In the last few weeks, we have been inundated with calls for new projects. Some start-ups, many mid-size companies looking to downsize and a number of large companies looking for additional help.

One repeat question I keep getting is how much should documentation really cost to create and maintain? The follow up question is how can a company calculate documentation ROI? I know people hate to read, so I am going to leave the documentation ROI calculation for a later post and focus on costing out a documentation project.

A holistic approach to project management means you need to calculate or include every aspect of cost when looking at a project. Too often, a company will explain why they want to choose a cheaper writer or less expensive resource without looking at the cost of SME time to review or (worst case scenario) create the work themselves and then just leave the writer to review and edit. If your goal is to hire a writer to format and edit, I agree that a cheaper writer or employee can be a great resource. But remember that a cheaper writer generally means that more really expensive SME time will be spent explaining, writing, heavily reviewing and editing the content created by the “cheaper” resource.

When you look at the cost per hour of a techie technical writer vs. someone who simply took a course of a few months and has no deep technical background, the real costs and savings become clear very quickly.

Estimating the work:

“The only emotion I wish to convey is gratitude” - Learn how to say “thank you” and mean it! Let’s be honest, most SMEs resent you and everyone else on your team. They may not say it to your face, but they normally consider documentation to be a waste of good resources. Consequentially, they would much rather spend their time on just about anything else. Follow Adina Sherer's example - bring a plate of homemade cookies and a smile and you can accomplish great things by just acknowledging their aversion to sitting down with you, and of course by working on your interviewing and information extraction methods so as not to waste their time.

“I hate to break this to you, but Starfleet operates in space” - Technical writing involves technology. We don’t just document technology but we also have to keep up with the times. That means constantly reading, testing, developing and maybe even working weekends to try to stay on top of things. What other choice do we have? Our industries and documentation consumers are changing very fast. We have to know what is trending now to figure out how to deliver it as fast as the next release. I’m looking into publishing for the next gen iPad and developing helps that take advantage of HTML5 features right now. What about you?

Here are some of my lessons learned in 2010...

Don’t Panic – Life is full of ups and downs. Come to think of it, I also learned this in 2009 and 2008, but it is a hard lesson to learn. (Hopefully, you won’t see this on my list again next year!)

No Matter What, Stick to Your Guns and Beliefs - Even if everyone else in your industry plays dirty, stay clean (unless of course, you are my 3.5 year old twins and love the sandbox).

All Nighters Don’t Pay - Any more than one all night work-a-thon in a year is too many. (I learned this before too, but as I get older it becomes more and more clear!)

Documentation Emergencies Don’t Exist - There is no such thing as a documentation emergency. Really, there isn’t. No one will die without whatever you are working on. They are not using that content to save a life right now. So go get yourself a life and get outside and get some vitamin D and be happy.

You Have to Spend Money to Make Money - It really pays to invest more in the right people to do the job from the get-go. Spending a little extra can get you a better writer who will bring real value to your organization.

Pay it Forward - Reward your employees and share the wealth in any way you can. People who feel appreciated and are rewarded for their efforts will generally be happier, more productive and dedicated employees.

I recently spoke at an Israeli company that employs 25 in-house technical writers. This company is far from Israel’s biggest by a long shot, so how do they justify maintaining the country’s largest technical writing team? The answer is that they don’t. Because they can’t.

My hour-long presentation on staying ahead of the curve in the technical writing world (one of my favorite topics) eventually touched upon the important subject of metrics. To me, it always been a given that objective measurements are of utmost importance – otherwise how do we assess and plan current and future goals? So you can imagine my shock to receive, at that point, a lot of flak from an audience that didn’t know their metrics, never had to calculate their metrics and were never asked by their finance people for metrics. They therefore contended that this portion of my presentation was not relevant to them.

I then asked how they justify headcount or the need to bring on additional resources. I got blank stares. And when I asked how they would know who to let go if they had to make budget cuts? More blank stares. Apparently, this company did not lay anyone off in 2009 and no one there can fathom a reason layoffs should happen in the future. When I told them they were working in a bubble, they took offense. I hope, for their sake, that they never need to come up for air in the real world.

So if you have found yourself a job in a recession-proof and outsourcing-proof bubble, I suppose you can skip this post (and probably all of my future posts). But if you don’t work in a crazy bubble, then keep reading. It may help you keep your job.

Here are my top ten eleven management DO’s and DON'Ts. Let's start with the DOs:

1. Do keep in mind the old Yiddish proverb “Man plans, God laughs.” But you had better plan anyway. And make sure you have a contingency plan so the joke won’t be on you.

2. Do your homework, make offsite backups and don’t procrastinate…and then you won’t need to call us for help at 3AM from India because your laptop got stolen and you have no files for your customer delivery tomorrow. (Yeah, you. You know who you are.)

3. Do follow the rules of my first grade teacher:  Finish what you start and ask for help when you need it.

4. Do step up to the plate. In a place where there are no men, be the man (or woman). But whatever you do, check your attitude at the door and don’t let your ego get carried away.

5. Do put the Green Jello Theory into practice:  Make everyone an owner, not just a participant.

And now for the DON'Ts...

6. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. 

7. Don’t make people work on the weekends. Five-day work weeks make for happier employees.

8. Don’t try something new on opening night. When I was in drama club, the rule was “Be on time, know your lines, and don’t bump into the furniture.” The time to deploy a single-sourcing solution or move to new tool is not in the middle of a GA schedule.

As a manager of more than 35 employees and mom of 3-year-old-twins, making time for myself is always a challenge. Making time for others is even harder – but ever so important. I love my job and take my role as a service provider very seriously. But last night, when I got the 11 PM email from a customer who urgently needs 400 pages of PDFs and Helps for an entirely new release within the week, I didn’t have to take a long pause before giving my answer.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be swimming the Kinneret to raise money for a wonderful charity called Sadnat Shiluv. I got sponsors, I got in the pool and I am ready. A few years ago, I probably would have cancelled my participation in the swim to make sure this project got off the ground. Instead, I am going to trust the amazing team of writers and support staff I have put in place and go swimming instead. I don’t have to sacrifice my personal goal…the work will get done and we’ll make the deadline. We always do.

It is so important to recognize that, like you, your employees are people who have families, struggles, relationships, needs, aspirations and goals. Don’t force yourself or your employees to choose between personal goals and work deadlines. They can co-exist if you build and foster the right working environment to support it. It really is win-win for everyone.