Dear Mr. Persnickety...

When working on a very large, critical project, I sent out a comprehensive (new) BRD for everyone to look at. (Before this all requests and requirements were done over the phone – no lie!) This is what I received from one tech writer, and my responses are in italics:

Here are my comments on the BRD for client-specific issues. As I look up from my spot at the bottom of the org chart, I doubt that my approval is required for us to move ahead, but thanks for asking me to review the document. I hope these notes are helpful to you, even though this is one of those days when I'm a lot more persnickety than usual.

I included you on the distribution list was to okay the formatting piece. I asked for neither a review or a critique, but since you took the time to be persnickety, I'll attempt to dissuade your fears.

It's obvious that this document was written in haste. This does not affect my use of the document in the least, but I would recommend polishing it from stem to stern before this BRD is presented to clients or senior management.

There was no haste involved (LOL!). This is a living document and is by no means finished. Further, the entire project is internal, and no clients see any part of the BRD.

I noticed that item 1 under "Project Run Criteria" refers to a New Letter column heading that appears nowhere in this document. Neither does the Type of Letter column heading that is also mentioned there.

The New Letter and Letter Type columns are part of the original spreadsheet that started this whole endeavor. Those involved in the project understand the reference.

The list is missing two custom items that are sitting on my desk right now.

The new items are not listed in the master spreadsheet and/or the BRD because they do not yet exist. All the in-progress items are assigned to me as the project manager and I am tracking them.

That omission leads me to wonder whether the other lists are complete.

The lists are complete.

In the Trigger Event for the various items, I would change the wording to read "If the patient is a minor". Without the "a", "minor" is an adjective that says the letter only goes to trivial or unimportant patients. With the "a", it's clear that "minor" is a noun and that the issue is age, not personal status. Adding the word "the" just makes the description more idiomatic and easier to read.

This is a trigger, not a damned essay. Any/all developers that would be using this document will readily understand the meaning of the word ‘minor’.

Finally, I have a question that merely reflects my ignorance of standard Project Management professional terminology. On page 4, "Project Plan" is defined as "(this) Master document". Why? In my mind, there is a useful distinction between a description of the business requirements for a project (the BRD) and the project plan that is based upon those requirements. I always understood that the latter, even at the most general level of planning, has to include a list of goals or milestones accompanied by their (sometimes approximate) deadline dates. Which is not part of the document we are considering here.

Every one thinks they’re a project manager… Yes, I am amused! As in the BRD, the Work Breakdown Structure (schedule) complete with milestone and due dates will be hyperlinked along with test plans, results and more. Goals and milestone as in essence the same thing. To Clarify: the PROJECT PLAN is the totality of all project document necessary to complete the project. The SCHEDULE or WBS (work breakdown structure) is in MS Project.

After receiving my reply, he called and apologized blaming his tirade on a bad work environment.

TRUE STORY!