……and how it applies to us “civilized” folkand how it applies to us “civilized” folk

5th STC Annual ConferenceDecember 12-13, 2003Pune, India

Some Laws of the Jungle…Some Laws of the Jungle…

Peter YorkeAssistant Vice PresidentCorporate Communicationsi-flex solutions

Softcopy Name : Some laws of the jungle and how it applies to us civilized folk

Published Date : December 2003

Author : Peter Yorke

Due care has been taken to make this Presentation as accurate as possible. Certain statements made in this presentation may not be based on historical information or facts and may be “forward looking statements” and may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those that may be projected by such forward looking statements.

i-flex makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and shall not be responsible for any loss or damage caused to the user by the direct or indirect use of this Presentation. i-flex may alter, modify or otherwise change in any manner the content hereof, without obligation to notify any person of such revision or changes.

All company and product names are trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

COPYRIGHT © 2003 i-flex solutions limited

All rights reserved.

Hunt

Sleep

Create/ResearchGatherKnowledge

Edit/ ProcessProduce

The cycleThe cycle

Sleep Hunt

EatReproduce

Lions survey a herd of wildebeest Lions survey a herd of wildebeest for a long time before proceeding on for a long time before proceeding on

the killthe kill

[1. Strategize][1. Strategize]

ThinkThink

Customer expectations

Documentation process

Deliverables

Estimate

Time

Cost

Resources

Internal expectations

Think long-termThink long-termVisualize end-resultVisualize end-result

Mongoose live Mongoose live in the in the hills termites hills termites buildbuild

[2. Co-operate][2. Co-operate]

Who is your community?Who is your community?

Developers

Test

Quality Assurance

Marketing

Sales

Management

Human Resources

Organization customers, partners…..

Each person has an important role to play…Each person has an important role to play…appreciate themappreciate them

Points of interactionPoints of interaction[some examples][some examples]

Developer buy in on:

User documentation

Manual suite

Buy in from colleagues on:

Intranet content

House magazine content

Customer buy in on:

User documentation (conduct surveys regularly)

Case studies

Press releases

When threatened, elephants form a When threatened, elephants form a circle around the young and the circle around the young and the

matriarch steps forward to challenge an matriarch steps forward to challenge an attacker.attacker.

[3. Mentor][3. Mentor]

Help!Help!

Guide new colleagues on assignments

Formalize and publish processes and practices

Counsel

Conduct frequent training

Encourage meetings

People are not grouped together to create silosPeople are not grouped together to create silos

Every winter hundreds of thousands of zebras Every winter hundreds of thousands of zebras migrate north migrate north

[4. Be process proactive][4. Be process proactive]

OrganizeOrganize

Each group head to publish processes

Team members to follow processes diligently

Process deviations to be documented

Process discussions to be held at regular meetings

Review processes frequentlyReview processes frequently

…realign…realign…realign…realign

The Gorillas follow the direction and The Gorillas follow the direction and lead of the Silverback as they move lead of the Silverback as they move

through the jungle hunting for food. through the jungle hunting for food.

[5. Be perceptive][5. Be perceptive]

Be aware ofBe aware of

Market trends – where the industry is heading

Technical Writing trends…what’s new – log in to www.stc.org

Company trends – new spaces being occupied in various verticals

Department trends – what your group is up to

Read at least one piece of information about Read at least one piece of information about the industry every weekthe industry every week

Finally…Finally…

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, draws a gun and fires. As he is on his way out, the waiter asks him why. The panda hands him a badly punctuated wildlife manual. The waiter reads, “Panda: Large black and white bear like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

“Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Lynne Truss (Profile Books)

God is in the detailsGod is in the details

If you’re not running faster than the fastest If you’re not running faster than the fastest predator…you’re dead meat.predator…you’re dead meat.

Thank youThank you

peter.yorke@iflexsolutions.com