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>...we could take it even further. We can take a video of something happening...
Yes!
Some years back, I was sent out to do the QA on a new manual for disassembly/reassembly of part of an aircraft landing gear.* The writer had not been given the opportunity to actually see the hardware, so there were some significant problems with his draft. By the time I got to the site, the local techs had already figured out the disassembly on their own (which did not relieve us from the requirement to produce the manual). I ended up making a video of the two techs as they disassembled the system (and clearly said what they were doing at each step). Back in the hotel room that night I was able to re-write the draft to match what they had done, and the next day double-checked as they repeated the procedure on the same component on the airplane's other side.
Very, very, very effective tool, and now that so many of us have video cameras in our pockets, there is no reason not to use it.
*MLG ski on an LC-130H, for those who are interested.
Rick Lippincott, Technical Writer
American Science and Engineering, Inc. | www.as-e.com
829 Middlesex Turnpike | Billerica, MA 01821 USA | Fax +1-978-262-8702
Office +1-978-262-8807 | rlippincott -at- as-e -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+rlippincott=as-e -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+rlippincott=as-e -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Debbi Crum
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2014 10:14 AM
To: Cardimon, Craig; 'techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com'
Subject: Re: "The Value of Recording Conversations with SMEs"
I do not. But after reading this I think I should. One aspect that stood out to me is the ability to listen and absorb what the SME is talking about without the distraction of making sure you write it all down. With the "smartphones" most of us carry (they're really miniature computers), we could take it even further. We can take a video of something happening on the screen or take a quick photo of how a device is wired.
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