RE: Hi-Tech Company Hasn't Used Tech Writers in Years

["Lippincott, Rick" <Rick -dot- Lippincott -at- flir -dot- com>]

Beth Westbrook:
>I know people who used to be the end-users of that documentation, and
most
>of them judged the manuals based upon how big the binders were when
using
>them for doorstops. The only part that usually gets used is the RPSTL.

Yeah.

Some years back, one of my more illuminating moments came when I was
sitting down with a grizzled old USAF Chief Master Sgt, reviewing a
procedure. The conversation went like this:

Sarge: "This procedure doesn't work as it's written."

Me: "Okay, how do I need to change it?"

Sarge thought long and hard, scratched his chin, and a look of
frustration came over his face as he clearly couldn't explain what was
wrong. "Ahhhh, don't worry about it. The maintenance crew is just going
to enlarge a page out of the Illustrated Parts Breakdown manual, and use
that to assemble the thing."

Sigh.....

--Rick Lippincott
  FLIR Systems
  Billerica, MA

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