Raymond Urgo shares the 2nd half of the 13 most common mistakes made in communicating policies and procedures. These slides were used in an Adobe-sponsored Webinar held on JUne 14, 2012

1. 13 Common Mistakes about Communicating Policies & Procedures Information
…and How to Avoid Them -- Part 2
Raymond E. Urgo | Principal | Urgo & Associates | rurgo@urgoconsulting.com
Maxwell Hoffmann | Adobe Product Evangelist | Twitter @maxwellhoffmann | mhoffman@adobe.com
© 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

2. About Adobe Systems, Inc.
Adobe Systems (Facts)
• Founded December 1982
• 2012 Revenue - $4.216 billion (11% growth)
• Adobe changes the digital world through the
creation of beautiful and powerful
images, video and publishing applications.
© 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 2

3. Your Webinar host
Maxwell Hoffmann
Adobe Product Evangelist, Tech Comm Suite
Former Product Manager and Sales Training Director
for Frame Technology
15 years in translation industry, working on
“whatever documents walked through the door”
Trained over 1,200 people in hands-on,
scalable publishing solutions
© 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 3

4. About Raymond Urgo (Mr. P&P)
• Age 7: Wrote neighborhood club
rules, played telephone company
• Age 27: Methods & Procedures
Analyst, New York Telephone Company
• 1993: Founded Urgo &
Associates, management consultancy in
P&P
• Professional career mission: To define
and promote P&P Communication as a
discipline and a way to transform
organizations
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

5. 13 Common Mistakes about Communicating
13 Common Mistakes about Communicating
Policies & Procedures Information
Policies & Procedures Information
…and How to Avoid Them
…and How toof 2] Them
[Part 1
Avoid
[Part 2 of 2]
Raymond E. Urgo
Urgo & Associates
www.urgoconsulting.com
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

6. Preview of Part 2 of 2
for Today’s Webinar
7 of 13 common mistakes and how to avoid them
• Process for Developing P&P Information
(#7 and #8)
• Standards for Developing P&P Information
(#9 and #10)
• Talents for Developing P&P Information
(#11 thru #13)
Free P&P resources AND a Special Offer!
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

7. Teach vs. Think
I cannot teach anybody
anything,
I can only make them
think.
Socrates
(469 - 399 BC)
Athenian Philosopher
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

8. Mistake #7:
No process for self-development
An organization does not have a
standard, authorized process in place
for self developing and maintaining
its policies and procedures
information.
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

9. Avoid Mistake #7:
No process for self-development
What to do:
• Assign a position or group
to own the process
• Get buy-in and approval if
affecting 2 or more groups
• Design the process into
Define a process with roles
phases and stages
and responsibilities for
• For each stage indicate developing and maintaining
roles, responsibilities, and P&P among the players in
tasks your organization.
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

10. Mistake #8:
Misunderstanding ownership and maintenance
An organization’s members
assume that policies and
procedures information is
owned and maintained by
the person or
group writing and publishing
the information.
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

11. Avoid Mistake #8:
Misunderstanding ownership and maintenance
What to do
• Assign owners of
content
• Inform owners of role,
responsibilities, standards
for maintenance, and Give the keys to the owners of
their content, and let them know
how to work together ALL about their role and
responsibilities for
ownership and maintenance.
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

12. Mistake #9:
Not using documentation style standards
An organization does not have
documentation style
standards for presenting
policies and procedures
information.
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

13. Avoid Mistake #9:
Not using documentation style standards
What to do
• Have a variety of style guides
• Assign person to develop and
maintain your P&P Style Guide
• Develop the Guide with style
decisions unique to your
organization and based on
principles and rationales,
not likes-and-dislikes
• Have a P&P expert advise on style Create and maintain a
P&P Style Guide unique to your
guides and how to get yours organization’s decisions
established quickly about style
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

14. Mistake #10:
Not using a documentation methodology
Assuming that a standard style guide
and a formatting template will
ensure adequate quality for
developing policies and procedures
information.
=
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

15. Avoid Mistake #10:
Not using a documentation methodology
What to know
• What methods are available
• Differences and roots in the methods
• Which best suites your needs and why
• Best way to implement
• Common traps for failure
• Indicators of success
• Ways to supplement short comings Is your organization ready
for a documentation
• Ways to get added value methodology?
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

16. Mistake #11:
Expecting non-writers to write
Top management informs
managers and staff they
are responsible for writing
“Everyone can write, right?
and publishing their own Wrong!”
policies and procedures. Popular expression in the
technical communication
profession
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

17. Avoid Mistake #11:
Expecting non-writers to write
What to do
• Have someone interested and qualified
assigned to the role of P&P writer
(communicator or content developer)
• Have managers, staff, subject
experts, and users assigned as Have someone play
contributors and reviewers to the the role of
principal writer “P&P Ghost Writer”
• Position the roles of expert as
the author, and communicator as
the ghost writer
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

18. Mistake #12:
Expecting only good grammatical skills
Management assigns a
secretary, administrative
assistant, or someone with a
degree in English to write
policies and procedures.
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

19. Avoid Mistake #12:
Expecting only good grammatical skills
What to do
• Either contract, hire, or develop
talent having an interest in P&P or Foundations for Today’s
Effective P&P Communication
technical communication
• Cognitive science
• Be sure selected talent has adequate • Human factors for
foundations for writing and analysis communication
• Performance-based analysis
of P&P • Functionality of information
types
• Contact professional associations in • Display technology of
technical communication and information
instructional design for courses and • Effective writing techniques
seminars
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

20. Mistake #13:
Seeking wrong kind of talent
Management seeks policies and
procedures talent from the
outside by either hiring someone
familiar primarily with the subject
(not documentation), or
contracting a writer
when really a consultant
is needed.
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

21. Avoid Mistake #13:
Seeking wrong kind of talent
What to do
• Avoid the “what you want” trap
• Determine which of 3 types of
expertise you need:
writer/analyst, subject expert, or
consultant
• Avoid the “subject expert” trap
• Determine which of 3 roles you
need: extra pair of hands, expert,
or collaborative advisor
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

22. Review of Parts 1 and 2 of
this 2-Part Webinar
13 common mistakes and how to avoid them
• Understanding the Use of Policies & Procedures
Information (#1 and #2)
• Approaches to Developing Policies & Procedures
Information (#3 thru #6)
• Process for Developing P&P Information (#7 and #8)
• Standards for Developing P&P Information (#9 and #10)
• Talents for Developing P&P Information (#11, #12, and #13)
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

23. Urgo & Associates
Policies & Procedures Consulting Services
• Provide assessments and strategic advice
on P&P programs and resources
• Lead P&P content development projects
to simplify complex practices and content
• Teach and mentor in P&P Communication
• Advise P&P product and service providers
in the P&P Marketplace on trends
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

24. Urgo & Associates
P&P Resources and Special Offer
Free P&P resources at www.urgoconsulting.com
• Articles, book reviews, white papers, presentations
• Award-winning e-newsletter
The Policies & Procedures Authority
Special offer !
Complimentary consultation (first 7 requests by email)
Contact information
Raymond Urgo rurgo@urgoconsulting
Urgo & Associates www.urgoconsulting.com
323-851-6600
Copyright 2012 Raymond E. Urgo

25. Question And Answer Time
© 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 25

26. Contact Information
Information
Raymond E. Urgo LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondurgo
Principal Email rurgo@urgoconsulting.com
Urgo & Associates Web http://www.urgoconsulting.com
1616 N. Fuller Ave., #428 Phone +01 323-851-6600
Los Angeles, CA 90046-
3893
Maxwell Hoffmann Blog blogs.adobe.com/techcomm
Adobe Systems, Inc. Blog blogs.adobe.com/mbhoffmann
Product Evangelist Twitter twitter.com/maxwellhoffmann
Twitter twitter.com/AdobeTCS
Email n
mhoffma @adobe.com
Web www.adobe.com
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellhoffmann
Facebook As Maxwell Hoffmann
Facebook As Adobe Technical Communication Professionals
Group
Calendar of upcoming eSeminars: http://adobe.ly/xdzOYa
Previously recorded eSeminars: http://adobe.ly/qo3pzc
© 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 26