“I need your help with some documentation” (Xtranormal Movies)
November 4, 2010 » 23 Replies
Last week my wife, Shannon, showed me a couple hilarious Xtranormal videos. The first is So, you want to be a lawyer? And then, So, you want to get a PhD in the humanities?
After watching these two, I couldn’t help but think of a scenario for technical writers. The following is a conversation I’m calling, “I need your help with some documentation.” The project manager represents a compilation of all the crazy things project managers have said to me over the years.
After I made the preceding video, I feared project managers would call me out for being unfair, so I made a second video that tries to reverse the portrayal and show technical writers in a less-than-favorable light.
I would laugh if I weren’t already crying since this is exactly the week I’ve had… (Video 1, I mean.)
Those were both great! Well done. I’m grateful that I haven’t worked with a manager like the one in the first video and I sincerely hope I am not like the writer in the second. You did a good job of showing the worst-case stereotypes for each.
great videos! amusing and accurate.
Wow, those where a bit too accurate. Thanks for the laugh Tom.
“Why, yes, a four-column layout would be just great!”
Tom,
That was too funny. It’s dead-on too.
Training due next week. No access to the system. No help feature. And the dreaded Excel spreadsheet. Yep, that ought to chase away the newbie tech writers/instructional designers.
The only thing that’s not realistic is the lack of cussing. But I suppose you had to keep it safe for work.
Keep the laughs coming.
Love it! I think I worked at the place where the first video was set — at least twice!
Lots of stereotypes here, but many kernels of truth too.
“I doubt your excel [project] template will have any bearing on reality.” Amen to that!
That was really well done and funny. It reminded me of my last job.
Haha, excellent. My favorite bit from the first:
Proj Mgr: “You can ask me all the questions you would normally ask the users.”
Writer: “Are you an accountant?”
Proj Mgr: “No.”
Writer: “Do you process short sale transactions with international accounts?”
Proj Mgr: “No.”
Writer: “I’m sure you’ll be a valuable source of information.”
Captures my debates with SMEs about needing access to the end users. Only I never say the last line out loud.
I’m also glad you did the video in defense of the PM to balance things out. It’s easy for me to whine about my constraints when in fact just about everyone faces unfair pressure on the job at times.
Thanks, Tom!
First of all — you have ‘way too much time on your hands. Second — I’m glad you spent some of that time doing this. Both videos should be required viewing for students, consultants, and job applicants. Next project — the performance review?
Great stuff. I see myself in both characters: project manager and technical communicator.
“I didn’t know” is a recurring theme. I didn’t know you had a meeting last week with the users. I didn’t know you had video skills. It seems like a lot of problems could be averted if we all knew more about each other and about what’s going on.
absolutely great!!
Weren’t you supposed to get permission before videotaping meetings I have been in?
(Note there is no reference as to which video is more accurate?)
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“If most people don’t read help, what are you coming to me for?”
Oh, and BTW:
“Who’s Sam?”
HAHAHAHAHAH!
@Bob Chapman: Maybe Tom should post a disclaimer that says, “Any resemblance to characters and situations that really happen are strictly coincidental and not grounds for a lawsuit.”
“Why are we creating a printed manual in the first place.”
Ack. I gotta get off this train!
Have you been reading http://techwr-l.com lately?
“Two spaces [after stop punctuation] is a carry over from the typewriter days when the fonts were monospaced.”
-Tony
Sorry to clog the comments section, but I have to agree with the tech writer when the project manager asked for him to document only the main tasks in order to meet the rushed delivery time frame. Remember the adage: “I am sorry to write such a long letter. I didn’t have time to write a short one.”
While exploring the application, we should be capturing the information anyway. Only after we understand how the application responds to the user’s workflow can we successfully determine the important from the superfluous.
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Brilliant. I forwarded the link to a friend who’s been a tech writer/trainer for 25+ years. I know if she hasn’t seen it she will just … PLOTZ!
Tom,
You’re video creating and writing skills really shine through in these pieces!
Some LOL moments involved the discussions on “busy work” and “the curse of knowledge”.
I’m going to pass these clips on to the tech writers at my company.
It should make everyone’s day.
Way to bring another audio/visual dimension to your blog.
p.s. Looking forward to future episodes (suggestion – a tech writer talks with a developer)
Would it be possible to see a script of this video? There are so many perfect comebacks in this I would love to use.
Sorry, I can’t figure out how to generate the script into another format. It’s trapped in xtranormal right now.