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--- "Kenny, Jill" <jill -dot- kenny -at- corp -dot- bellsouth -dot- net> wrote:
> 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.
>
> 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.
Yes, those types of documents fall under the category of technical writing.
However, not all technical writers can handle all sorts of assignments. (For an
interesting discussion of the differences, see Eric Ray's article on types of
technical writing that is currently posted on the TECHWR-L site.)
Second, if you don't feel you are qualified to do this kind of writing by all
means tell them now so that they can hire a writer who can do it right. In my
years in this field the one thing that most hurts those who see Technical
Writing as a profession is the people who take jobs for which they are not
qualified. When someone fails in such a situation, it hurts all Technical
Writers.
