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Hi Techwr-l Members
As a Technical Writer who stands at the epicenter of changing trends
and technology, I have been subject to several bouts of disarray in
the recent times. The cause of my trepidation is not the sudden
upsurge in the magnitude of Technical Writers; but the fact that there
is a steep incongruity between "what is expected" and "what actually
occurs" when a Technical Writer is hired.
In some of the most reputed organizations of the world today
(especially those catering to the manufacturing domain), documentation
practices still are very naive. This does not actually surprise me
because documentation does not actually generate any revenue for such
organizations and thus finds the lowest priority. It would not be very
uncommon to find the lack of absolutely no conventional standards for
documentation at such places.
Well, then why do such organizations hire Technical Writers at the
first place, if they are so hell-bent on giving documentation a third
world treatment? Do they only want to stack them to the burgeoning
number of employee cards? Hope the answer is NO, well, I still have my
doubts!
The most common scenario where I cannot help being afflicted with
introversion is the one where Technical Writers are not provided the
chance to reinvent the wheel. Believe me, most organizations dread
radical changes, even if it the tangible benefits surmounts the
age-old lame practices.
So, is it really that much of a war as I am making it out to be or is
it something else. The answer is that Technical Writing today is not
just about maintaining the rigmarole - using those weird-looking MS
Word templates that seem to crack up one fine day or writing those
huge chunks of paragraphs that looked alien to the end user.
First things first, the lackadaisical approach has to be shown the
door - the magnanimity of this profession is that it houses one and
all, but we can't expect a nonchalant behavior to slowly creep in.
Technical Writing does not dwell on sermons and I hope we continue in
our efforts to get this profession the recognition that it deserves.
I still am a part of that revolution - and every time I write, I
experience a strange exaltation that is indefinable. That's what
writing does to you! I hope all of you feel the same passion for this
profession as I do.
PS: I wrote this article for the latest issue of TechCraft (an
eNewsletter on Technical Writing) but on second thoughts posted the
same on the TWI group (refer, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/technical_writers_india/) and Techwr-l.
Regale me with your prejudices and preferences.
Regards
Rahul Prabhakar
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