mrprocedure

To date, we have discussed the tools of effective procedure writing, as referenced in the poll question in the Technical Writing in Action group on LinkedIn. Yes, the ability to write and gather information are critical. Training is very valuable if it focuses on the right things. Mastery of procedure development tools (read, software) can only boost your effectiveness. These comprise options A, B and C in the poll question.

Option D, predictably enough, is “All of the above.” (There was an Option E, “Other,” which I discounted, because in the literal way my mind works, I could not select “Other” without implying Options A, B and C were all false. Thus, I did not vote in the poll. Sorry, Angel!)

The answer I would give to the question is “D+.” That is, the needs of an effective procedure writer are “all of the above,” but considerably more. In the next few installments, I will discuss some of these additional attributes of the effective procedure writer.

The first attribute is the ability to see beyond the computer monitor!  In other words, the effective procedure writer recognizes the need to provide a greater service than just stringing words together to describe a process.

Can you provide your organization a much broader, more customer-focused and opportunistic vision for the organization’s documents? A member of the Technical Writer group posed an interesting question, basically how does she address the deficiencies in the writing in her new organization? That could be a political minefield (because you would unavoidably step on the toes of the person who developed the existing documents and for whatever reason thought they were good).

There are good ways and bad ways to address this issue. Stating, “your documents stink!” on your first day is not recommended, even though your analysis may be spot on. But I believe you have a duty as a procedure writer to lead your organization to an understanding of how good, well-structured documentation can provide great benefit to the organization (they sense some need or objective, or else you would not have the job).

So one critical key to effective procedure writing is to have a very clear, committed view of what procedures are, why they exist and how to help procedures achieve the best possible outcomes for the organization. Which of course brings me back to my Procedure Writing course.

Most of the course discusses these seemingly “peripheral” issues of procedure writing. That’s a fancy way of saying the first several sections of the course will provide a solid foundation of understanding related to procedure and other documentation. It is not the only valid view, but one I believe is well-established and has certainly served me well in my career. You may obtain a copy of the course, free, by writing me at mrprocedure@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

The third option in the poll question, “What makes an effective procedure writer?” deals with the mastery (or at least effective use of) procedure development tools. In this regard, I am somewhat less adamant about my position than on the other matters we have discussed.

The reason for this is that I have been, to date, almost exclusively used Microsoft Word for procedure development and Microsoft Power Point for presentations and training materials. I am not the most technically advanced person you will find plying the procedure trade, but as I tell my colleagues, when it comes to Word, I can do anything the long way.

But the world is changing, whether I’m on board or not. And I am slowly, timidly stepping into the shallow end of the world of authoring software. I will not discuss the comparative merits of different tools; I have been introduced to a tool called Mad Cap Flare, and if the advertising is true, the flexibility it will provide me will more than make up for the learning curve I am about to enter.

In a more general sense, I would say the mastery of tools and software programs must be in keeping with the needs of your customers (whether internal or external). Not only are the methods used to document information varied and changing, the means of delivery to the end-user are expanding. I am learning that if ink-on-paper is the only delivery means you have at your disposal, your effectiveness will be increasingly diminished in the near future.

Effectiveness only counts if your means of information delivery meet the customers’ requirements and desires. The more development capability you have, the more effective you will be.

One other note: do not expect wizardry with software and authoring tools will be an effective cover for poor organization or poor execution of procedure content. If you are backed into a corner, with only time to improve your ability to write or master the latest and greatest software, you’d better focus on the former.

This topic touches on the procedure writer’s ability to provide multiple options for information delivery. Which feeds into the next discussion of procedure writing effectiveness: the options that were not included in the poll. Check back tomorrow for more, and don’t forget to get your copy of the procedure writing course.

Thanks!

In the poll question, one of the options was “technical writing and interview skills.” Today we will discuss interviewing skills, though (in my typical fashion) will broaden the concept.

Interviewing skills is a subset of a larger category we can call “information gathering.” Certainly, the ability to gather information is a non-negotiable requirement of a good technical/procedure writer. So what makes a procedure writer a capable gatherer of information?

One of the keys to effective information gathering is organization. With an organized approach, the information gathering can be reduced to manageable segments. The “bites” correspond to particular elements of the procedure (setup, operation, controls, etc.). By knowing exactly what information you intend to capture at any time, you will be more effective at gathering the information. And if the gathering process involves talking to (interviewing) process principals, the interview will be crisper, more focused and (the procedure principal will thank you for this) take less time.

The greatest benefit of an organized information gathering approach is the boost it will give to your credibility. If colleagues know you will be quick and efficient in the use of their time (including knowing how to gather information without having to take up someone else’s time), they will be more helpful when you need their input.

Suffice to say, the ability to gather information in an organized manner is essential to effective procedure writing. To the degree that includes interviewing people, the ability to conduct a good (read, brief) interview is a great asset.

Today we continue the discussion based on the poll question noted in the title above.

One of the options in the poll is, “Professional procedure writer training.” Will training help one become an effective procedure writer? My answer is yes, but probably not for the reasons you may suspect.

The effectiveness of training depends on the intent of the training. If the procedure writer training is offered to help one compensate for their lack of writing prowess, then the training will not be effective. You cannot instill the tools of the writing trade in a week-long seminar or even a semester course. That is where the 16 years spent learning the writing craft was supposed to do its work.

But training in procedure writing can be of great benefit if the intent is to provide an understanding of why procedures exist, how procedures complement other types of documents, how procedures integrate with the learning process, and how the structure of a procedure can help (or hinder) learning. This type of training would equip the writer to not only write well-organized and effective procedures, but would equip the writer to contribute to his or her organization an understanding of the potential that exists (but is rarely realized) in the organization’s documentation.

I should point out here that through my experiences in writing and training primarily in aerospace organizations, I have given this topic abundant thought, and out of my thought process have  developed (partially, at least) a course for the procedure writer. In reality, it is not simply for the procedure writer, but for quality, engineering and safety personnel to learn a structure that not only provides procedure structure, but also provides guidance in how to determine what procedures actually need to be written.

This is a shameless plug for my procedure writing course (which I am in the process of completing and updating). While I am plugging my course, I should also let you know I am offering a copy of the text free of charge to anyone who writes and asks for it. Email me at mrprocedure@gmail.com and I will send it along with my compliments.

Thanks, Tim James (Mr. Procedure)

Last post, we focused on the first aspect of effective procedure writers, knowing the value you (can) bring to the organization. Think of your role in much broader terms than as just the guy or gal who puts words on paper.

Today, we will look at, if you will, the mechanical side of the writing, the nuts-and-bolts. In the original poll question that sparked this blog series, two of the options were:

1 . Technical writing and interview skills.

2. Professional Procedures Writing training.

I will leave the interviewing portion of option 1 for a later post, but let’s look at the writing skill. This one has always puzzled me, because (for those with bachelor’s degrees) we have presumably spent 16 years perfecting (or at least optimizing) our writing craft. It amazes me that at the conclusion of those 16 years, people (and in most cases very smart, capable people) walk away with a sheepskin representing acquired knowledge in some field while having inadequate ability to describe that knowledge verbally. But I take this fact with a grain of salt because it makes my specialty possible.

So does an effective procedure writer have to have excellent writing skills? It goes without saying. The basics such as spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure are essential; the procedure writer must master these, and have such a grasp of the language that he or she rarely has to search for the right word.

Let me give you an example. I am a very poor handyman. You want something in the house fixed? Don’t call me! But on occasion I have to perform some home fix-it. Usually, I can get the job done to some degree of usefulness, but I always take much more time (and make many more trips to the hardware store) that I should have. Now, a professional carpenter or plumber comes to the same job, assesses the situation, instinctively reaches for the exact right part and the exact right tool, completes the job in (for me) record time, and I hand over a check for far more dollars per hour than I make.

Could I have gone to the hardware store and bought the same parts and tools? Sure, but I would lack the experience, practice and know-how the plumber has, making my use of the tool much less effective.

A good procedure/technical writer has to be similarly skilled. While the dictionary and thesaurus are equally availabe to anyone, we must through experience be able to quickly pull out the exact word we need and “install” it into the documents we are preparing.

Courses in writing (I took Technical Writing as an elective in college some 30 years ago) are good places to start. However, there is no substitute for developing your writing craft than actually doing serious writing. That is the only sure way to develop the ability to quickly and effortlessly pull the right word, fashion the right sentence, and construct consecutive paragraphs that transfer knowledge to the reader.

I do take pride in my writing. Some have called it a gift; maybe yes and maybe no. But like any gift, the gift will never be manifest unless it is exercised. Someone once asked me, how did you become such a good writer? I told them, I did it by getting all of the bad writing out of my system! And that is the honest truth. And there is still bad writing I need to work on reducing and eliminating.

In the next post, I will discuss the concept of “professional procedure writer training,” because it is an excellent question.

As promised in the last post, I will begin by taking a broad view of the topic.

Before anything, we must consider what it is we technical writers contribute to our organizations. In a basic sense, our presence has to be such that the return derived from the organization exceeds our cost. If we don’t achieve a return, employing us makes no sense (no pun intended).

Here are examples of returns technical writers provide their organizations:

1. Improved safety performance (by detailing the safety aspects of a task or activity).

2. Improved productivity and quality.

3. Improved morale among employees derived from improved safety, quality and productivity.

4. Better utilization of our products by our organization’s customers (end-users). Which can result in new customers for the organization.

5. Foundation for continuous improvement of processes (by having the current-state well documented).

This is a partial list, but it drives the point that good process descriptions in procedures is a means to improvements in all bottom-line aspects of the organization.

So…the first quality that makes a technical writer effective is the understanding of what the technical writer can bring to the organization. Be ready to articulate this, not in an arrogant “you need me more than I need you” tone, but to respectfully define the value a good procedure writer can provide to the organization. You would be surprised at how seldom the technical/procedure writer’s potential is understood in those terms.

Next time, we will discuss the “mechanical aspects” of writing effectiveness. Thanks for reading!

One great tool for any person in any line of work is LinkedIn. Through the various LinkedIn groups, professionals can support and learn from other like-minded professionals in their chosen fields. I am an active part of two groups, “Technical Writer in Action” and “Policies and Procedures.”

A question was posted recently in the Tech. Writer in Action group, asking “What Makes an Effective Procedures Writer?” The question was asked as a poll, with the following options:

1. Technical writing and interview skills.

2. Professional procedure writer training.

3. Domain of appropriate tools.

4. All of the above.

5. Other.

My answer is “all of the above and more!” I promised the group I would provide an answer in a serialized format here on my blog. As “mrprocedure,” I feel I have something to say on this topic, and I believe that the answers lie in a broader circle than those provided by the options to the question. (Side note to Angel Candelario, moderator of TWIA, I never did cast a vote. Sorry!).

So, I will begin with the broader view of procedure writing in part 2 of my post.

First of all, a Happy Mother’s Day to all moms out there, including my own. For many of us, we would have no faithful blog readers without them!

Just a quick note today, something to ponder as I prepare for the next round of posts: there are three objectives (rules) I have whenever I approach a procedure development effort:

1. Write as few procedure documents as possible.

2. Write the documents as briefly as possible.

3. Write each procedure ONCE!

We will discuss each of these points in future blog posts. Until then, happy writing!

The last section of the procedure is concerned with bringing the process to its conclusion. Though it seems superfluous, it is important to tell the operator when the task or activity is finished.

Before one can describe how to finish and shut down the process, it must be determined: what constitutes a finished process?

There is no universal right or wrong answer to this question, but an answer must be developed to tell the procedure writer when to stop writing! In terms of a department or organization’s operation, one discrete process is finished at some point, and any follow-up activity constitutes a separate task or activity (requiring a separate procedure and treatment as a separate training exercise).

Here are some of the things to consider when defining the end of a process:

• What action or condition tells the operator the central process is completed? (For example, if the process is baking cookies, when baking is completed and the cookies are removed from the oven, that may be the signal that the process is finished.)
• What must be done with the product resulting from the process? (In this example, what is done with the cookies? Where do they go?)
• What condition must process equipment and work environment be left in (or returned to) at the end of the process? (Clean, stored cookie sheets, mixing tools cleaned and put away, floor swept, etc.)
• Where do left over materials go?
• Where does documentation related to the process go?
• Must areas be locked up, or equipment locked out?

Wherever the organization decides the task ends, the procedure must describe how activities are performed to return the equipment, materials, etc. to their ground state. This usually means bringing all tools and work area to the conditions required to begin the process (start the procedure over again).

If all of the activities are completed, the task is completed. And once all activities are documented, the procedure is completed. Congratulations! Now onto the next procedure!

It is said that almost anyone can operate a process that runs smoothly. It is when the process “goes off the rails,” when something goes wrong, that separates the proficient operator from those less able.

As was discussed in a previous post, the intent of Process Safety Management (the OSHA standard this procedure structure is modeled after) is to equip process operators to be able to respond to any “upset” condition before a major safety or environmental incident occurs. As a result, the procedure must detail:

• What could happen
• How to detect if an upset is occurring (or is about to occur)
• What the result could be if swift and correct action is not taken (how the situation could escalate)
• What action(s) to take

Many people reading this may say, correctly, “My process is not in danger of blowing up or spilling over. Why would this section matter?”

It matters because any process that fails will necessarily cost the organization money. In other words, a process upset will create one or more losses: wasted material, wasted time, broken equipment, overtime to try again, upset schedules, among others. For this reason, all processes should be evaluated to identify potential losses, the potential consequences of a loss, and how to ensure the loss does not happen.

(Side note here: I am not suggesting that failures be identified solely to include their description and response in a procedure. Failures that are identified should also be evaluated to determine how to eliminate the likelihood or possibility of such a failure. That is a different branch of the Instructional Communication tree, which we will climb at some future time.)

By having a thorough description of the potential process upsets, how to detect and respond to, in the procedure, the learner/operator is equipped to become more capable at maintaining process control. Because ultimately, prevention of something going wrong is in nearly all cases the result of doing all things related to the procedure correctly. The correct behaviors can be reinforced by stressing the consequences when procedure is not followed.