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this will put you in direct contact with The Document Center of Belmont,
CA.
Also, do a Yahoo!/Lycos/whomever search for Information Handling
Services of Inglewood, CO. The Document Center and IHS tend to interact
with each other a lot re MIL-spec tech info and updates. :D
Nice to know this coollist.com list of yours still runs for us current
and former mil-spec writers. :D I think we've all just been busy with
work to not post as much in the way of information or queries as we
otherwise might want to.
The ability to be able to write to mil-specs is NOT something you have
to go enroll in a master's degree program somewhere, Don. Similarly,
it's also NOT equivalent to reading a brochure. Though a lot of people
stupidly get their noses up in the air when one mentions they've done
mil-spec writing, the fact remains that mil-spec writing is where real
technical writing is practiced on Planet Earth, period. You simply must
know how to analyze, think, read and write well. Either you can do that
or you can't.
Consider the following:
* A document known as a Technical Manual Contract Requirements (TMCR)
list is developed at the Start of Work (SOW) meeting between the
applicable branch of the service or US Government agency and the
publishing house that won the contract to provide new and/or revised
technical documentation.
* Last-minute changes that otherwise might screw up your hard/soft copy
deliverables schedule from a programmer following misdirections from
some idiot in Marketing are held to a minimum because all the technical
information is delivered at the SOW meeting. Typically (though not
always, admittedly) there's none of this bullshit about having to
sweet-talk an SME into giving you what you need in a weapons program.
He either does his job or he winds up on the unemployment line. All
information is delivered up front. It's amazing to me how many
so-called high-tech companies have yet to master this concept and still
remain in business.
* There's no question about what the format for the tech manuals are
to be in. The customer's got a very well-developed notion on how the
manuals are to be formatted. Your publishing house meets the
contractual requirements or the customer voids the contract and takes
his business elsewhere. Period.
The only real prerequisite is that you must have worked for a
defense-related firm at some point in your career and can prove it with
printed samples of military manuals you can present from your portfolio
or stringbook. Ideally, you'll have gone on at least one validation and
verification review (Val/Ver review is the typical phrase) on the
project and met your deadline on time and under budget.
In a Val/Ver review, you should take the opportunity to actively
participate in the tasks you're documenting, such as removing a fuel
shutoff valve from a 600 horsepower Cummins diesel engine and putting it
back on. You'll have some enlisted type in fatigues helping you along
the way. Listen to the enlisted folks, especially the more experienced
non-comms (that's sergeants and chief petty officers to the civilian
world), as they work with the end product daily. That's their job
you're adequately trying to document. When it's right, they'll let you
know. :D
There are mil-specs that the semiconductor world uses. MIL-STD-883
details real-world testing methodologies for most microelectronics,
although MIL-STD-750, MIL-STD-202 and MIL-STD-105 are also excellent and
just as widely used in the Test Engineering and Quality Assurance labs.
Both The Document Center and Information Handling Services will also
carry commercially-oriented testing specs and standards, especially from
such folks as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the
Electronics Industries of America's Joint Electronic Device Engineering
Council (EIA/JEDEC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineering (IEEE).
That's it from here. :D
And now, back to your regularly scheduled nightmare. :D
George
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Donald R. Stovicek [SMTP:usadad -at- raex -dot- com]
> Sent: Saturday, August 08, 1998 9:40 AM
> To: techwriter -at- coollist -dot- com
> Subject: Military Specifications
>
> I know its been a while since we kicked around the idea of a separate
> list for Technical Writers -- not software documentation specialists.
> It
> seemed to be an excellent and well supported idea a few months ago. As
> you may recall, I set up a list with coollist.com with names of those
> who seemed to support the idea. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't
> been used by anyone. I still think it is a good idea so I thought I
> would give it a shot.
>
> Throughout my 30-year career as a captive technical writer I have seen
> job postings that require the technical writer to be knowledgeable or
> at
> least familiar with Military Specifications for Technical Manuals. Can
> someone on this list explain explain and/or point me to an
> authoritative
> Internet site on Mil-Specs? Is having the ability to write to Mil-Spec
> something similar to obtaining a masters degree in technical writing
> or
> is more like reading through a brochure?
>
> Thanks
> Don Stovicek
> Technical Writer
> usadad -at- raex -dot- com
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
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