[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
[Author Index (this month)][Thread Index (this month)][Top of Archive]

Re: Another question I've had for years...

Subject: Re: Another question I've had for years...
From: James Barrow <vrfour -at- earthlink -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 08:36:58 -0700



On Sep 18, 2004, at 10:12 AM, diotima wrote:


Jim wrote:
"How would you get information from subject matter experts that are being...difficult?

----snip

i've been asked this question during an interview once. the thought that ran through my head during the interview was: hmm, their developers are uncooperative? now whenever this topic comes up i find myself wondering why it is that i never have this problem. here's a few things i come up with.

A better definition would be that the subject matter experts that I have dealt with view the knowledge in their heads with a certain right of ownership - even though this would be proprietary information. On a few occasions, I have had developers complain to their managers that they were too busy to waste their time with a tech writer.


>>i don't think of anyone as a sme. or if i ever do, it is only for a few seconds as i'm trying to locate the appropriate people.

This is a matter of semantics. I've met techie people who weren't the brightest bulb in the marquee, but they still knew more about the subject than I.

i don't really have this "us vs. them" dichotomy that many other tech writers seem to have.

I've never seen tech writers display an 'Us vs Them' attitude, it's usually the engineers. Or, more generally, the full time employees. And I don't see this across the board. Some companies that I have worked for have treated me like an FTE from day one.

i don't have any tricks or tactics to get the information i need from them. i'm interested in what they're doing, and sometimes in who they are.

Same here.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ROBOHELP X5: Featuring Word 2003 support, Content Management, Multi-Author
support, PDF and XML support and much more!
TRY IT TODAY at http://www.macromedia.com/go/techwrl

WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT: New! Document review system for Word and FrameMaker
authors. Automatic browser-based drafts with unlimited reviewers. Full
online discussions -- no Web server needed! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Follow-Ups:

References:
RE: Another question I've had for years...: From: diotima

Previous by Author: Re: Another question I've had for years...
Next by Author: Re: Another question I've had for years...
Previous by Thread: RE: Another question I've had for years...
Next by Thread: Re: Another question I've had for years...

[Top of Archive] | [Author Index (this month)] | [Thread Index (this month)]

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

Sponsored Ads