RE: Blurring the line between writer and engineer

["David Artman" <david -at- davidartman -dot- com>]

   I have only ever effected HW changes when I've pointed out poor design
   for serviceability while writing service procedures (e.g., relocate
   screws or add cutouts).

   VERY rare.

   I often point out SW changes that could/should be made, especially when
   I find myself written into a corner (e.g., when I realized I was having
   to write "click the upper Add button" versus "click the lower Add
   button", I suggested adding field labels or renaming the Add buttons to
   distinguish them). Or when I find myself writing bad grammar to quote a
   field name or message (i.e., a 'bug' in the text itself, requiring a
   correction in code). Or when I find that controls on a screen are
   inconsistently structured or worded (i.e., incoherent/sloppy).

   VERY common, especially in 'Agile development' environments that don't
   quite understand that "Agile" <> "no planning or design discussion".
   :-)

   David

   -------- Original Message --------
   Subject: Blurring the line between writer and engineer
   From: Rick Lippincott <[1]rjl6955 -at- gmail -dot- com>
   Date: Mon, December 14, 2015 6:41 pm
   To: TECHWR-L Writing <[2]techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
   ...

   Two questions, just out of curiosity:
   * For hardware tech writers (especially large "heavy metal" writers),
   do you find that you're doing this...frequently? Rarely? Ever?
   * For software tech writers...do you ever find that you're writing
   code?

References

   1. mailto:rjl6955 -at- gmail -dot- com
   2. mailto:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
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