RE: Academic Research in TechComm

[eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]

bounce-techwr-l-106467 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com wrote on 03/31/2005 11:04:44 AM:
> In this case, why bother striving for high quality in tech
> communication? Mediocrity seems king...

> Eileen Neumann
> Business Rules and Procedures

That's taking the argument to a ridiculous extreme. It is a simplistic and 
defeatist statement.

Mediocrity is NOT king. What is king is making a profit or an acceptable 
return on investment in the market niche your product is trying to fill.

If "excellence" in the car world is defined by having all-round air bags, 
a top safety rating, and a complete electronic entertainment package, even 
many of the top-of-the-line cars would fail as "mediocre".

While it would be great if Corvettes could be perfect off-road performers, 
the Corvette isn't "mediocre" because it can't go off-road. Could it be 
redesigned to do so? Sure. Porsche had the Cayenne. But why don't ALL 
Porches perform well off-road? Simply because there are trade-offs, 
compromises, contradictory requirements, and an overall budget envelope to 
work with.

Same goes for documentation. You MUST work within your budget and 
allocated resources. If you documenting a Chevrolet product, you create 
Chevrolet documents. Simple as that.

Now, if you can make improvements without having effect on the budget and 
meet all the primary audience requirements, fight for change. But, if it's 
outside the primary business goals and its not got a good ROI, forget it.

An engineer at Chevrolet that keeps trying to up the design of a mass 
market entry-level car to super-car specs is NOT going to be appreciated 
by their superiors and it has nothing to do with whether their profession 
is "valued" by management.

Eric L. Dunn
Senior Technical Writer

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