Re: Technical Documentation using Excel

Subject: Re: Technical Documentation using Excel
From: David Neeley <dbneeley -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 16:00:22 -0600


Perhaps one key may be in the "Documentation Specialist."

As others have indicated, there are often uses for Excel within a
corporate environment that can be very valid...and that need to be
updated and otherwise maintained. This, too, is "documentation" work.

I have seen, for example, fairly extensive use of Excel within the
Sales and Marketing activities of companies that don't have a CRM
application. When these must be changed, it may become the province of
such a documentation specialist to do so.

To me, an important requirement of the job should be flexibility--and
tools use, as others have endlessly pointed out, is only a rather
small part of what we do.

As for commenting that Excel is "not an appropriate tool for technical
documentation" *to the hiring manager*--I can nearly guarantee you
that this would be a strong factor in completely blowing any
opportunity an applicant may have to get the job. Once employed, and
once familiar with the internal situation, a tech writer gains the
trust and, one would hope, the respect of colleagues and managers--and
this is the appropriate time for this kind of conversation.

David

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Follow-Ups:

References:
Technical Documentation using Excel: From: Hamlett, Ashaki
Re: Technical Documentation using Excel: From: Steven Brown

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