atw: Re: Visibility of documentation efforts
- From: Christine Kent <cmkentau@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:39:29 +1100
Interesting idea but it does not help much with communication. Can you add
value by providing a better analogy than the one I provided, that includes
a degree (and only a degree) of creativity? What we need here is a
communication tool.
I am not sure you are entirely right either. I am also an instructional
designer, and in that work I get to be vastly more imaginative and creative
in how I communicate information. There is much more freedom to be
creative with training.
The creativity in TW, I believe, comes with solution design rather than
writing. To me, creativity is instantaneous, that vision that gives you a
clear image of a total solution that could solve all problems, or would if
the bosses ever had the courage to implement creative solutions. I suppose,
with the jigsaw analogy, the writer gets to see the picture on the box, but
no-one else does. It is not the picturing of a solution that takes the
time. Time is consumed by the nitpicking requirement to remove all
ambiguity, and miss nothing that matters.
This leads me to think that there must be some level of inevitability In
the written content, even if there is variation in how it is presented. It
would be an interesting experiment to give a few very experienced TWs some
standards to which they must comply, and then see just how different the
writing actually is.
Cheers, christine
On Wednesday, December 24, 2014, Stephen Nason <snason@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 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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--
Christine
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