Weird Jobs as new tech writer (Long)

["Karen E. Black" <kblack_text -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

I've been doing this for a few years now (12+), and have generally been used 
to:

* writing and updating heavy-duty user/reference manuals and end-user 
procedures for in-house and 3rd party applications the company customized
* writing quick reference guides, online help systems (both stand-alone and 
application-sensitive -- did I say that right?), training manuals, report 
docs, conversion guides, corporate policies and procedures, network engineer 
user guides, yada yada
* updating existing manuals and help systems for new software releases
* writing or updating hardware and software installation guides
* being the Word Bug Doctor and FrameMaker Template Queen

Along the way I've been the department training coordinator and occasionally 
the co-facilitator (hate that word) for in-house software training 
(including the course design and writing the training manual, as well as 
booking training rooms, and arranging for coffee and muffins (now can I 
expense the trip to Tim Horton's, even though it was on my way in to 
work?)), as well as being the photocopy/collate/distribute person.

I GUESS this sets me up for what I'm now doing, at a 126-year-old Canadian 
company that has never had a technical writer before, decided they needed 
one, and hired me 2 hours after my first interview with them (they never had 
a quality assurance manager or dedicated QA analyst before either, and we 
were all hired in the same batch from the same recruiter).

Anyways, since I've been here (3 months), I have:

* updated and reformatted one presentation document
* researched and written a Service Level Agreement template
* written 2 Web site usability analyses (wasn't asked, just did it)
* researched project management tools (like Rational Unified Process)
* analyzed our use of a system architecture software
* researched development process documentation tools and am part of the 
System Life Cycle project (we don't _have_ a system)
* been assigned to write a data modelling template for the DBAs, then create 
and maintain the data dictionary
* summarized Web design white papers for my boss
* been asked to come up with a general organization for our intranet
* will write a quick reference guide for our time entry system

This is a great learning experience, management does not suffer fools 
gladly, and I work with excellent people that I get along with well, but I'm 
beginning to think if anyone actually asks me to WRITE anything, I won't be 
able to do it.

Anyone else landed in the middle of an Elbonian expedition like this??

Karen E. Black
Technical Writer
www.dhltd.com
--------------------------------------------
"Higgledy Piggledy, my white hen;
She lays eggs for gentlemen.
You cannot persuade her with gun or lariat
To come across for the proletariat."
--Dorothy Parker

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