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Subject:RE: The End Of Technical Writing From:eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 28 Oct 2004 13:29:59 -0400
Tony Markos <ajmarkos -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote on 10/28/2004 12:20:28 PM:
> So what, it only took a couple of hours to redraw it (with pencil of
course).
I'm with Bonnie. You have got to be kidding.
Hand drawn diagrams and hours of redrawing with no advancement on other
outstanding work would scuttle the project very quickly.
The only way such an approach would work in a larger organisation or for a
complex project is a combination of flow analysis and use cases that are
catalogued as part of the regular process and from which diagrams or
something similar could be extracted. Also, I'm not sure of the connection
between your technique and my field of work might be (don't call me a bad
techwriter because I don't create diagrams). There are some procedure
overlaps and interdependencies that might be more apparent in a diagram,
but otherwise, you have to identify each maintainable component and
determine if there are any applicable procedures required (Inspect,
Service, Test, Fault Isolate, Adjust, Align, Calibrate, Replace, Repair,
Overhaul, Rebuild, Troubleshoot). Then you need to know the service
intervals and prioritise all required information so that critical
procedures are completed first.
Your enthusiasm for diagrams sounds a little too much like someone who's
been drinking Kool-aid. ;) While the organisation and identification of
requirements is an important step, I doubt any of my team would be pleased
if close to deadline (98%) all I had to show for my efforts were some
pretty diagrams that were useless to the client.
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