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> Knowing the subject sometimes has nothing to do with it. There was
> nothing exotic about how it was presented and I did it with a tool
> that everyone had on their computer...Excel.
>
> The closing comment on the way out..."This way is cool...why didn't I
> think of it?" My answer..."Because this is what I do."
When people outside of work ask me what I do, I say, "I'm a Bridge Geek".
When they replay with , "Huh?" I tell them I take what engineers/programmers
write and turn it into English. I geeky enough to understand the original
content but compassionate enough to remember what it is like to be that poor
user who needs to use the product but is in over his/her head.
As I gain experience, I find that it is important to keep the bigger picture
in mind while explaining details. Many engineers, in their writings, wallow
in details forgetting the reader does not share their perspective. I first
ask, "Who is my audience?" then go to work molding the content in a way I
wish it would be explained to me.
Peter Farwell
Senior Technical Writer
"Most geeks are not bridge geeks."
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