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: taking too long From:Birgit Grossmann <bcg -at- bg-consulting -dot- de> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 10 Oct 2002 14:21:53 +0200
Hello William,
> I recently interviewed for a TW job where this was exactly how the
> development process worked. The writer was expected to wait until the
> software that she was documenting was complete - no engineering specs - and
> then figure out how the software worked by playing with it. She was
> expected to write a rough draft based on her guesses, submit the
> documentation for review, and then make the recommended changes over the
> weekend before the ship date.
Well... sounds like a lot of my jobs :) In fact, I am proud of my
ability to make as much as possible in as little as possible time with
very little infos, and so are usually my customers. BUT: The customers
have to be aware that the document is the best they can get _under
these conditions_, not the best possible of course!
<rant> How not even I can do that...
One ex-customer first was all enthusiastic about my working
methods, then delivered junks and bits of infos without giving me an
internet login for the software, then changed the software in between
and in the end stopped my work because he found I had not enough
technical insight into the product...
No need to say I was genuinely pissed about that one and quite happy
when the project was cancelled, even though I made a minus with it.
</rant>
All the best -
Birgit Grossmann
--
bcg -at- bg-consulting -dot- de
www.bg-consulting.de
Technical Writing and Chemistry
Tel. +49 421 22328-41 (Fax -42)
Mobil +49 170 5859410
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Buy ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 6.0, the most powerful SINGLE SOURCE HELP
AUTHORING TOOL for MS Word. SAVE $100 on the full version and $50 on the
upgrade. Offer ends 10/31/2002 (code: DTH102250). http://www.componentone.com/d2hlist1002
All-new RoboHelp X3 is now shipping! Get single sourcing, print-quality
documentation, conditional text and much more, in the most monumental
release ever. Save $100! Order online at 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.
