TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Writing Test - Is That Your Final Answer? From:"James Barrow" <vrfour -at- verizon -dot- net> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 14 Dec 2006 15:37:30 -0800
>>"In one paragraph (100 words or less) describe what should be included in
>>a good documentation package, and explain why it would be good."
Thanks to everyone who responded. Your answers provided great insight into
how we (tech writers) should approach tests like these.
The position is with the Department of Corrections and I just found out that
I got the job. So, like I said, if I had mentioned the employer you may
have thought that I would be documenting for applications that guards use or
apps that measure out how much food a prisoner gets per day. Not even
close. And, as I mentioned, the job description was generic and the writing
test came *before* the interview. That being said...
Since I was anxious and eager to impress, when I first saw the test subject
I immediately thought: "They mean a good documentation plan". Then I
realized that I couldn't write to that since I had no idea what the actual
project was. Then my mind went into overdrive: 'Do they mean package as in
what I would use to write the documentation, or do they mean the set of
documents for each project?' Maybe they're talking about hardware,
software, mainframe, etc.
Since the HR rep set me up on a computer and quickly left the room, I didn't
have the opportunity to ask for clarification. She returned precisely 15
minutes later (did I mention it was timed?). I believe Jessica is correct
in thinking that this exercise was more a test of organization, thinking,
originality, and prioritization.
When I wrote my first answer I did as Lisa suggested and acknowledged the
gaps, stated my assumptions and wrote accordingly. Unfortunately, this
produced nearly 200 words. Go to Plan B.
Milan was spot-on when he thought that this test may bear some
relationship to what I would be doing on the job. During the interview I
learned that the job will be *very* intense since I will be supporting
facilities throughout the state and each facility will believe that they're
project takes precedence, and my managers will not always be there to
clarify.
If there were a prize to award, Diane would win it. My final answer to the
test was to bullet the following items: Scope of work, requirements doc,
design spec, business use cases, project plan w/schedule, test scripts, and
a doc plan.*
*Mary does get a lovely fruit basket since my explanation of *why* the above
items would be good were written very similar to what she posted:^)
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team authoring,
Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
