CHAT: how times have changed

[Daniel Grady <Daniel -dot- Grady -at- EXC -dot- EPSON -dot- CO -dot- JP>]

FYI, the following pertains mostly to software companies.

I read an article a year or so ago by a TW advocate, if I remember correctly
it was published by STC.  The author stated that just as the software
engineers program the application, technical writers program the user.  They
are equal and should be viewed that way.  To say that programming software
is more difficult than programming users is hogwash!  Consider; not all
users read the documentation, none read all of the documentation, and no two
people have the same semantics - we speak our own private versions of
English.  For example, "press the crud button until the dollop light comes
on" could mean press repeatedly or press and hold until...

At least with code the rules of grammar and syntax and fixed and well
documented.  A good software programmer knows what every line or routine
does and how the system reacts to it to the limit of his ability,
imagination, and knowledge.  If you think learning how to program is
difficult, try learning an Asian language!  Try learning a language where
the grammar is backwards compared to your language.  A good programmer
should be able to produce a product with very few mistakes if given the time
and QC resources.

In writing in general, there are no two people who will write the same page
the same way.  Even in professional writing you will not find two alike
thinkers or for that matter two books on style/writing that agree.  Writers
write for people they have never met and will never meet as well as people
who do not speak fluently.  That said, a good writer should be able to
produce documentation that correctly aniticipates what the user needs to
know and provides that in an easy-to-find way, if given the time and
support.

All functions that are not coded in the program by the programmers have to
be coded in the user by the technical writer.  Next time you advocate for a
UI change or function improvement, tell your coworkers that neither method
of programming is easy, but which one will help the bottom line?  You may
lose due to factors out of anyone's control, but you will at least add
weight to the term "document/information engineer".

My point is not to belittle programmers or software development but to show
that there is more in common between "them" and "us" than many realize.
Remember the next time you ask for a raise, you are a user programmer and an
information engineer!

One more thing to remember, they can never get rid of us!!  The lawyers
won't let them.  There are laws in pretty much every state, territory,
country and so-called independent nation that require documentation.  They
can't sell what we don't document, meaning they need us just as much as we
need them.  (Nevermind the details, it felt good to write this!!)

Dan Grady
Printer Technical Support Group
Seiko Epson Corp.

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