Managing Team Projects
Chapter Goals
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Be able to explain why team skills are important to the modern workplace.
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Know the structure of a workplace writing team and the roles commonly played
in those teams.
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Be familiar with some of the common problems experienced by teams—and
writing teams in particular—and be able to anticipate ways of resolving them.
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Understand the role of the style guide in a team-writing project and know how to
develop one.
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Understand the role of the prototype in a team-writing project and know how to
develop one.
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Know how to review a writing-team member’s draft and write a review summary
memo.
1. Why Team Work?
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Modern Workplace
Leadership
2. Structure of Workplace Writing
Teams
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Managers
Planners
Document Designers
Writers
Technical Reviewers
Graphic Artists
Editors
Information Testers
Productions Specialists
Distribution Specialists
3. Structure of Technical-Writing
Classroom Teams
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Writing
Reviewing
Editing
Revising
Developing Graphics
Researching
Designing the Document
Producing the Document
Overseeing the Project
4. Anticipating Problems in the Team
Project
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Workload
Shirking
Lack of consensus/Groupthink
Aggressiveness
5. Effective Management of Technical
Writing Teams
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Informal meeting
General procedures and by-laws
Research
Outline
Team roles and Tasks
Detailed schedule (p. 454)
Document prototype and style guide
Multiple drafts
Reviewing
Revising
Final draft
Postmortem
Conclusion