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"Sona Mehta" wrote ...
>
> Hello friends,
> Please do forgive me if I am starting a discussion on the often beaten
> topic, but I cannot resist myself. I need your help. I want to know how
> do I try and explain the importance of the work I do to a group of
> non-receptive developers who think of TWs as 'glorified typists'. I have
> been in this profession for sometime now and I feel that quiet a few
> developers don't know much about this profession and therefore don't
> give much importance to it. I thought of giving a presentation to the
> developers in my office, telling them about TW in general. Any
> ideas?????? Do you think this will be a good start?
The only way people will see tech writers as more than typists is when tech
writers actually DO more than type. Engineers need to see that you can digest
complex technical issues and add value to their products. I cannot speak for
all companies, but by and large places where tech writers are treated like crap
is usually because the tech writers cower in their cubicles and never once make
an effort to get involved with the technical aspects of the project.
For example, in a recent manual at my office, we added a whole section about
networking and how these various protocols work. No engineer or product manager
asked us to do this. We added it because we understood what the technology and
knew that such information would be valuable to the reader.
This impressed the engineers. They were amazed we understood this stuff. (Their
previous writer didn't even know how packet routing worked.)
One of the most tiring excuses from tech writers is "I don't need to know
that." Just because you are writing an end-user manual that is dumbed down for
morons does not mean you can just shut the blinds and avoid all the "geeky"
stuff. There is no excuse for ignorance.
A boring presentation won't impress anybody. Prove your skill. Take the time to
teach the readers technology fundamentals that both help your reader and
demonstrate your technical aptitude.
Andrew Plato
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