Writing documentation for other tech writers?

Subject: Writing documentation for other tech writers?
From: "Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 08:32:20 -0500


Sella Rush wondered: <<For anyone doing backend/SDK documentation, have you
ever written materials for the tech writers who'll be documenting the end
product?>>

Nope, but I suspect the same principles apply as in any other type of
writing: know the audience needs, and write to satisfy them.

<<I'm thinking it would be useful to include something (a section in the
SDK? a simple FAQ?) that's written directly to their documentation team.
This document would be a repackaging of existing information, laying out hot
issues and explaining the ramifications, rather than forcing those tech
writers to wade through the developer-targeted material--or more likely
relying on their dev staff to trickle the information down.>>

Sounds like an excellent value-added tool. Any way to talk to these writers
and find out what kind of support they expect to need?

--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
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