Re: Persuation

["Laura Winkelspecht" <daisylion -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

Delurking...

I recently had to do this exact thing. The arguments I used included the 
following:

Writing skill. Even people who think they have good writing skills might not 
be able to write technical documentation. Just like I could never write a 
novel. ;)

Documentation system skill. Unless a person is going to use the system on a 
regular basis, it wastes much time just becoming familiar with the system. 
In addition, a tech writer will know how to format and organize a manual to 
make it the most user friendly.

Having an SME do the documentation takes the SME away from what they are 
supposed to be doing, what they are trained and paid to do. Because of this, 
documentation usually is low on the priority list. If a company feels 
documentation is important (if it's not, why do it?), they should have 
someone doing it who will be able to give it the attention it deserves.

Additionally, documentation projects an image that the company must be
willing to accept. If documentation is unprofessional, what does that say 
about the company?

Finally, it all boils down to getting people to read the manual. If they 
don't use the manual because it's poorly organized, hard to understand, and 
not formatted and written from their perspective, they would rather call a 
help desk, ask someone else, try to figure it out themselves, or not use the 
product.

Laura Winkelspecht
Documentation Coordinator


bernice kieffer asks: