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Re: Technical Writers Needed for API Doc: Really?

Subject: Re: Technical Writers Needed for API Doc: Really?
From: "Diane Evans" <diane_evans -at- hotmail -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 17:01:40


I> have seen that having the programmers who developed

the API write the doc can be a real problem.

They tend to suffer from a "programmers R us" illusion.

This was a major problem with the SDK that I put out just before leaving my last job (involuntarily). The programmers kept insisting that no more instructions were needed because a good programmer should "just know this."

When we released the SDK, the team that had to implement it got confused because one file needed to be renamed. There were no specific instructions as to which file or what the name should be. It took them three hours to figure it out.

The SDK manager sent out an email outlining the problem, frustration, and solution. I simply copied the email, pasted it into the appropriate place in the SDK, and made the letters bold red. I then asked for a better way to say this, but the team still didn't think it was important. I suppose the SDK still has this page in it.

Diane

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