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Re: Culture, or What it means to be a Technical Writer
Subject:Re: Culture, or What it means to be a Technical Writer From:K R Wolfe <keith -at- MERGE -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 8 May 1998 17:00:54 -0500
I believe I see where our misunderstanding lies. I agree with you that
engineers and writers both work together for a common goal. We are both
part of a whole.
My point is this. Taken independently, engineers have their roles in the
creation process, and we have ours. Taken as a whole, we each have the
same role - to create a usable product.
But, in the creation process, I spend a lot of time talking to engineers,
getting a feel for the product. I write documentation for radiology techs.
I dare say that none of them know the interworkings of our products, but
they need to understand such things like the interface. The vocabulay of
an engineer is not the same as that of a radiology tech. My goal is not to
bridge the gap of fundamentals or operations, but diction.