Re: Do Technical Writers Deserve Their Own Office?

[John Gilger <JohnG -at- MIKOHN -dot- COM>]

I've done it both ways and I agree with John Posada.  I need a free flow
of information/ideas from my internal suppliers (developers).  I like
working in the middle of things.

There is a strong tendancy in corporate America to create and defend
empires, walling out anyone who may be a possible threat.  This inhibits
communication and efficiency.  It also justifies downsizing.  As a
Project Manager doing corporate re-engineering in a former life, I found
that most walls hid a lot of dead wood.  Management's agressive pruning
saved literally millions of dollars per year.  However, the human cost
was not calculated.

Lest you think that I am bragging, mine was eventually one of the jobs
cut.

We (tech writers, programmers, graphic artists, etc.) need to work
together as a team and stand together as a team.  The "private office"
is for upper management.

John Gilger
bjgilger -at- msn -dot- com

From: John Posada [mailto:posada -at- FAXSAV -dot- COM]
Subject: Re: Do Technical Writers Deserve Their Own Office?


Sorry, Debra...

I'm more responsive sitting among the developers rather than shutting
myself off from them. I'm more approachable, I "hear" of things going on
with my products more readily. And besides, when I really concentrate on
a
task (get in a zone?), all I hear is my thinking anyway.

We aren't different than developers. They develop information through
code
and we develop information through words. It's only when we stop trying
to
convince others that we are "different" (which in some eyes, is thought
of
to be "better"), will we be given the equality that we ask for.

I'd spend more time learning how to tear walls down and less time trying
to
figure out how to put walls up.


-----Original Message-----
From:   Debra Mazo [SMTP:DMazo -at- CREO -dot- COM]
Subject:        Do Technical Writers Deserve Their Own Office?

Our Documentation Group is having a hard time justifying private offices
for technical writers to Product Development. We need some strong
reasons to justify that we are different than developers and work more
productively in a quiet working space, especially when we performing
editing duties.