Re: non-tech techwr better for end users

Subject: Re: non-tech techwr better for end users
From: "Jane Bergen" <jane -dot- bergen -at- usa -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 17:20:02 -0600

I don't think anyone was suggesting that a technical writer ONLY and EVER
knows as much as the user. Instead, the technical writer who is NOT
immediately knowledgeable about the underlying technology can more
accurately assess what the user knows and what the user wants to know. The
technical writer should be able, then, to tap into the resources
(development team, prototypes, supporting documentation, testers, etc.) to
deliver that information in a form that makes sense to the user. That's
what makes a good technical writer....the ability to assess, grasp, and
disseminate information in a more usable form.

If all tech writers were supposed to be experts at the very outset, only
neurosurgeons could write manuals for using their equipment, only licensed
pilots could write manuals for airplanes, only rocket scientists could
write manuals for rocketry, etc. I agree, that if the audience is very
technical (for example, an extremely complex surgical machine that will
only be used by other neurosurgeons, in that analogy) you probably should
get a neurosurgeon to provide the bulk of the information, then make it
useful and readable. On the other hand, if you're writing the manual for a
scrub nurse who isn't doing the actual operation, but is assisting or
operating the machine for a surgeon, you would (I would hope) write for
that audience. The key here is to know the audience for the product and
write to that level. If you have an audience made up of mixed
skill-levels, then a REAL technical writer knows how to structure the
manual to meet the needs of everyone.

To expect ALL technical writers to be subject matter experts is ludicrous.
It would, by definition, prevent contractors from writing in different
industries as no one can know EVERYTHING in all fields. It would be a
pretty narrow little world. That's why we have, and know how to use, real
subject matter experts (SMEs)...which is an art in itself.

Jane Bergen

----- Original Message -----
From: "Christensen, Kent" <lkchris -at- sandia -dot- gov>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2001 2:40 PM
Subject: Re: non-tech techwr better for end users (was "same boat")


> re: The freshness of the "non-technical" person can provide him or her
with
> an objectivity that more closely mirrors that of the TARGET of all our
> writing - the USER ... (this) has never made any sense to me. How can
> knowing less make you better at your job? Am I the only one who sees
value
> in knowing more than you need to tell your audience, or do others out
there
> really think that knowing only the information your audience needs is a
> bonus?



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