Media prefs survey
- 1. Survey Sent to Technical Writers i Dear Fellow Technical Writer: Once more, I am asking for your assistance. This time I am collecting information regarding the choice of communication channels that tech writers use to acquire and check their work-related data. (Of course, you can choose not to respond if you wish, but there arent many questions and you will finish it in no time. You can forward this to any other technical writers you know, or simply delete it.) Your contribution will help throw light on an area of technical communication that has yet to be fully explored, namely our usage of communication channels why we choose one method of communicating at certain times when there are so many others available. The questionnaire that follows will help us clarify the various communication channels used by technical writers like you and how/when you use them. I will be comparing the findings of this survey with those of an earlier survey (which this one replicates). I can give you details about that earlier study, if you want them. And of course, you are also welcome to see the findings of this study, when Ive finished it. Any information you provide will be recorded and stored anonymously and Im not asking you to give away product or company secrets, so dont worry! Send your responses back to me by e-mail. Just type into this Word file, save it when done, and send it back as an attachment. Please finish it by November 20th, if you can. Your help is really appreciated. Ken Wilkinson
- 2. Survey Sent to Technical Writers ii The Survey The following questions focus on the various methods of communication used by technical writers to obtain and verify the information we use in our daily work. Questions 2 to 6 present scenarios that ask you respond by choosing one of the following five communication methods: A. Cross-functional team meetings usually held to discuss product development progress and product-related issues. B. Written or online document review submitted primarily to SMEs for evaluation of technical accuracy. C. Individual face-to-face meetings with SMEs to clarify questions and product issues. D. Telephone calls to SMEs to clarify or obtain further information. E. E-mail to SMEs to clarify or obtain further information. Lets get started. 1. Which of the following methods do you use or have you ever used to obtain and verify work-related information? (Answer Yes or No to as many as necessary.) A. Cross-functional team meetings: Yes / No B. Written or online document review: Yes / No C. Individual face-to-face meetings: Yes / No D. Telephone calls: Yes / No E. E-mail: Yes / No To answer the questions that follow, simply indicate which communication method youd choose given the scenario described. If you like, you can also add an explanatory comment or two under Why?
- 3. Survey Sent to Technical Writers iii 2. Youve been assigned to write the user manual for a new software product. Youve familiarized yourself enough with the product to have questions about design issues and marketing requirements. Indicate the method of communication you would use to obtain the information you need. Why? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 3. As usual, you are facing a tight deadline for completing a project. You have already received SME comments on a draft review and now you are trying to keep up with the last-minute product changes that affect your documentation. Indicate the method of communication you would use to obtain this information. Why? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 4. You are facing a tight deadline (again). This time a conflict between yourself and one of the main developers has occurred, but you still need to ask him a number of important questions. Indicate the method of communication you would use to obtain the information you need from this person. A. Team meeting B. Document review C. Face-to-face meeting D. Telephone E. E-mail F. Other A. Team meeting B. Document review C. Face-to-face meeting D. Telephone E. E-mail F. Other A. Team meeting B. Document review C. Face-to-face meeting D. Telephone E. E-mail F. Other
- 4. Survey Sent to Technical Writers iv Why? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 5. If you had to select just two of the following communication methods one to use when beginning a project, and one at the end when you need very specific details which would you select? Beginning Why? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ End Why? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ All done! If you would like to comment on something or if theres any information youd like to offer, please do so here. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Please save this document locally and send a copy of it back to me as an e-mail attachment: A. Team meeting B. Document review C. Face-to-face meeting D. Telephone E. E-mail F. Other A. Team meeting B. Document review C. Face-to-face meeting D. Telephone E. E-mail F. Other