Tech Biz Writing

Whenever a number of people co-operate on a project to a timescale, and with a common end in view, it becomes necessary to introduce some form of planning. Effort needs to be dovetailed, resources allocated with maximum cost-saving efficiency; foreseeable breakdowns avoided, and any potential frustrations or wastage eliminated.

In industry, the most applicable methods of planning involve the construction of a network. Technical authors may have to work within the compass of a project network or, if the documentation itself is of sufficient complexity, construct one themselves. This section briefly outlines the essential facts of network planning techniques. More specific information can be obtained from bundled documentation with relevant software packages.

At its broadest, planning usually involves the following elements:

* Objectives.
* Necessary steps to meet objectives.
* Estimates of time and resources needed to meet each step.
* Risks and contingencies.
* Total time required.
* Total cost.
* Alternatives.
* Decision.
* Establishing schedules.

As a further refinement we may say that a project will be based on:

* Policy.
* Objectives.
* Planning.
* Scheduling.
* Control.

If all this seems fairly elementary, it’s surprising how at least one of these simple elements can be left unattended and cause untold grief at later stages of the project. It’s just as well to spell everything out at the start and instil everyone with the confidence that it’s “all under control”. Good planning is almost always about remembering the basics and building complexity on top of them.

The relationship between these various elements is essentially dynamic and in a state of constant tension. In large projects, imperfections and deviations are always present and should be anticipated, not swept under the carpet. Efficient linkage and channels of communication are therefore crucial if the whole edifice is not to crumble into chaos — a far more likely outcome in most cases that elegant perfection!

One of the methods employed to achieve this is the network plan. As constituted, the planning network forms a subtle and responsive management control system, integrated in depth, and permitting analysis of data and subsequent control of uncertain situations. A carefully constructed network will:

* Define future work.
* Compare supply and demand of resources to improve schedules.
* Improve logistics of resource supply.
* Allow tighter financial control.
* Monitor project progress.

In most forms of networking, nodal points are defined (usually represented as boxes or circles) depicting specific events or distinct particulars of the project. Arrowed lines between the nodes signify activities or elements required to attain the intervening stage. These relationships are constructed at first without reference to time or dates. Subsequent analysis of events by time reveals a series of concurrent and interconnected processes, each with its own scheduling logic. The total time to complete the project is represented by the most time-consuming path through the network, the critical path. This is the minimum time necessary to finish the job.

Other, shorter paths, have certain amounts of leeway built into them, known as slack or float time. Any delay here will not imperil the project’s completion date. But a hold-up on the critical path will inevitably prolong the project and disturb the schedule. This method of networking is known as Critical Path Analysis (CPA) and is one of the most useful tools in large project management.

Another hoary old system is the Project Evaluation and Review Technique, or PERT. The main difference between the two methods is that PERT is event-orientated in that it analyses the events, or turning points, of a project, while CPA is activity-orientated.

Networks may also be hierarchical, or subdivided into levels — as with DDS and FIMS. There are multi-level networks, in which the subdivisions are in tiers of higher and lower level networks, a sort of three-dimensional formation.

A further variant is the sectionalised network, which simply splits the total plan into small parts for the sake of convenience. An author may well get such a piece of a larger network depicting the documentation schedules and activities.

It sometimes happens that different, though related, projects are linked by consequence of common management or resources, or simultaneous completion dates. In these cases, multi-project networks of great sophistication (and vulnerability) are often devised. This is usually achieved by creating a mathematical model in which every element and potential problem is rigorously defined. Every possible intangible is reduced to numeric data, and all imprecisions quantified. It should be obvious to the student that this approach borders on voodoo and the outcomes are often just as speculative.

Next: 48. Copyright.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 27th, 2006 at 4:52 pm and is filed under Technical Writing, Publishing, Documentation, Design, Abstracts, Diagnostic Documentation, Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.