Comments on: Extracting information from SMEs

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:59:42 +0000

Manjari, I like your technique of highlighting only the parts you’re not sure about and taking those to SMEs rather than everything. I too have found that SMEs prefer that method rather than haivng to review all.

By: Manjari

Manjari — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:31:46 +0000

SME’s can also be pretty evasive and downright rude. I have developed a thick skin. But sometimes, especially those of us who are pretty tech savvy can do a lot by ourselves.It is really a cool way to get a document out and red line only those areas you are not sure of to get a quick answer. This technique works well, reduces the turn around time and gets faster responses from the SME’s.

By: Interviewing SMEs - Web - WebCrawler

Interviewing SMEs - Web - WebCrawler — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:29:42 +0000

[...] joined a WordPress … http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2007/11/12/worstthingssm... • Extracting information from SMEs | I’d Rather Be Writing – Tom Jo… Sep 9, 2007 … Ever since, Ive really enjoyed interviewing SMEs. People love talking about [...]

By: Charles Jeter

Charles Jeter — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:06:37 +0000

I’ve been doing a series on Workflow Collaboration;
http://charlesjeter.com/category/workflow-collaboration/

Mainly I’d say that starting a DevBlog might help those overseas SMEs stay in touch.

This is a long link, it might get killed, but the DevBlog concept is listed within this post:
http://charlesjeter.com/2007/08/16/best-practices-devblogs-and-elearning-content-development-informal-rapid-elearning-tools/

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:35:30 +0000

Kai, thanks for the link. I wasn’t aware of the article — I’ll check it out. Rahul Prabhakar also wrote about the difficult of getting information from SMEs here.

Brian, you’re right — sometimes we forgot that people actually enjoy talking about what they do and know. Thanks for pointing that out.

Kim, sounds like an interesting situation. It really helps to be sitting right next to a SME.

anne, you’re definitely right about meeting the SME half way.

catherine — excellent tip. I agree that sometimes just getting a SME going in one direction, even if little, will lead to an avalanche of explanations.

Thanks for all your tips!

By: This Writer's Friends

This Writer's Friends — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:27:36 +0000

[...] http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2007/09/09/extracting-information-from-smes/Sometimes I would like to change my job title from “technical writer” to investigative reporter, because so often this is the task that we have. Information we need is not online, not in any documents, not even available in the application itself. We have to pry it from the minds of subject matter experts (SMEs), the techies who talk in acronyms and dream in code. [...]

By: catherine

catherine — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:27:07 +0000

I usually start by asking them how they do a specific but common everyday task e.g. “what do you do when you read your email” – this seems to be a good way into a conversation that lets me dig behind generalities and allows me to ask some very ‘dumb’ questions like ‘what do you to open the program’ and what happens if you did ‘y’ instead. At first they think I’m stupid of course, but eventually they realise I am actually interested in hearing about every little step in sequence. I also tend to find out really quickly where the frustrations lie, using this approach.

The biggest difficulty is always finding out about the bits they gloss over, the things they assume you know. I find that asking about specific everyday tasks allows me to create flowcharts, which I often draw as I go and ask them if that’s right, and this invariably gets the response ‘yes, except…’ and then you get the missing bits.

By: anne

anne — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:57:12 +0000

Perhaps it goes without saying, but one of the best ways to get SMEs to answer your questions is to meet them halfway, if possible. Don’t start with a blank slate. Look at the UI. Run the code. Read the specs (if there are any). In short, be prepared.

And don’t be afraid to ask what you might think are dumb questions. If you don’t want to appear ignorant about something, frame the question by saying that’s you’ve got your “naive user” hat on.

If you’re really not getting the hang of something, but know that whatever the SME just said is the answer you’re looking for (if only you knew what it meant), tell the SME that you like the way they phrased it, and could they please repeat it. They’ll be flattered and you can go back to your desk with the answer in hand, ready to decipher. (or just plain old use verbatim if you’re really pressed for time.)

By: Kim

Kim — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:37:22 +0000

Great tips! Unfortunately, some just won’t work for me. The company I work for has offshored most of the development jobs. I’m based in the U.S. Most of the developers are in Uraguay, Poland, and India. So it’s a little difficult to get together over lunch.

Meetings work great for the most part. We meet over the phone and webex sessions. The different time zones are sometimes a challenge. However, they can work to our advantage also. I can work on a project all day and email it to my SME. They work on it while I’m sleeping and have it back to me first thing the next morning.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:36:20 +0000

One of the first projects I did in my Technical Communications post-grad was interview a Tech Writer about their job. I sometimes strayed pretty far from my intended questions based on subsequent areas of interest I picked up on during our conversation.

Ever since, I’ve really enjoyed interviewing SMEs. People love talking about their work with someone who is genuinely interested.