How Technical Writers Gather Information: Attending / Holding Meetings

Good technical documentation comes from good information. Finding, understanding and explaining information is the job of the technical writer. There are many methods technical writers use to gather the information they need. This series will cover some of those methods.

Attend Meetings

Most meetings meander from dull to sleep-inducing with an occasional stop at tense, but showing up for planning and status meetings is important. The planning meetings give you insight into the thinking behind the product and the interface. Status meetings often alert you to changes in the product. When a project is running behind schedule (projects are never ahead of schedule) product components are often “pushed back” or “deprioritized”, which means you either don’t have to write the documentation for that component or you have to remove the documentation you have already written. Also, attending meetings increases your visibility in the group and allows you to get to know the stakeholders in the project. This makes it easier to talk to them when you need information.

Hold meetings

It is often a good idea to hold your own meetings. When you run your own meetings, you have the opportunity to gather the key people and get them talking about the product. I run a weekly meeting with my product’s stakeholders. I read through the documentation changes and give the SMEs (subject matter experts, pronounced smees) a chance to comment and request changes. The meeting is focused on information gathering and review. I tend to move through the information quickly because I don’t want to waste people’s time and because I am often heavily caffeinated in order to stay awake.

Meeting Tips

• Whenever possible, give people the documentation or agenda in advance of the meeting.
• Come prepared. Have the information you should have and know what information you want to come away with.
• Have clear goals for the meeting, even if you aren’t the one holding it.
• If you are going to be discussing the product/documentation in depth, record the meeting.
• Bribe people with snacks.
• If you are holding the meeting, make sure you are inviting the right people.
• Don’t waste people’s time. If there isn’t a good reason for a meeting, don’t hold one.

Please add your own meeting tips and thoughts.

Related links

• A Career in Technical Writing: The beginning of a new series (0.500)
• A Career in Technical Writing: Life as a wannabee (0.500)
• A Career in Technical Writing: Two dates to the prom (0.500)
• A Career in Technical Writing: The fax about outsourcing (0.500)
• A Career in Technical Writing: A strange new world (0.500)