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Subject:Re: SMEs and me (continued) From:Chris Hamilton <cah_91 -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 10 Jul 2000 04:37:19 -0700 (PDT)
--- Laura -dot- A -dot- MacLemale -at- BENDER -dot- COM wrote:
>
> That is not to assume that the SME or anyone else
involved in the development process is neglecting the
end user, or that the tech writer is the end user's
knight in shining armor.<snip> [W]e are one step
closer to the end user just by virtue of the entire
process.
First of all, absent any type of user analysis and
feedback, any claims to being a user advocate are
spurious, to one degree or another. That doesn't mean
they're invalid. Many companies don't have the time,
money, or inclination to talk to users or to include
them in the process. When time to market is important,
sometimes you have to make business decisions...
Second, it depends on your work environment and the
product you're creating (a point Laura made). Our
product requires the use of MQSeries. Our developers
program in MQSeries. Guess who's closer to the user in
terms of knowing what the user wants and how to
structure it. (But guess who's better at putting all
that together.)
Chris
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