Re: What then is the SME/TW functional relationship? (was Re: Theory vs. Practice (was: What's a TW etc...)

Subject: Re: What then is the SME/TW functional relationship? (was Re: Theory vs. Practice (was: What's a TW etc...)
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 09:53:37 -0800

Melody Akins wrote:

My comment: Of what use are Subject Matter Experts, then?
In one word: consultation. On most projects, developers have specific responsibilities. When what they're doing overlaps with another developer's work, they consult. They need to be sure that there's uniformity, that everyone knows what is necessary to know, and that everyone knows what's not written down. Sometimes, they debug each other's work.

It's no different for writers. Writers need to know the overall design of the project, but are unlikely to know the specifics of any single part of the project. They need to know what's changed, and what's likely to change. Sometimes, they need somebody to check their work.

Consultation, by the way, is very different from dependency. When you consult, you're looking for confirmation, or for additional information to round off what you already know. By contrast, when you're dependent on the information you receive, there can't be any exchange. Consultation is a relation between equals or near-equals, while dependency quickly suggests a subordinate position.

If the TW has no requirement to submit the product for review by the SME,
then why is the SME on the project / development team in the first place?

To write the code? Some companies - and even more SMEs - don't consider the documentation the SME's responsibility. Even at better companies, SMEs don't always have the time to focus on documentation. As a result, the answers from SMEs are frequently inaccurate or incomplete. This isn't an ideal situation, but it's very common. The more that writers can work independently, and the better that they can judge the answers they get, the easier writing tends to be.


Does the TW just check in with the SME if there are a few *minor* (who gets
to judge what is minor? The TW? The SME?) questions?

The answers to these questions depend on the situation and your relations with developers, so they can't really be commented on generally.

--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"It's as bad as it gets
The Surgeon General said, 'you're better off with cigarettes,'
If you must have your bad habits, why don't you stick to booze:
Love's been linked to the blues."
-David Olney, "Love's Been Linked to the Blues"







^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now's a great time to buy RoboHelp! You'll get SnagIt screen capture
software and a $200 onsite training voucher FREE when you buy RoboHelp
Office or RoboHelp Enterprise. Hurry, this offer expires February 28, 2002. www.ehelp.com/techwr

---
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.



References:
Re: Theory vs. Practice (was: What's a TW etc...): From: MichaelHuggins
Re: Theory vs. Practice (was: What's a TW etc...): From: Bruce Byfield
What then is the SME/TW functional relationship? (was Re: Theory vs. Practice (was: What's a TW etc...): From: Melody Akins

Previous by Author: Re: Are you a writer?
Next by Author: Re: Intro
Previous by Thread: What then is the SME/TW functional relationship? (was Re: Theory vs. Practice (was: What's a TW etc...)
Next by Thread: RE: Theory vs. Practice (was: What's a TW etc...)


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads