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.
Subject:RE: craft vs. science From:Phil Levy <PLevy -at- epion -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 21 Jun 2002 15:53:51 -0400
Aren't you talking about tools? Why can't the process stay be the same? Does
a deadline change a process, or the final format? These things are
transparent to the reader.
-----Original Message-----
From: Sean Brierley [mailto:sbri -at- haestad -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2002 3:50 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: craft vs. science
Hey, I'm crafty.
And, yes, the process is sort of scientific, until you toss in the
variables, deadlines, resources, flaky software, and judgement of
document (online and printed) design . . ..
I'd say, there's an art, if not a craft, to the science of technical
writing. If you disagree, try writing a 600-page software manual, using
section numbers, lots of numbered lists, TOC, IX, in MS Word, and then
port it to online help via RoboHelp . . . you'll see that craftiness and
workarounds and intelligent application of your skills become a
necessity.
Cheers,
Sean
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
Check out RoboDemo for tutorials! It makes creating full-motion software
demonstrations and other onscreen support materials easy and intuitive.
Need RoboHelp? Save $100 on RoboHelp Office in May with our mail-in rebate.
Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
---
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.
