Embedded Files
Audience, Purpose, & Style
Audience, Purpose, & Style
Audience
Audience
Formal and informal accounting of information for people within a company, within a project, for regulatory agencies
Purpose
Purpose
Required by company policy
Required by the terms of the contract
Needed to control the on-going work
Needed as data for estimating future work
Needed for preserving the contractor's rights under the contract
Style
Style
Must be created as events unfold (not comprehensive or as worthwhile if created long after the event)
Must be systematic, accurate, understandable, and retrievable
Must be on-going (maintained, up-to-date)
Most useful when records are analyzed and information learned is applied to improve future work and current systems
Record keeping systems must also be reviewed and analyzed for current and future usefulness
Checklist
Checklist
I. Analysis
Why is the record being created?
How, where, and when is the record to be
formatted
stored
retrieved?
How long does the record need to be kept? This is often a legal requirement.
II. Evaluation
Content
Is the record closed to multiple interpretations?
Does the record contain all required information in a concise form?
Tone
Is the record written without added opinion?
Style
Is the record written in language to satisfy the purpose of the documentation?
Are sentences short and direct?
Has the record been composed shortly after the event, i.e., in a timely manner?
Attitude
Is the record honest and accurate?
Appearance
Is the record written so another person can read and understand it?
If a record is hand written, is it legible
Is the record done in the required format?
Source: The outline of this list was informed by Betty Ricks and Kay F. Gow’s Business Communication: Systems and Applications (1987).
Examples
Examples
Page updated
Report abuse