Re: Techwriting after the boom

["Michael West" <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- net -dot- au>]

Gene Kim-Eng wrote:

> Back in the 1970's and early 80's I was an 
> engineer, and frequently wrote specifications, 
> test plans, procedures, reports and field manuals.
[...]
> Writing was an integral and very *formal* 
> part of my job description as an engineer.

Engineers who write well --especially for
non-engineering audiences -- are rare.
Gene Kim-Eng is obviously one.

Engineers who *think* they can write
well, on the other hand, are not rare. Happily,
most seem to know the difference.

In the early days, technical writing skills
were often required of engineers, who wrote
documents for other engineers and technicians.

When the desktop computer revolution
rolled over us, vendors were faced with
a new kind of challenge. They needed people
who could write helpful material for people
who were not engineers, never were engineers,
and had no intention of ever becoming engineers.
While a certain technical frame of reference would
be required for writing material like this, by no means 
were hard engineering skills required. In fact, hard
engineering skills could be a liability in this context. 
What *was* required (because the market demanded
it) was an understanding of how people learn, how 
people use product-assistance material, and what people 
expected to accomplish with their spiffy state-of-the art, 
soon-to-be-obsolete personal computer and associated
software. And -- oh yes --  how  to write clearly, 
accurately, simply, and concisely.

I suspect this is what some people are moaning
and bleating about -- the fact that in a certain teeny 
tiny, lowly-paid little corner of a vast industry, 
communication skills became more valuable than 
engineering skills, and knowing how to write well 
became more important than knowing how to design 
a microprocessor.
--
MW
Melbourne



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Robohelp X3, from eHelp, lets you quickly and easily create 
professional Help systems for all your Windows and Web-based 
applications, including Net. 

Order RoboHelp X3 in May and receive a $100 mail-in rebate, PLUS
free RoboScreenCapture and WebHelp Merge Module. 
 
Order RoboHelp today: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.