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RE: The magic tool that everyone can use without stepping on toes
Subject:RE: The magic tool that everyone can use without stepping on toes From:"Connie Giordano" <connie -at- therightwords -dot- com> To:"'reshma pendse'" <reshma_pendse -at- yahoo -dot- co -dot- in>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:28:05 -0400
Brava Reshma!
I suggest everyone who worries about demonstrating value to employers, print
out Reshma's statement, hang it on the cubicle wall, and refer to it at
least three times a day.
"Perhaps, when we get such requests, we should try to find out what exactly
they want to achieve, and then look for ways in which we can help meet that
goal."
Connie
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+connie=therightwords -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+connie=therightwords -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of reshma pendse
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 12:43 PM
To: McLauchlan, Kevin; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: The magic tool that everyone can use without stepping on toes
Hi Kevin,
FWIW, maybe the request wasn't so far-fetched after all...
I actually got a somewhat similar request from our Professional Services
team a while back. They wanted to know what tool (Flare, btw) we used to
create our WebHelp and if it would be possible for them to customize the
out-of-the-box help system. The requirement was for one of our clients who
uses a highly customized version of our product, and also maintains an
in-house Tech Writing team (yes, really!). Well, we collaborated on this
with the client and they were able to customize our output using their own
help tool and link the customized output to the application. All this
without us having to share our source files or change our tool.
Perhaps, when we get such requests, we should try to find out what exactly
they want to achieve, and then look for ways in which we can help meet that
goal.
regards,
Reshma
________________________________
From: "McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>
To: "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Sent: Wednesday, 13 June 2012 9:34 PM
Subject: The magic tool that everyone can use without stepping on toes
I found the following, from somebody in our company in 2006:
"What I am really looking for is a way to create customized versions of the
documentation that the Tech Pubs and Marketing groups already
create/maintain while being able to add, delete, modify, and augment said
content. This will allow us to deliver custom documentation for professional
services engagements that target the organization's specific environment and
needs. This would make keeping up-to-date with documentation updates and
changes much easier on my end. One of my requirements is to provide this
documentation in both a printed and an indexed, searchable electronic
version. Ideally, it would be possible for the customer to add their own
work product to this electronic version once it is delivered so that they
could store all information related to their implementation in one place. "
I replied something like:
"You want TechPubs* and Marketing to drop all our current tools and start
producing all documents in a common Wiki?"
I think the guy left the company soon after, so I never followed up with
him, nor he with me.
What would be your response to him, in 2012? Don't say DITA.
- k
(*TechPubs was, at best, a classification, not a department. Then, as now,
there was no single ownership or leadership.
I think Marketing was ... if not a group... at least reporting to a single
Veep somewhere. So, images of herding cats while pushing string should come
to mind.)
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Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
magazine at http://techwhirl.com
Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
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Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need.
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