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Subject:Re: This too is technical communication From:John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:Emily Berk <emily -at- armadillosoft -dot- com> Date:Thu, 7 Jun 2007 10:21:35 -0700 (PDT)
> Emily Berk wrote:
> > The question is when does the writer cry uncle
> > and admit that she understands just about nothing
> > of all the source materials she's looked at and can't
> > even imagine where to start
Emily...I have a problem with the concept of knowing nothing about
the source material.
Unless you are a novice (and if you are, your manager/mentor
shouldn't put you in that position), you know something about
it....it may be a very small part, but you do know something.
Start there. Look into if what you are given has anything in common
to anything you do know. That begins to put it into perspective. It
may be software you've never seen. However, it runs on an operating
system and you probably know something about that OS. From there,
what parts of the OS does it have to do with.
Example...we have a product called Voice over IP. O know nothing
about the product. However, I know something about IP and something
about networks.
Even if you don't have that...there are going to be words you can
recognize. The words you don't, you can Google. I received something
I knew nothing about, but something refered to an Internet RFC
number. Googled it...found out it had to do with IPv6...from there I
worked out into other areas.
My point...you know more than you think you know. Leverage that
knowledge into your discussions with the SMEs...they don't expect you
to know everything at the level that they do, but they expect any
attempt that will lessen their burden.
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
"They say everyone needs goals. Mine is to live forever.
So far, so good."
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