Re: Satisfaction (was ... Re: The value of technical writers)

[joanne grey <j_grey -at- WRITEANGLES -dot- COM>]

> Barbara Karst-Sabin <barbara -at- QUOTE -dot- COM> wrote:

> :Do any of us really feel that techincal writing is a second string job?
> :I hope not.  Writing of any kind is a skill few people can claim, being
> :able to understand technical material is another skill that few people
> :have, put the two together and you have very few people who can do this
> :kind of work.

To which Cam Whetstone replied:

> I do feel that technical writing is a second string job.  Mainly because
> most managers feel that way.  Engineers design and develop equipment,
> and programmers develop software, that is sold for money.  This hardware
> sells for $xx,xxxx, that program sells for $yy,yyyy.  The technical
> documentation does not sell--it is given away with the equipment.
> Therefore, the documentation group is overhead.  they subtract from the
> profit, they do not pay the bills.  Is this valid?  I don't think so,
> but most engineering managers I've worked with think that way.

I swore I was going to ignore this thread, but...

I think that overall, the attitude that a good manual (datasheet, User's
Guide, whatever) is changing. I've found more and more companies in
which management can see the value added by good documentation: in
customer satisfaction leading to good word-of-mouth advertising,
decreased customer support levels, and even (dare I say it?) pride in
having a professional product. I also try to increase awareness of this
in the companies for which I do a job.

Ten years ago, I might have agreed with TW-ing being a second-string
job, but I think that its value is becoming more apparent all the time.
In a time when competition has become fierce and you need that little
extra edge, good docs can and does make a difference, and that the
smarter managers know this.

I know that when I walk in to a new client's office, I am more often
than not treated as a professional, someone who can enhance the
customer's product.

I'm sure that the chocolate chip cookies have nothing to do with it.
<grin - I couldn't resist.>

      -joanne

___________________________________________
Joanne Grey        j_grey -at- writeangles -dot- com
Write Angles       www.writeangles.com

The higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.
     -Nietsche

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