Re: Archimedes Socrates, ace tech writer, wins another one

Subject: Re: Archimedes Socrates, ace tech writer, wins another one
From: "Michael West" <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- net -dot- au>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2001 17:04:50 +1000

Andrew Plato wrote:

> Exactly! The two concepts: technical acumen and understanding user needs,
> are intimately interdependent. Hence, a writer professing only one of
> these two skills is not ideally suited for the task of documenting complex
> technology.

Are communications skills not worth a mention here?

Or is "documenting complex technology" something
grander and more exalted than telling some poor sod
clearly and simply how to install a firewall router ?


> I have found that the more I understand some technology, the more I can
> anticipate what the user needs to know and how best to explain it to them.

What I would like to know more about is what
happens after "anticipating" that makes you know
"how best to explain" something. For me, the
anticipation is only the beginning. Knowing *what*
needs explaining does not make me know *how*
best to explain it. Is it different for you? Do the
mechanics of clear communication just follow magically
upon your anticipation?

Without wanting to get into a chicken/egg circularity,
*I* have found that the more closely I adhere to rules
of clear communication, the more I am required to
discover about both the subject matter and the user's
requirements. (This is because clear communication
requires clear thinking.) So for me, the dictates of clear
communication compel me to increase my knowledge.
For you (apparently) something like the reverse is true.

Perhaps we are describing the same interdependacy from
two different frames of reference, and perhaps not.

--
Michael West
Melbourne


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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/

+++ Miramo -- Database/XML publishing automation. See us at +++
+++ Seybold SFO, Sept. 25-27, in the Adobe Partners Pavilion +++
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References:
Re: Archimedes Socrates, ace tech writer, wins another one: From: Andrew Plato

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