RE: Word up

["Nutting, John" <JNutting -at- taylor-hobson -dot- com>]

Andrew Plato wrote:

Its just not that simple. Again you are operating on the assumption that
Word
or other tools are fundamentally flawed and cannot provide even the basic
functions. That is not true. They just don't work in the way you want them
to.
I have seen great docs written in Word, FrameMaker, heck even on
typewriters. 
There is no 1:1 correlation between tool and quality.

I could not agree more, all too often I hear during the working day, "Well
we struggled to get it right because the XYZ tool was not up to it" when in
reality what happened was that the person in question had failed to prepare
for the task they were expecting to perform.  They believed in their own
infallibility and had steamed straight into the task at hand without
spending a few moments in planning their work and anticipating the pitfalls
that they may come across during their work.  I can vouch for this on a
personal level simply because I have been guilty of it myself, the desire to
put words on 'Paper' and get at the heart of the problem overwhelming the
need to prepare and hey presto numerous pages of drivel.  I now have two
sayings in mind when I go about any task:

1.	Proper Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance

2.	A bad workman always blames his tools

It simply isn't good enough to lay the blame for our shortcomings on the
tool(s) we are using.  The tool is merely an extension of ourselves, it
serves to put our words onto the medium of our choice.  If we are not up to
it then the tool will not change one thing, we will still be putting total
rubbish out, only this time it may be in a more structured way.  

I myself prefer to use Framemaker over Word, it suits my style, but I have
worked alongside people who could make Word sing so which one is best?  It
does not really matter, the ends justify the means, as long as we meet our
customer's needs and continue to meet them in the future, the tool is
largely irrelevant.  Granted when the task becomes bigger and we start to
reuse information across many documents and issues then a structured
approach will help the efficiency of the team, but if that team is made up
of dross writers you will get dross.  I used to work in a company producing
handbooks for the UK MOD, the requirement there was for a very structured
output with total traceability and reuse of information.  The output had to
follow the strictest layout and style rules.  The lead author had no wonder
tools to help him control this, he used his brain and the original authoring
tools, pen and paper.  The results were outstanding and the customer was
totally satisfied and to this day the equipment is still in service and
functions to spec. 

During the middle ages the craftsmen of the day utilised tool which most
people these days would regard as primitive to say the least, yet their work
remains for us to see to this day.  They didn't have the power tools and the
mechanical aids that we have today and yet their work remains as a testament
of their abilities.  They used the one thing that every human being has been
blessed with since the start of humanity, their ability to reason,
anticipate and plan.  By using those three tools they could achieve things
of wonder.  We as writers also need those tools if we are to provide quality
documentation to our customers in whatever form it may be required.

My thoughts but only my thoughts, if you feel differently then who am I to
say you are wrong, as long as your customers remain
satisfied.........TOTALLY!

John


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