TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
On Wednesday, November 26, 1997 2:24 PM, Michael Lewis
[SMTP:lewism -at- BRANDLE -dot- COM -dot- AU] wrote:
> ISO9000 doesn't pretend to concern itself with creativity. It's based
on
> the concept of "quality as conformance to specification", not "quality
> as understood by human beings". At a pinch, you might be able to leave
> your creative people to develop the spec, then use ISO9000 to ensure
> that what goes out the door matches the spec. As so many contributors
to
> this thread have pointed out, if you spec for crap, ISO9000 makes sure
> you produce it -- but that's the fault of the spec.
Aye, but there's the rub. Development of both software and documentation
is a creative endeavor. So, if ISO9000 doesn't concern itself with
creativity, does that mean ISO9000 shouldn't be used in the software
industry?
--
"You don't look American."
"Everyone looks American, because Americans are from everywhere."
- Doonesbury
Chuck Martin, Technical Writer
Evolve Software | Personal
chuckm -at- evolvesoftware -dot- com | writer -at- grin -dot- net
www.evolvesoftware.com | www.grin.net/~writer