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Subject:Re: Business team or the Development team? From:"Elna Tymes" <etymes -at- lts -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 09 Dec 1999 10:28:11 -0800
Uma wrote:
> In an organizational structure, does a Techncial Writer belong in the
> development division (which makes products) or the marketing division (which
> sells products). Most likely a TW belongs in a team called Support Functions
> but which of the above divisons would the support team be part of?
There is no single authority on this. Probably the majority of technical writers
wind up in a development division, perhaps but not necessarily in a group that
does support functions, but there are a number of technical writers who
ultimately 'belong' to marketing. The rationale is that technical writers who
'belong' to engineering are more likely to get the technical details straight,
and to know the importance of using fairly specific descriptions. When technical
writers belong to marketing, there is more pressure to skip some technical
details in favor of making the product look good.