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> I produce tools for Word. They are implemented as templates.
> For quite some
> time now I have just been 'ad hoc' finishing them off, but realised I
was
> not getting the Q I required. So I, just today, wrote down my
instructions
> for finalising a template. Now I have a listy I can add to and refer to
at
> whim to ensure Q. I get the strong feeling from your posts you are
saying
> that my time spent on writing these instructions would have been better
> spent on doing the templates themselves.
No Steve. Nobody said don't use a process.
This is what I said: A process cannot replace intelligence.
Definition: Technical writing is a complex job. It requires a person who
can consume information, digest it, and then explain those concepts back.
You cannot turn that into a procedure. The writer must use his/her
intelligence to do that. The physical act of putting the text on the page
and submitting it for review might be a process, but its not the core
function of a writer. You can't write instructions for inclusion into a
documentation process if you don't understand what instructions to write!
> > A process that isn't automated must therefore be manual. That means a
> PERSON must use that process. That person must apply intelligence to
make
> that process work.
>
> Disagree strongly - at several large computer rooms I supervised
(watching
> passively only) trainees (in context, morons) performing incredibly
complex
> sequences with almost no knowledge at all,
We are not discussing moron trainees in server rooms. We are discussing
technical documentation and how it is done. Therefore your example isn't
relevant.
It also isn't relevant because you describe people merely following a
procedure. Those people still need to think about what they are doing.
They aren't robots.
> > Again, nobody said "DON'T USE A PROCESS!!!" All I am saying is: don't
> mistake process for quality or process for intelligence.
>
> IMHO, some of your posts do say, very clearly, "DON'T USE A PROCESS!!!",
or
> at the very least - don't waste your time developing such.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong.
My posts encourage writers to focus on their core function: writing.
Companies do not hire technical writers because they have really big and
impressive Word templates. They hire writers to sit their asses down and
write documentation to explain their goods and services. The whole reason
you exist in the job world is so you can explain how stuff works. Maybe
you found some unique niche where you don't actually write anything -
well, you're not a writer.
Now...a component of that is being organized, showing up to work, using a
computer, etc. But that is like saying "well a component of being a doctor
is to know about gall bladders." Well, yeah. But there is a lot more to it
than just gall bladders.
There is a lot more to technical writing then a documentation process. My
complaint is on the intense amount of focus and energy that documentation
processes are given. If I was a new writer entering this field and I
actually believed all the rhetoric coming out of STC, I would rapidly mire
myself into complete incompetence. There is such an obsession among some
writers with organizing their world.
Its the desk problem: some people when confronted with a massive project
sit down and clean their desk first. Other people just leap right in and
do the job. Cleaning your desk and organizing your environment might make
you feel better. But don't fool yourself, you aren't getting one inch
closer to getting the job done.
There is this sick and rather misguided notion among technical writers
that you are somehow flawed and "unprofessional" if you don't have some
internationally recognized methodology to control your documentation.
The key to good documentation is
1. Good content
2. Effective presentation
3. Timely delivery
N-O-B-O-D-Y cares how you get there. They just want the document done. Now
if you need a big complex procedure to get you though the chaos so you can
churn out docs: then get one. But don't assume that because you need one,
EVERYBODY needs the exact same process.
Yes, we all have personal work processes. But what works for me, probably
won't work for you and others.
Steve, you develop Word templates. Good for you. Do you actually document
products? When do you sit your butt down and write the documentation? Does
your template do all the thinking for you? Does your template interview
the engineer, analyze the information, decide which features to describe?
Does your template attend classes to learn about object oriented
programming so that it can better communicate with the engineers? Does
your template produce instructions based on hands on experience using your
employer's products of services? Does your template make decisions about
which information is more critical to the end-user? Does your template
have the power to weigh two and three conflicting interpretations of the
same technology and determine the best way to present that information?
You're templates (and your processes) are tools you use to get your job
done. The more time you spent fondling your tools the less time you have
to actually use your tool. And nobody cares to watch you fondle your tool.
We want to see what you can do with those tools. Tool.
Andrew Plato
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