Comments on: Remembering the basics http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2010/07/27/remembering-the-basics/ musings on technical communications Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:40:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: RichardT http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2010/07/27/remembering-the-basics/comment-page-1/#comment-25915 RichardT Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:15:54 +0000 http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/?p=699#comment-25915 Two recent jobs have been "cold starts" (no previous Tech Comms). It has amazed me how ignorant (or simplistic) the new organisation was. They just don't know how to react to you, or have any idea of what you do or why you are there. We all have a lot of "embeded" knowledge, it would be good to share it. Two recent jobs have been “cold starts” (no previous Tech Comms). It has amazed me how ignorant (or simplistic) the new organisation was. They just don’t know how to react to you, or have any idea of what you do or why you are there. We all have a lot of “embeded” knowledge, it would be good to share it.

]]> By: Techquestioner http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2010/07/27/remembering-the-basics/comment-page-1/#comment-25812 Techquestioner Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:34:53 +0000 http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/?p=699#comment-25812 When people do things repetitively from their persoanla mental checklists, some of the items on those lists get automated into a subconscious personal "autopilot". As more items move from a consicous checklist to the subconscious autopilot, it becomes very difficult for them to consciously explain what they are doing or how they are doing it to another person. This is another reason that knowledge should be shared with the team, so everyone can share and evaluate it. The deeper it gets buried in the subconscious of busy individuals, the less likely it is to be shared to benefit everybody, if something happens to one of those key, knowledgeable, go-to- for-that-information persons When people do things repetitively from their persoanla mental checklists, some of the items on those lists get automated into a subconscious personal “autopilot”. As more items move from a consicous checklist to the subconscious autopilot, it becomes very difficult for them to consciously explain what they are doing or how they are doing it to another person.

This is another reason that knowledge should be shared with the team, so everyone can share and evaluate it. The deeper it gets buried in the subconscious of busy individuals, the less likely it is to be shared to benefit everybody, if something happens to one of those key, knowledgeable, go-to- for-that-information persons

]]> By: Karen http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2010/07/27/remembering-the-basics/comment-page-1/#comment-25801 Karen Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:04:52 +0000 http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/?p=699#comment-25801 Doing exactly this in a new job in 2004 is what got me started on wikis. That job was also my first truly remote job - alone in one country with the team and management 9 time zones away. It made the need to document everything a no-brainer. Sure, we had other means of communication, but documenting steps and sharing ideas for good work habits, etc. was best done in some sort of written form like a wiki. I also had fun refreshing my childhood skills of drawing pictures for some procedures. The source file and a PDF version went on the wiki, too. Doing exactly this in a new job in 2004 is what got me started on wikis. That job was also my first truly remote job – alone in one country with the team and management 9 time zones away. It made the need to document everything a no-brainer. Sure, we had other means of communication, but documenting steps and sharing ideas for good work habits, etc. was best done in some sort of written form like a wiki. I also had fun refreshing my childhood skills of drawing pictures for some procedures. The source file and a PDF version went on the wiki, too.

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