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Je compris. There are situations that might preclude you trying what you are
writing about. I can see it now, "Hey Oppenheimer, the damn tech writer
wants us to run the test a third time, isn't this getting a little
expensive? And, why is my hair falling out?" **And,** in all fairness, in
the situation I describe the writer was under the gun.
Clearly, I am talking about more plebeian documentation. For example, when I
was documenting CAD/CAM software, I created the designs I documented,
rendered them 3D, and spent some time on a mill . . . yes. When I was
documenting on the Mac for PC-base software, I had a PC to test on,
alongside my Mac. When I was documenting hardware, I performed the
disassembly, assembly, maintenance, and, where I was not permitted, booked
the time of a technician and had them repeat the procedure a few times to my
satisfaction. The software I currently document runs quite happily
concurrently with my DTP apps . . . so testing what I write and using the
app to create original content is very, very little hassle. And, yes, I find
a lot of bugs. I mean no disrespect to the SMEs, but things get overlooked
and, in documenting, I often find those things.
Cheers,
Sean
sean -at- quodata -dot- com
________________________________________________
Sean Brierley
Lead Technical Writer
Jenzabar, Inc.
One Union Place
Hartford, CT 06103
www.jenzabar.com
tel: 860-728-6777 x211
fax: 860-247-0249
sean -at- quodata -dot- com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ccallen -at- beckman -dot- com [SMTP:ccallen -at- beckman -dot- com]
> Brierley, Sean" wrote (and others agreed):
>
> >(snip)I had always thought using and learning (quickly) about the item
> you
> > were documenting was the best, nay, only way to effectively communicate
> the
> > subject in a way that is understandable to any target audience.
> >
> When I was writing flight manuals for the USAF, they would have been quite
> reluctant
> to give me a $25 mil airplane to fool around with and try to figure out
> how
> to keep it in the sky. They probably wouldn't have given me a missile silo
> and a few ICBMs to try out procedures on, either. And I really didn't want
> to use the trial-and-error method of learning how to dispose of hazardous
> materials. Oh, and I'm glad I didn't have to use the
> do-it-yourself-and-find-out-what-works method of research when I was
> writing survival (desert, mountains, water) manuals.
>
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