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Subject:RE: a different resume red flag From:Tony Markos <ajmarkos -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 22 Oct 2004 08:33:21 -0700 (PDT)
Excellent question Stephen! - yours truly is the
$64,000 question of Tech Writing! Answer:
1.) Becoming a tools expert is a safe way to keep
your job (see point 2.))
2.) The major task in creating effective technical
communications is for the TW to come up with a
comprehensive integrated understanding of the
essential tasks that end-users perform and how all
those tasks interrelate. However, getting this
essential information is often VERY dangerous work, as
essential procedure is turf and people (end-users,
SMEs, etc.) will defend "their" turf to the death.
3.) Task analysis (i.e, becoming a domain expert)
requires, well, analysis. And analysis, especially
for larger-scale efforts, requires thinking in the
abstract. And, for most, abstract thinking is
emotionally too difficult. In is much more comforting
thinking about the concrete - like learning the
ins-and-outs of the latest tool.
Tony Markos
> > Stephen Arrants wrote:
> > Why do we stress tool usage and
> > > tool knowledge as much more important than
> "domain"
> > knowledge and the
> > > ability to get information from reluctant
> sources?
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