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Subject:Re: Quality of source material from Development From:Chris Gooch <chris -dot- gooch -at- lightworkdesign -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 13 Dec 2001 11:37:23 -0000
I was going to point out that the situation here is pretty much as
Sandy described his situation -- developers provide "man page"
style reference material, he expands on this in more wordy docs
to go with the reference matrial.
I'd just like to wonder where this idea that software engineers,
uniquely amongst the scientific and engineering community,
are such dunderheads that they can't put a sentence together.
It seems to me that if tech writers, management, and the
engineers themselves all play up to this stereotype, it's
just letting them off the hook. Look, these are bright people,
they can put thoughts their together on paper in a sensible order
if they are encouraged to do so. In fact doing so is good for them,
as well as good for the rest of us. If they need help, help them.
If they are not native English speakers, edit their prose. But
encourage them to write _something_.
Which is not to say of course that there isn't room for a tech
writer who understands the product (and the code, if applicable)
to pull all the stuff together, improve, enhance, add to... but
that's just a job description -- engineers don't have two heads or
anything.
Teamwork, guys, teamwork...
Chris.
Christopher Gooch, Technical Author
LightWork Design Ltd, Sheffield, UK.
chris -dot- gooch -at- lightworkdesign -dot- com www.lightworkdesign.com
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