Re: non-tech techwr better for end users (was "same boat")

[Christine -dot- Anameier -at- seagate -dot- com]

Explaining why we as English-department teaching assistants could teach
anything on short notice, Bruce Byfield wrote:
"However, part of the reason that I could make good on my boast and,
probably, part of the reason that you could survive is that we
weren't entirely starting from scratch. Undergrad degrees are
usually designed to give a reasonably good overview of literature."

This is a good point. I'm not recommending that people who are technically
inept become tech writers--a basic foundation in computers is probably a
necessity. To hit the ground running the way we do, we need some basic
expertise--how Windows works, what to expect in a GUI, some common
standards...

And I thought I'd get away with hedging by saying "competently"... :)  But
yes, admittedly I could teach something better if I knew it better. If I'm
documenting software, it does help to be more familiar with it. What I'm
suggesting is that being unfamiliar with it need not be an obstacle if you
learn fast and have some computer aptitude/background.

"Does it matter if you know the material already or simply learn it
very quickly? Seems to me that the important thing is that you are
reasonably expert by the time you finish the documentation. In
addition, I don't think that knowledge on one hand and learning and
empathy on the other hand are mutually exclusive. A successful
writer needs both sets of skill, so why insist that one is
preferable to the other?"

(I think my email prog is stripping out angle brackets, so I'm falling back
on quotation marks, sorry...)

I think there may be some advantage in having learned the material more
recently. If I'm teaching/writing something I learned recently, I remember
the process of learning it and the pitfalls I encountered. If I'm
teaching/writing something that I learned so long ago that it's second
nature by now, I'm more likely to forget how little the
newbies/students/users actually know. A couple of years ago I coached
someone, a complete computer newbie, who didn't grasp the difference
between RAM and disk space. I had learned that basic concept when I was
barely in my teens, so it didn't occur to me that he wouldn't know it. He
had to ask a bunch of baffling questions before I finally realized what
piece of the puzzle was missing...

As for knowledge vs. learning... it's the old "teach a man to fish" story.
A chunk of information about a particular product will become obsolete with
the product. A knack for learning (combined with some basic computer savvy,
I admit) will always be invaluable.

Christine Anameier
(I think I need a .sig)



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