Originally posted by: DAGTA
Originally posted by: tRaptor
this is the assign:
find out the kinds of written communication & research that are involved in their job:
o different types of writing
o different audiences
o different tasks accomplished by writing (communicating with co-workers, note-taking, etc.)
o e-mail
o keeping a logbook or work journal.
My Questions:
1. What types of written communication do you use regulary?
2. When you are documenting website changes or updates what format do you use?
3. What do you document?
4. Is your documentation used company-wide?
5. Do you use email on a regular basis for work?
6. What do you accomplish with writing? What is its purpose to what you do?
7. Do you use a planner/calendar/personnel notes? If yes, what for?
1. Email is what I use most often for communication. Formal contracts have to be written up and signed when starting a new project with a client but the majority of communication is done via email. My current client started our contract in September 2003. My email folder from this client is over 700 messages.
2. Currently all changes are documented in the code and with daily email updates. This client is a very small company and changes move fast on this project so we use the quickest method to keep in contact with changes - email.
3. All of my code is documented. All of my meetings have log notes. When on the phone with the client, I am writing notes. All email is saved and regularly backed up so it can prove as written documentation. Any files exchanged are saved and backed up.
4. The documentation is only used by the people involved. Currently that is me, my contact within the client company and the owner of the client company.
5. Email is absolutely critical to my business. I could not operate the way I do without email.
6. Getting change requests in writing is crucial to leaving a trail of events with a large project. It's a great CYA technique. If the owner of the company is unhappy with a change or how long it is taking, I can reference the email request for the change. The more stuff that is in writing, the less guesswork and possible 'he said - she said' situations with occur.
7. I have a leather folder that always contains a notebook and two pencils. The notebook goes with me to all meetings, is next to me when I'm working, and is next to me when I'm on the phone. When the notebook is filled, I file it in the cabinet next to the other materials for this project and put a new one in the folder. I use my own basic text file system for tracking my hours and scheduling on my laptop. Each day I log the times and hours I work and what I was working on during that time. Each day I write a summary of the day's changes and email this summary to the client. I also keep an excel spreadsheet of my hours, pay rate, taxes, etc.
I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to post and I'll try to answer.
-DAGTA
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