Re: Source for statistics on the technical writing field

["Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>]

Most of the low hanging fruit (those interested in becoming computer 
literate) has already been picked, and people who are still computer 
illiterate tend to be so by choice.  The companies that will be the most 
successful in servicing these users will be those that produce front 
ends designed to handhold them all the way.  Think "TurboTax," your 
neighborhood ATM, or the menu for your digital cable TV service.

Things that are simpler upfront are invariably more complex under the 
hood.  There is as much, if not more, documentation needed for 
simplified user interfaces as there has ever been for more complex ones, 
but it is mostly be in support of those who must install and service 
them rather than those who use them, and the depth of product and 
technology knowledge required to author them is greater.  If these 
documents are often not being prepared by technical writers, perhaps one 
reason for that is the difficulty of finding writers with the necessary 
technical background to do the job without having to be spoon-fed 
information by SMEs.

Gene Kim-Eng


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kat Kuvinka" <katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com>
> Actually, software is now being developed for industries that had 
> previously been computer-free, and believe it or not, many people are 
> still computer illiterate. Good software development practices and UI 
> design are not necessarily followed...so manuals are just as important 
> than ever.
>
> For these same reasons, I agree that they are often not being prepared 
> by technical writers.
>
>> Now the interfaces are decidely better. The Fine Manual, if it even
>> exists, is rarely needed. Some "help" systems are even actually 
>> helpful.
>>
>> When the manual is needed, to fulfill a requirement or because the
>> humans still need to understand a goodly body of knowledge, it's 
>> often
>> prepared by people who are not tech writers. (But that happened back 
>> in
>> our Dark Ages, too.)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/

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