operations documentation

[Stan Zaslavsky]

this is more of a business question

i've been told that in order to develop a proper business out of the "self-employed job" that i currently have - i need to put together operations manuals and other such documents that will then allow me to give them to someone less trained and they should be able to follow "low-value" tasks.

 

has anyone here gone through this seemingly overwhelming process and had sucess at the other end using this documentation effectively?

 

thanks in advance

 

cheers,

[Lester_Masterson]

I once asked this of my "co-worker" who, at the time, was the only person in our office with knowledge of the SGI systems. We always worried he'd get hit by a bus and we would be doomed.

 

So we set out to documenting his tasks. After several days, we gave up.

 

I do not envy you and your task. If you find an easy way to "document" everything you have stored in your brain....let us know.

 

Good Luck

[mahorela]

The non technical (sales etc) members of my office are incessantly requesting procedural documentation. They just cannot understand that procedures and techniques constantly change and that documenting this would be a full time job. After all Brian Smith has been writing some very hefty books on the subject. I usually just write some broadstrokes stuff about workflow etc. Shuts them up momentarily.

[3rddimension]

Ah the QMS - Quaslity Management System! - We had to write one recently for a government tender. Initially thought it would be a couple of pages - ended up being over 30!! Good luck with it however one thing I would say is that you will find it beneficial.

 

Regards

Nick

3rddimension dot ie

[BVI]

this is more of a business question

i've been told that in order to develop a proper business out of the "self-employed job" that i currently have - i need to put together operations manuals and other such documents that will then allow me to give them to someone less trained and they should be able to follow "low-value" tasks.

 

has anyone here gone through this seemingly overwhelming process and had sucess at the other end using this documentation effectively?

 

thanks in advance

 

cheers,

 

Hey Stan, don't believe 'them' (the people who tell you that you need process doucments, business plans and the like to make a success of your business). The truth is, most of the documents that you create will be invalid the moment you start. A rough cost outline may suffice in the beginning, but none of that 'document hell' garbage is necessary.

 

Here are a few posts from my fav. business and design blog:

 

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1707-the-only-plan-is-to-learn-as-you-go

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1457-when-was-the-last-time-you-looked-at-your-business-plan

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1671-link-study-finds-business-plans-a-waste-of-time

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1805-lets-just-call-plans-what-they-are-guesses

[BrianKitts]

The business plan as mentioned above is probably the right move, but I think operational documentation depends on the size of your operation. Which is something I haven't seen covered on any threads here on the forums.

 

If you are a one man operation that at times may have one or two people working for you, then process documentation is properly a waste of time as our processes are always adapting to better work-flows.

 

On the other hand if you have a lot of people that you are responsible for then, process documentation is vital to success. I currently have about 8-10 people in the firm (of 200) using 3dsmax/vray for generating all types of imagery. So rather than teaching everyone one-on-one I've written numerous tutorials on common tasks like importing geometry into max from various other applications, creating rendered site plans with realistic lighting, creating hidden line renders, AO white model renders, and photoshop image manipulation for post process. This also leads to a more consistant product coming out of the firm during the DD phases of design. And then it frees me up to handle more of the finalized / polished imagery and animations.

 

This is a major time saver when it comes to teaching, it's more efficient for me to put the time into a tutorial instead of teaching a process 20 times. This will be even more important to have ready when the economy recovers and we start building up our staffing to the levels that we were at around 2006-2007.

 

Although I'll admit that even though I don't mind doing it, I was coerced into it considering someone mentioned when I joined the firm that someone had previously had my occupation in the firm a few years prior but he never documented any of his processes even though the principals had requested it, and well.... he's no longer with the firm.

Edited December 2, 2009 by BrianKitts

[Stan Zaslavsky]

thank you all so much for the replies.

 

Brian - i agree with you - ultimately it depends on how large i would like to create my business. And tutorials is a great idea - because although there is a fair bit of creative expression that goes into our work - the basic steps are all the same.

 

And Bob - Brian Smith has definitely written some great books - i have all three of them and waiting for the next one - so potentially once i start growing the business - it will be a matter of giving the appropriate book to the employees and saying - here it is - go through it and train yourself to create imagery this way.

 

I think it will be a matter of sitting down regularly and writing out any processes that are involved - but it will be a task that will probably take a few months if not longer.

 

thanks again for your comments

[BVI]

thank you all so much for the replies.

it will be a matter of giving the appropriate book to the employees and saying - here it is - go through it and train yourself to create imagery this way.

 

I know i'd get a few blank stares if I handed my staff a book and told them to learn something - maybe if it was a Playboy, i'd get a reaction.

[AndyC]

The way you move a self employed thing into a business is a lot more than writing a few documents.

 

First, YOU need YOUR documents. The ones that are for you as the owner. First and foremost a business plan. However even this will change and develop, BUT your goals and economic plans play an indicator of how to asses your success.

 

The idea of process as a dictatorial standard is one method however your overall strategy to make other others commit to challenging your and each others process will enhance what you could write down no end. Simple production standards is one thing, but anything more than the basics needs to be a collaborative assessment of your group skills and requirements. In otherwords, its not about writing it all down and going for it, its about gathering all the knowledge you have, all the best minds you know and challenging every idea, thought and process you can conceive to identify a direction that suits YOUR group skills and the offer you can make as a team. You essentially have to get out of 'this is about me' and discover the 'this is about us'.

[Stan Zaslavsky]

hi Andy,

of course its a lot more than just a bit of writing - some operations documents are things like - how do we answer the phone consistently so that clients always hear the same message and start to feel that in everything else we do - its going to be a consistent result.

 

i do have my business documents - they are as you say a living always developing document - but its a start.

 

maybe what i more so meant rather than "operation documents" - is as you put it - production standards which hopefully can ensure a consistent result for the clients every time.

 

what would you suggest be some of the steps to start "this is about us" thinking? is it a matter of working with others or talking about a team.

[AndyC]

Hi Stan,

 

Well it might be easier to define two distinct functions.

 

First. Operations, from office protocol (answering the phone, typical staff task asignments) to production standards (software setup and product delivery). I would suggest you ensure this list is the bare minimum, the most obvious and ones that beyond question.

 

Second. Process/strategy. Pull your team together, even if its two others, and have them write the full list independantly. Then, you write your full list. Give each list to one another and make each person justify another persons ideas while everyone else pull its apart. Once you have argued and concluded that list, ask two other outsiders (well experienced from another industry perhaps) to argue your list to you, and you pick holes in it. Eventually you will have a well considered plan of action. I know its a complicated process but its one that most enterprise firms use to plan strategy.

 

You have to try and engage your team to feel ownership and also let go of your overwhealming rule that you have had for so long, even if something feels right to you . . . you now have to challenge your own instinct by assesing the biases that e all allow to cloud our judgement.

 

Good luck with your planning, its an awesome thing to do!

 

Beyond anything, the thing that make your business work of course is clients, clients, clients . . . . but dont let your scramble for work lead you down a road that isnt your vision.

 

Again, good luck!!!

[Stan Zaslavsky]

Hi Andy,

 

Brilliant - thanks so much for the indepth answer. Planning is great - but actually looking at the big picture and then drilling down to workable steps is the process i'm after.

 

So I'll take it one bite at a time and we'll see what happens in a year's time.

 

All the best,