Minor typos and the QA guy/scrummaster

[Combs, Richard]

jackdeland at comcast.net wrote:
 
> My QA guy has a problem with chasing minor typos in our docs: it takes
> longer to document the typo than it does to fix it. He wants a solution
> that bypasses the need for FrameMaker, and has read an article that
> says Word 2013 will allow editing of PDFs in native format. He wants
> the developers to be able to do this to my docs.

The developers should be responsible for fixing typos? Really?

Why does it take longer to document the typo than to fix it? What's the process? Can't it be simplified?

Is this during the technical review cycle, or what?
 
> I’ve explained all the many problems with using Word, but he is still
> searching for an answer, which means I am too.
> 
> What is your solution to the problem he sees?  To me, it should be a
> non-problem, i.e., typos should not exist anyway, and the developers
> should not be allowed anywhere near my “source”, but the reality is
> that he has more say in it than I (he is also scrummaster).

You're not going to like my answer: Fix the typos before you hand the docs over for review. Check and re-check. Make sure there's nothing for the developers to focus on but the technical accuracy and clarity of the content. 
 
One of two things is going on here. Either you're handing off sloppily edited, non-spell-checked docs that contain a distracting number of "typos," or your QA guy is seizing on the rare glitch as an excuse to accomplish some other purpose: change your authoring tool, get editorial control, etc. Either way, I'd take it as a warning sign that some people aren't happy with your work. It may be the typos or it may be something bigger. 

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
------