The document discusses team work in technical communication. It outlines the advantages and disadvantages of working in a team. Some key advantages include combining different expertise, reducing workload, and increasing creativity through more ideas. Potential disadvantages include some team members not contributing equally or certain ideas being dismissed. The document also provides tips for effective team project management, such as creating outlines and style guides. It describes the role of a project manager in overseeing teams and ensuring projects are completed on time. Finally, it outlines the typical documentation project life cycle from planning to delivery to post-production evaluation.

1. TC – TEAM WORK
(Class-7)
Prepared by
Ms Rijitha R
MA,M.Phil (Comm), SET
Assistant Professor
Department of EM

2. Team work in Technical
Communication
“The Success of the project is usually
‘.reflected by the amount of teamwork and
Communication that occur in an organization”.
In most of the professional organizations it is
imperative for employees to have experience
and Communication skills to work in a team.

3. Technical Writing Team
1. Production Team
2. Writers
3. Graphic designers
4. Proof readers

4. Advantages of working as a Team
• Teams usually combine people with different expertise that
have unique abilities to contribute to the completeness of
the document or project. The differences in ability is a key
to making the project focused from different aspects. The
combination of the team's knowledge, skills, and abilities
can really contribute to a much better end product than
if done alone.
• Teams reduce the workload of doing the whole project
alone. Many projects are large and time consuming. With
many members of a team working together the quality of
the project will be greater. We must also keep in mind
that, generally, a team project is much more extensive than
an individual project which is why they assigned it to more
than one person.

5. Advantages of working as a Team
• Teams bring together more ideas and increase
creativity. In teams there are more ideas and
more discussion of which ideas would work and
why. There is also more conflict which can lead to
further discussion about many ideas.
• Teams help bring out the best qualities of every
person, and as you all work together, your team
may help teach you things you didn't know.

6. Disadvantages of Working in a Team
• Team members may fear being the outcast so they might just
agree with the group even though they think differently. There
can be a loss of self, people might have to adapt to please their
teammates. They may feel "de-individualization" which can make a
team gang up on one persons idea. It is also very likely that the
team will attack the person, and not their idea.
• Some team members do not allow peers to voice their opinions on
a topic or task, making the project very one-sided. Strong opinions
and individuals sometimes assume the leadership role and do
not include their teammates opinions. This can defeat the purpose
of a group project, and generally the person in the leadership role
feels they are carrying the team on their back and can get upset with
the team, when in reality they are not allowing the other team
members to work.

7. Disadvantages of Working in a Team
• Team work takes more time because members should agree to a certain
extent. It takes more time, because members have to wait for completed
portions of the project from their teammates before moving on. If it was
individual project they could just continue at their own pace. It also takes a
significant amount of time for group meetings. Emailing is a common
form of communication in group projects which can also lead to
miscommunications because people may interpret the emails differently,
technology may fail causing it not to send to everyone, or people do not
open the email.
• Some Team members may not pull their weight causing others to do more
work. They are known as free loaders. The success of the team depends on
the completeness of the work. If a team member slacks off, someone has
to pick up their slack. Also, other team members may get upset because
the free loaders will get the same credit as they do, causing a rift in the
energy of the group, which can in return cause the end product not to live
up to its potential

8. Create and Share Team Plans
• Discussing plans with the team – Discussions can lead to a better understanding of the goal
because conversations are easier to remember and questions can be asked. Ideas can be agreed upon
and implemented into the work. One idea would be to sit down as a group and brainstorm ideas
regarding how you want your document to look, then there will be a general consensus and the group
can move forward.
• Create an outline – This will help guide the team and give the team a written “schedule” of what
will be done. It also allows members to get a role that fits their schedule.
• Use Storyboard – This is done before drafting and it helps decide what the content for each part of
their communication will be. Usually team members write down main points, sub-points, and some
graphics that may be included.
• Use a Style Guide – This is crucial so that each section is in the same format. Make sure the team
knows what format to use before the project begins so that the team does not have to go back and
edit according to the style.
• (A style guide is a set of standards for writing and designing content; it defines the style that should
be used in communication within a particular organization.)

9. Project Manager
• A manager is the person or people who are given the duties of overseeing
those who carry out the details of the project. They are in charge of a group
of people who work for them. The size of the group and number of people
involved in the project varies depending on the size of the project.
• The unique thing about managers is that they do not need to be good at the
tasks that are involved with the project. They do, however, need to be able
to delegate assignments and resources to the appropriate people and meet
the deadlines. A knowledge of what is required to accomplish the project is
what makes an outstanding manager along with great organization and
communication skills.
• It is important for a project manager to act and look professional. Their job
is important, and of course in all things business, image is everything.

10. Project management of
documentation projects
• Good project management makes sure that your
documentation project will be a success.
• People in your team must invest time to answer
our questions.
• Typical software documentation projects on
which the project team work, take between 10
days and 60 days (project time) to complete.

11. Documentation project life cycle
• TW’s manages the documentation project from initial discussions to delivery
to your customers.
• Planning. They create a documentation plan (project plan) that specifies the work,
the assumptions, the duration, and so on.
• Production. Information about the software and about how to use the software
details will be collected from the source. Then, TW supply a draft of the
documentation.
• Usability testing. They do basic usability testing when they use the software.
• Delivery. Finally the source files will be given to the concerned organization. If
they require the production of printed documentation , the TW team would provide
that too.
• Post-production. To evaluate the effectiveness of the documentation, they also
supply you with a questionnaire that you can send to your customers. The answers
from your customers will help to identify parts of the documentation that can be
improved.

12. Thank You