Ian Burke Writing For the Profession Blog

       After a more comprehensive introduction on how to do projects and how to propose one, Miner & Miner kick off the first reading of this post with possibly the most pertinent question a proposal can answer: "How will this project get done?" Along with justifying why your methodological approach was selected over several others, the section describing a projects' methods must also lay out in detail the process and personnel associated with the methods, instruments, activities and plans, and project timelines. The personnel associated are typically divided into three categories: staff, test subjects, and collaborators. Staff should have a small biosketch in the appendices, and the methodology for selecting test subjects must be described to the grant reviewers; is the project geared towards a certain demographic or is there a broader approach at work? For collaborators, it is a tenuous and painstaking process which involves all parties knowing what resources t...

    Lannon's section continues with the trend of usability and quality in the workplace with the introduction of the most common form of information exchange in the workplace: the memorandum. The memo has the advantage over more long-form reports in that there is no extensive research process, and are written in a way that it communicates the important information clearly and in a very concise way. The ideal memo should be very easy to scan and very easy to obtain by all employees in the workplace. Memos are published to address questions such as "what are we doing and how can we improve upon it"; the approach one takes in the memo in regards to criticisms or changing rules must remain reasonable in order to avoid hostility. Over complaining and overcriticizing, as well as not shipping out the memo to everybody, is a surefire way to create a hostile work environment. One could organize the memo as directly addressing your main point followed by the details or data support...