RE: Are these words being used?

["Teresa Wittel" <teresa -dot- wittel -at- microchip -dot- com>]

     > The point I was trying to make is that we should use the
     > users' terms (if these are indeed the users' terms) rather
     > than substituting our own preference. And to determine
     > whether they are the users' terms, we have to do user and
     > task analysis. <George>
     
     > ... it does not mean that shipability and orderability should be 
     > used. Just because people coin new words to meet their needs, 
     > doesn't mean that anyone could make up any word and say that it 
     > is a "proper" word. <snip> I don't believe that these two words 
     > are going to make it into the books. <Kathi>
     
     OK, maybe I'm oversimplifying here, but these two emails seem to 
     capture the essence of the disagreement that seems to permeate much of 
     the field. The poor writer who started this thread must think we're all 
     crazy! In fact, we're all offering great advice from our own personal 
     experiences.  I think most everyone who cares about their work has 
     strong opinions on what has made them successful. However, what works 
     well in one environment might be disastrous in the other.
     
     Some technical writers are not expected to understand the technical 
     subject very well. They are expected to just clearly translate what 
     the SME says under tight deadlines with little accountability. Others 
     are expected to understand the subject almost as well as "the 
     experts"; they are generally given more time to study the product, 
     analyze the audience, and are held accountable for the content of the 
     manual. These two environments differ radically and writers from each 
     environment usually offer their opinions on this listserv (without 
     identifying their bias).
     
     Jargon is a great example, because we are always arguing over it. 
     Those who are more unfamiliar with the subject and writing user guides 
     for beginners (rightfully) tend to favor the no jargon approach. Those 
     who are practically SME's themselves and are writing for a more 
     experienced audience (rightfully) favor using jargon familiar to that 
     audience.
     
     Guess everyone has figured out where this is leading by now. When you 
     offer comments on the listserv, it would be helpful to know what type 
     of environment you are used to working in, because your environmental 
     experience has influenced your opinions heavily.
     
     I, for instance (without a strong understanding of the warehouse 
     audience), would need some valid basis for using "shippability" rather 
     than other perfectly acceptable words, such as "shippable" or 
     "suitability for shipment". If this was a point of contention between 
     me and a SME, I would investigate other sources, including 
     audience/task anlysis (if time allows) and other warehouse manuals, 
     before I used such an odd term. If my investigation showed the term 
     was used frequently, I would acquiesce gracefully.
     
     BTW, I'm currently working in an environment where I'm not expected to 
     understand the content of the manuals, but I still check those 
     engineers' claims against established style guides, such as the IEEE 
     Style Guide, the MS Style Guide, and even the Chicago Manual of Style.
     
     Just my $0.02 ...
     
     Teresa Wittel <who has worked in both environments>
     Sr. Technical Writer
     Microchip Technology Inc.