it. But I’ve been in charge of training the users in advance of our release, so I had an idea of which option would disrupt their work the least.
I’m sure this theorem isn’t 100% correct, or it has many corrolaries, which is why I called it a theorem. That, and it sounds slightly mathematical (I remember a bit about theorems from my days in geometry class). So if you agree or disagree with the theorem or can offer any corrolaries, please see your way to the comments form.
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1 Comment to 'Minson's Theorem of Perceived Value'
March 16, 2010
Corollary: Here’s an easy way to measure your perceived value. If you find that you’re not being included in conversations, then you know that you’re not valued. When that happens, you need to take action. You might need to speak up more, you might need to volunteer for things, or you might need to look for another job. But doing nothing isn’t an option.