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Subject:RE: Definition of Engineer (was: What to do?) From:"walden miller" <wmiller -at- vidiom -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 31 Oct 2003 09:07:12 -0700
Chuck writes: We might make it so the title of "Technical Writer" (or
similar) represents
some level of minimum competence, rather than anyone being able to lay claim
to the term just because they say they are.
Walden: The problem with any title certification is the establishment of the
minimum competence. It is basically a desire to create an exclusive group
with a title. Technical writer is tooo broad to be exclusive as it covers
cookbook writers to forestry writers to medical writers to low-level
hardware writers to low-level software writers to user interface writers to
... The intersecting minimum competence might be the ability to write a
well-formed list, a summary, a description for this group, as well as to
argue intelligently about native-tongue grammar.
...
Chuck: I'd venture to say that most people--including decision
makers--probably
believe that if someone walks in claiming to be, say, an electrical
engineer, that the claim is backed by some minimum amount of education. Too
many of the same people believe that if someone walks in claiming to be a
technical writer, that, well, how hard can writing be? Who suffers from that
belief? I'll bet you're going to say my answer will be "we do." Nope.
Products users do.
Walden: substandard engineers make product users suffer as well.
Substandard workers make product users suffer. Should we require
certification for restaurant employees so that we always know the food will
be good? There is some responsibility on the employer and the market to
give backlash or credit to an employer for their decisions.
Chuck: Advocating that this discipline is an engineering one isn't about
getting
respect or licensing or equal pay or anything like that. It's about a better
user experience, and having the training and the experience to be able to
provide that. That's also a message that can better be translated into
bottom-line figures: happier customers buy more and tell more people,
un-frustrated users don't swamp technical support lines, and so on.
Walden: Advocating that the computer/high tech writer discipline is an
engineering discipline is somewhat a reach, but less of a reach than arguing
that all technical writers are engineers. I get a little uneasy when I hear
information mapping and information engineering and communications engineer
as ways to talk about writers. I am a technical writer (or at least I have
been for most of my career), not an engineer.
BUT, I do agree with Chuck on many points. Better writers usually mean
better user experiences. This is translated to bottom line figures. Better
docs mean less tech support, etc. However, certification is not a way to
achieve better writers. It might even lead to weird hiring situations in
which a very good writer could not be hired because he lacked the
certification necessary to be considered a tech writer.
Chuck: As we learn what this field entails, as we evolve, we see that it
does
indeed fit within the spectrum of engineering disciplines. Denying this
evolution doens't stop it from occurring.
Walden: but labeling something as engineering doesn't make it so and calling
something evolution doesn't make it occur.
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