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Calling all "Lead Writer" or "Information Architects" -- what do you do?
Subject:Calling all "Lead Writer" or "Information Architects" -- what do you do? From:kmorgan -at- opsware -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 21 May 2004 16:00:55 -0600
I've recently been prompted to "Lead Technical Writer" at my company.
That's the good news. The bad news -- my actual responsibilities in that
role are unclear. I'm having a real disagreement with my manager about how
my responsibilities should change. Currently, I do the bulk of the writing
for our team of 4. I'm proposing that, as lead writer, I become more of a
facilitator, doing things like mentoring other writers, doc project
management, writing (as an overflow writer), interacting with other teams
(such as, development, QA, product management, etc.), problem solving for
our team (process, tools, deliverables, etc.) To me, all these things are
the role of a "lead writer." My manager proposes my role remain unchanged
and that I am the "lead" because I will write for the most challenging
and/or strategic projects. My team DESPERATELY want me performing in the
former way -- as the facilitator, mentor, project manager, and leader.
I'm interested in how people function as a lead writier or IA. What are
your primary responsibilities? How do you add value to your tech pubs
team?
Thank for any enlightenment you can give me.
Katheirne Morgan, Lead Tech Writer
Opsware, Inc.
Sunnyvale, California
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