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> Customer interaction has rarely been an option in my tech writing career. I
> compensate by trying to "become the user." I install and use the software or
> disassemble and assemble the hardware or whatever. I am well aware that this
> is not the same thing, much like a Sunday drive is not the same as a commute
> to work.
I think you have an important point here. Trying to project ourselves
into the user's experience is probably the closest that many of us will
get to the user.
That's one of the reasons why it's important for writers to have
hands-on experience whenever possible. It's also why writers are useful
in interface design; often, they're the first non-engineers to use the
product.
And to those who say that imaginative projective is difficult or will
always fall short, another quotation,this time from John Le Carre: "A
writer can watch a housecat cross the street and tell you what it's like
to be sprung upon by a Bengal tiger."
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"I breathe too heavy and I blow too hard
And I stay when I should run
But I won't settle for anything less
'Till I've seen what your love has done."
-The Mollys, "Look What Your Love Has Done"
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