atw: Re: Visibility of documentation efforts
- From: Stephen Nason <snason@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 16:03:24 +1100
Hi all, and Merry Christmas.
I'm a bit reluctant to contribute to this thread, not being fully
engaged in tech writing and in the company here of longterm experts.
But the jigsaw analogy worries me and is, I think, seriously flawed. It
is perhaps a good example of why tech writing is not valued by senior
management. It also shows that tech writing is not valued by some tech
writers themselves.
Let me explain.
A collection of jumbled jigsaw pieces might be chaotic, but there is
certainty that by following simple procedures a clear picture will
emerge at the end. The picture is preordained and there is no creativity
involved in finding it. If this is how you see your work don't blame the
boss if he sees it the same way too - mere process work that is clever
but not critical. Something an app could do.
In contrast, the end result of a skilled and talented tech writer's work
is not preordained by the materials that are available at the beginning.
There is no manual just waiting to be assembled from the pieces of
informational chaos. The manual must first be created in the mind of the
tech writing and brought into being. No app can do this.
Tech writers need to take more credit for the creativity they bring to
their work. And when they have, they then need to sell it into the boss.
(and so ends my rants for 2014)
Cheers,
Steve
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