Re: need advice: question 4 you
court, not you manager's."
Very true. It really doesn't matter who your manager is, or what group you are assigned to. If you survey members of this list (as has been done previously), you would be amazed at the variety of departments that writers belong to. There are no published rules on this.
YOU need to do whatever you can to get the information you need. Invite yourself to meetings. Have a good rapport with at least one of the developers for the software you are documenting. Stop by his cubicle or office sometime with a plate of cookies or a new toy. Then say, "Hey, can you show me a preview of the software?" or "I noticed that the background is now blue instead of green. Is there any way I can get new screenshots of the software for my book?" or (my favorite) "I'm under a lot of pressure from ____ to do ___. Can you help me?"
It took me a few months to get into the position that I am now -- a valued member of the development team who is included in meetings and decisions. A couple of the developers won't even consider a change to our software unless the requester runs it past me first!
Diane Evans
Technical Writer
Washington State Coordinator, Tombstone Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/washing.html
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