TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
RE: Should the Doc Manager be equal to the Dev Manager?
Subject:RE: Should the Doc Manager be equal to the Dev Manager? From:"Giordano, Connie" <Connie -dot- Giordano -at- FMR -dot- COM> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 8 Aug 2001 10:31:01 -0400
Kent,
It is a continuing thread for some of us! I have always advocated the idea
that TW's are more than writers or document formatters, and that
documentation is not an end product in itself. As such, it's critical to be
a part of site visits/user group discussions, and other arenas, to determine
how the product is being used in the real world, and make contributions to
its improvement. Where you have usability folks as a separate role, it may
be less likely, but somebody needs to be doing it, and in many companies,
TW's have the necessary skills and mind set to be effective at it.
Unfortunately, too many fail to push for this as a full-fledged product
design and support function, and just can't expand their self-image beyond
writer-only duties.
It's incredibly difficult to cost-justify field-testing documentation, but
it's easier to cost-justify field testing/observation of the product in use.
I may be a Senior Technical Writer by title, but my real role is product
design and user support, in all its many forms.
If you push for it, it can happen-- I finally got site visits and user
observation included in my performance objectives during my last review!
MTC
Connie Giordano
-----Original Message-----
From: Christensen, Kent [mailto:lkchris -at- sandia -dot- gov]
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 10:17 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Should the Doc Manager be equal to the Dev Manager?
re: Tech writers RARELY work directly with customers, and thus their ideas
of usability are based on ethereal ideas of usefulness and not how people
are REALLY using the products. (Plato)
Agreed, and I wonder why it's not a continuing thread on this list (like,
e.g., job finding) to discuss how to better get tech writers in touch their
with customers.
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
A landmark hotel, one of America's most beautiful cities, and
three and a half days of immersion in the state of the art:
IPCC 01, Oct. 24-27 in Santa Fe. http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
