Rules for Better Email

After writing my firsst 8 articles I have thought about it and the responses interest I have got and decided on my next article to be on "Rules on Better Email"

This article is extracted from the following site if you wish to followup get further explanation here is the link and the article written by Leon Bambrick.


I've been putting together Development Guidelines for my employer and in the process have reviewed many published standards (in the .Net arena) from around the world. In each category, the suggestions at SSW are always among the best.
- Leon Bambrick,

http://www.ssw.com.au/ssw/Standards/Rules/RulesToBetterEmail.aspx



Often their emails are rambling and unorganized, forcing the reader to wade through blocks of totally useless text. When it comes to written communication, less is more. Having hundreds of emails in your Inbox is not uncommon. But it's very uncommon to find people who successfully manage their Inbox. Instead they let their Inbox become a great black hole with no business value. Email has a bad name in business primarily because people don't treat email correctly. Email can be a vital tool to your company and your software development project, but it has to be managed. Email will be an accurate record of requests, conversations, and decisions. Emails are legal documents and will be treated with the same care as any other correspondence with clients or employees. Email is also in an extremely effective task tracking tool, and requests made by email will be treated with the same seriousness as Project Plans and other directives, for email can be seen as the protocol between the sender and receiver. Here are a series of email rules / etiquette that govern how we use our Inbox.
Do you agree with them all? Are we missing some? Email us your tips, thoughts or arguments. Let us know what you think.
*** Update *** Instead of manually implementing these rules, use SSW LookOut! to automatically implement them for you. If you use Microsoft Outlook as your email client, download it and give it a go.
Indicates important rule
Rules to Better Email
Do you use email for tasks - not communication?
Is your inbox a task list only?
Do you reply DONE and delete the email?
Do you save important items in a separate folder?
Do you keep the history of an email?
Do you send unnecessary emails?
Do you know how to hurry someone up?
Do you realize the importance of a good email Subject?
Do you sort your emails by Received AND Important?
Do you know when, and when NOT, to use email?
Do you realise that less is more?
Do you know the right way to report bugs?
Do you use the voting option appropriately?
Do you seek Clarification Via the Telephone First
Do you prepare, then confirm conversations/decisions?
Do you send yourself emails?
Do you CC everyone and reply to all when necessary?
Do you use email signatures?
Do you avoid using images in your email signatures?
Do you keep your email addresses in a company database?
Do you always keep your sent items?
Do you think that when replying to emails it's better late than never?
Do you minimize Outlook distractions?
Do you follow up emails effectively?
Do you know the two ways to follow up a task?
Do answer all questions, and pre-empt further ones?
Do you add context/reasoning to your emails?
Do you avoid the Rules Wizard?
Do you use active language in your emails?
Do you know that people misunderstand sarcasm in email?
Are you careful with your spelling, grammar and punctuation?
Do you know how to add someone into the conversation?
Use Tasks only for Recurring Appointments
Do you manage your Deleted Items?
Do you include the name of the person you address as the first line?
Do you send tasks one email at a time?
Do you respond to each email individually?
Do you use > and indentation to keep the context?
When you reply inline, do you use a different color?
When asked to change content, do you reply with the content before and after the change?
Do you avoid emailing sensitive information?
Do you always remember your attachment?
Do you avoid huge images or attachments in your email?
Do you use Word as your Editor?
Do you resist the urge to SPAM to an email alias?
Do you avoid sending your emails immediately?
Do you know how to recall an email?
Can you sort your emails by ClientID?
Do you manage your email accounts?
Do you use "Request a Receipt" selectively?
Do you send Outlook Calendar appointments when appropriate?
Do you know how to add an appointment in someone else's calendar?
Have you done follow-up for tomorrow appointment?
Appointments - Do you see who is coming to the meeting in the subject?
Do you avoid putting the time and date into the text field of a meeting?
Do you avoid using Auto Archive?
Do you remember that Emails aren't your property?
Do you monitor company email?
Do you avoid using words that make your email like junk mail?
Do you unsubscribe from newsletters?
Do you avoid replying to all when you are only BCC'ed?
Do you use the security options in Outlook 2003?
Do you use Offline Email?
Do you avoid using Out of Office?
Do you fix up the history?
How do you reply to free support requests which would need more than 20 minutes work?
Do you include the original content in your email when asking for modifications to be made?
Do you use a search tool to find your lists of sent items instead of doing it manually?
Do you assume necessary tasks will get approval?
Do you work offline with the current release public folder?
Are you aware of the importance of client's attachment?
Do you know how to reduce spam?
Do you know when to use +1?
Do you put the estimation at the bottom of the email when sending a task to self?
Do you know how to reply a bug or problem reported?
Do you know how to hand over tasks to others?
Do you avoid attaching emails to emails?
Do you not send bulk email in the TO field if all parties are not contacts of each other