TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Jill Kenny reports:
>I'm being asked to write and assist in writing highly technical documents
>for our software development center. These documents include technical
>design docs, architectural overviews, application roadmaps, and development
>methodology descriptions. Do these types of documents fall under the
>category of technical writing? And if not, any suggestions on how to
>gracefully bow out of these tasks.
<snip>
YES, YES, YES!!! these documents DO fall under the category of technical
writing. As for bowing out gracefully, you shouldn't. Stretch your
limitations and learn how to write technical specifications. It opens up a
whole new world for you.
>In my years of technical writing, I have always been involved in developing
>user-end documentation, i.e., help files, user manuals, etc. So this is
>completely new to me.
I think it's been brought up on this list before how some companies/clients
are requiring technical writers to be more, for lack of a better term,
"technical". This is your opportunity to grow as a writer and add another
category to your bag of tricks and resume. Don't shy away from it!
