Campbell Chapter 3: Isn't there a law somewhere?

Chp 3 Campbell

Erik Sorensen and Kathryn Mears


Pages 57-62

Introduction (57-58):
Companies have a right to set rules, but it is not “absolute.” Meaning, certain rules—regarding safety, health, the rights of employees and consumers, liability, and contracts—are regulated by the government.
Legal advisors are important to consult in case of specific questions. Be careful to use their advice and your writing expertise to write documents.

What you can and will be sued for (58-59):
“Unclear, imprecise, or poorly worded procedures”
Example: a user being injured because instructions weren’t clear
Intentional or unintentional violation of the law
Example: a policy regarding just women can be viewed as gender discrimination
Policies and procedures that “restrict the organization’s ability to act”
Example: policies that contradict each other
Inconsistent enforcement of policies or not exercising certain policies
Example: firing someone for not following a policy that other workers don’t follow. A handbook may state that employees are allowed 2 late arrivals per week, but the manager doesn’t enforce this. Then, an employee is fired because of not following the policy.
Not stating the consequences of noncompliance
Example: a warranty is invalid for a mattress if it is stained, but it is not stated on the warranty terms.
“Incomplete, in improper order, or inaccurate”
Example: a user is injured because the order of the directions is reversed.

Barriers (59):
Language and literacy problems
The issuer must make every possible effort to be clear in communication. This may mean translation is necessary.
The manual must be written at an appropriate reading level for product users.

Types of Violations (59-63):
Tort
“A wrongful act”—an act that violates a law and the violated can be sued for it.
Example: if your manual violates a safety law
“Public policy:” acts that may not be against the law, but participating in them is against the public interest.
Policies that violated public policy can be grounds for a lawsuit.
Example: an employee has jury duty and must miss work. The organization can’t punish this for any reason but it serves the public interest.
Negligence
A type of tort
“Failure to exercise reasonable care in instances where such care is a duty under the law”
Example: Writing operating procedures that are inaccurate and could result in injury
Related to product liability and operating procedures. An organization is “obliged to give clear, complete, and reasonable instructions for installation, operation, maintenance, and repair.”
Informal and unwritten rules can still be grounds for lawsuits if problems occur.
Not having “responsible policies” can lead to negligence also.
Breach of Implied Contract
Policies and procedures are considered contracts and must follow the same law
Why it is: stated policies and established procedures can create the right to continue employment if they lead employees to believe that the aforementioned are: Established and Official Rules, Fair Rules, Uniformly apply to all employees
Where it applies: Handbooks which are thought to be well constructed and thought policies about how to conduct matters. Courts will hold you responsible for your statements about them
Basically anything you say you will do means you will do it, you can inadvertently create a contract
Good Faith requires to look in to any matter involving an employee without a history of troubles and then acting appropriately concerning history

Disclaimers
o They can protect your company by saying that policy and procedure are not contracts and are subject to change at any time at managements discretion
o Another example is saying that certain warranties do not apply if other certain conditions were not adhered to
o Covering your rear end

Manual vs Handbook
o Handbooks may deal with information distributed to a wide audience while a manual is considered to be aimed more specifically
o In any case make sure there is a place for employee to acknowledge that he/she understands handbook or manual
Appeasing the Courts
o Can’t all be lawyers
1. Operate in a safe, reasonable manner – develop policies and procedures that are accurate
2. Communicate them clearly – Tell people what they are supposed to do and how
3. Enforce the policies and procedure uniformly – be consistent in any enforcement of violations
Protecting Yourself
o No guarantees in the courtroom
o Two goals – minimize legal exposure and be in a good position to defend yourself in the event of a legal matter
o Be conservative in creating
1. Content is appropriate, sufficient and accurate
2. Writing is clear, understandable and precise

Courts hate guessing games, the more precise and accurate the easier it is to defend your actions regarding the enforcement of policies and procedures.

Barker Chapter 3

Barker Chapter 3: Writing to Guide – Procedures

The chapter discusses the organization of software documentation into 3 levels of support: teaching, guidance, and reference. It also covers the formats found in manuals and online help: standard, prose, parallel, and context sensitive.

Guidelines:
Relate the task to meaningful workplace procedures
Determine how much information your user needs
Choose the appropriate procedural format
Follow a rhythm of exposition
Test all procedures for accuracy

Relating the task to meaningful workplace procedures means writing the procedures so the user can see how the steps of this task can be applied to things they actually do in the workplace. Show them how learning this step can be used in real-life situations.

Determining how much information your user needs can be determined with a user analysis (that will be covered in a later chapter) to assess the level of detail needed in the procedure, which also can vary by the complexity of the task you are trying to teach. The author used descriptions like “rich with detail” and “sparse detail,” and gave examples how to make detail-rich procedures:

Screen shots
Cautions and warnings
Tips for efficient use
Tables showing options the user can take with specific steps
References to other sections of the manual or other resources
Explanations

Choosing the appropriate procedural format explains the different accepted formats for manuals and online help and suggests a well-designed procedure sticks to one or two accepted formats for consistency, but warns that you fill find inconsistencies in manuals today. The different formats were discussed giving both advantages and disadvantages of using that particular procedure.

Standard Format
Prose Format
Parallel Format
Embedded Help

Following a rhythm of exposition means a pattern of step, note, and illustration – I give you a command, I tell you how the program will respond, I illustrate what happened, and then I tell you the next step.

Testing all procedures for accuracy are evaluative tests. Get an actual user or as a last resort, use yourself to make sure the steps reflect the program. Be prepared to discover things you may have overlooked or left out.
Discussion section discussed what constitutes a procedure. Procedures fulfill the user’s purpose which is how to use the program. Procedures function on different levels:

Guidance level
Support level
Teaching level

The parts of a procedure contribute to the overall task orientation of the procedure.

Task name- should describe the job a users preforms
Overview-introduction
Steps-most important because it directs the user
Elaborations-explination of steps
Options-save time and space
Screens-gives a way for the user to know that they are looking at is right

Campbell Chapter 2: Where Do I Start?

Kathy Owens had a good idea to go ahead and comment on this chapter even though no blog was officially posted so here are my thoughts on this chapter:
I found the information helpful because, although I've participated with a team to created portions of a policy and procedure plan, I've never had to actually prepare one. I already used some of the steps, such as audience analysis and planning on the Policy and Procedure assignment. I did an impromptu survey of my work group to get their input on what's wrong with our online training manual since no one really takes advantage of it during the course of a day, with the exception of the newer employees. I liked the Tools and Resources at the end of the chapter as they help me formulate what needs to happen next, such as figuring out from the survey feedback what's not working on the site. Although this project is small compared to a large work group, I will use a lot of these tips.