Customer Reviews

Information Development: Managing Your Documentation Projects, Portfolio, and People

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book because I liked the table of contents. I assumed this book would present concrete, actionable specifics on the subjects presented in the table of contents. I was disappointed.

Under information planning, this book only tells you that you should do it. Gee, thanks. Under estimating and scheduling - you should estimate future project resources and you should request new resources and fund innovation. Oh, boy. Yippee.

This book is an exercise in stating the blatantly obvious. I expected to see information on the nuts and bolts of producing technical documentation...I expected to see examples of budgets, examples of ways to create efficient systems for document production using single-sourcing, and to see examples of specific, important techniques for planning a document production process that allows for easy translation, revision, re-usability and transfer to different mediums. I expected to get a reference that would become well-worn on my desk. This book is as far from such a tome as it could possibly get while still being written in the English language.

I want to improve the efficiency of my documentation projects. I'd like to know about technologies (XML?, VBA?) that might help me with separating content from layout and improving reusability. Is that here? Nope. But you do get way too much talk about how you should acquire good tools that support your business goals. There is nothing about what those tools should be or what specifically would make them good.

One page tells you the difference between a "traditional" project and an "agile" project...things like: An agile project "responds to change" and has "minimal process documentation" as well as "reduced development schedules". That's nice. Who cares?

Implementing a Topic Architecture is the only section that even makes a move in the direction of specific, concrete, useful material. But even it leaves you thinking, "Well, duh...yathink?"

To sum up, this book tells you all the obvious things you ought to do...but that's it. It doesn't have anything to say about HOW you would actually do those things. I doubt the author has the foggiest idea how because I doubt she has a single hard skill to speak of. She definitely didn't write about any.

Any organization, large or small, that wants to get serious about growth should read this book, breathe it and master it. The first step is to admit you have a problem. "Hello, my name is Bob. I'm a wasteaholic."; "Hi Bob".

I used to HATE process. HATE HATE HATE. I didn't want to be constrained; I rationalized saying "well it is a waste of time to invest time in process, it is just needless bureacracy". I was a creative person, still am. Then 10 years later I realized I was wasting a lot of time because things weren't organized, there wasn't accountability, the projects were driving me, instead of me being on top of things.

Are you a wasteaholic? Answer this question: Do you feel on top of things?

If answer = yes, close browser window. If answer = no, order book.

Book is dead on.

Several years ago I interviewed for a staff position at Cornell University, in a dept. run by a guy who had spent a number of years in industry; I wanted to impress him, so I asked, "are there any books you'd recommend, out of all you've come across, about project management and content?" And he said "Managing Documentation Projects" -- which is the precursor to this book.

It rocks.

I've owned the previous version of this book for years. I was hopeful. The TOC you can read online indicated that the book had grown with the industry. This edition includes more space dedicated to user scenarios, collaboration, topic-based authoring, content management, and localization. And yet the book has less to say than the previous edition. Gone are almost all of the concrete examples and practical advice. The "best practices" that are sprinkled throughout the book are rarely more than platitudes or admonishments that you should do something, but the tools to do it are missing. I suspect that the book is really more interested in advocating for Hackos's consulting business than in providing value for your money. Buy the 1994 edition. You'll get more out of it.

In this book, JoAnn T. Hackos has compiled a great amount of useful information, "decorated" with many illustrating sample cases.
Well-structured, intelligible and applicable, "Information Development" is a welcome asset, although with 600 pages, it is nothing you read - least of all SHOULD read - overnight. :)

Please note that none of the reviews below are written about the 2006 new book on Information Development. The book is not a 2nd edition; it's an entirely new book with new content. The focus is on strategically managing a publications organization and effectively managing projects. The project management part of the book focuses on agile methods and managing topic-based writing activities.