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Re: Do techies really know what other techies need?
Subject:Re: Do techies really know what other techies need? From:"Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher -at- EXPERSOFT -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 20 Mar 1997 14:24:51 -0800
Sella Rush wrote:
>I have this problem...the programmer I work most closely with despises all
>my tries at making text more accessible..."they're programmers, they'll
>understand what I'm saying."...I'm sick and tired of having all my
>suggestions discounted because he's a techie and knows what techies want
>and what they don't want is a lot of clear writing that might insult
>their intelligence.
>
>So, does anyone have any clever techniques for dealing with this
>argument?
As Mike Markley already suggested, feed his ego, but put the needs
of the company up front.
First, get with marketing and nail down a valid audience analysis/
target market analysis. The folks in marketing will tell you that,
particularly for a database-type product, industry trends are away
from dedicated programmers and toward the "occasional" or "sometime"
programmer -- especially in today's small businesses. These
occasional programmers need a lot more hand-holding than the pros
do.
Second, creating wiz-bang technology is only half the fun. You have
to share it -- sell it to someone -- in order to take full enjoyment
from it. It's kinda like sex in that respect. Fun all alone, but
then nobody but you knows how good you really are. ;-) -- And
after all, if your customers knew as much as your development staff,
they wouldn't need your tools, they'd code it themselves.
And docs really can make or break a sale.
Sue Gallagher
sgallagher -at- expersoft -dot- com
-- The _Guide_ is definitive.
Reality is frequently inaccurate.
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