RE: Why are companies now requiring techical writer candidates to be SMEs?

Subject: RE: Why are companies now requiring techical writer candidates to be SMEs?
From: "Bill Swallow" <wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 20:37:39 -0400


::: Perhaps I am laboring under a misconception wrt what an SME
::: is, but it is my
::: impression that an SME is someone who actually DOES what is
::: being documented
::: (e.g., programmer <"software engineer">, aerospace
::: engineer, microwave oven
::: designer, etc.).

A SME is nothing more than its unabbreviated form: Subject Matter Expert.
Tech writers can be and *should* be a SME for whatever they are documenting.
You don't need to be a SME out of the gate, but that should be your goal.

Being a SME doesn't mean you can code whatever app you're documenting or
build whatever mechanism you're documenting, but you should be a SME on the
industry it's being used in and on how it works. Anything else is a bonus.

Bill Swallow
wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com



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References:
RE: Why are companies now requiring techical writer candidates to be SMEs?: From: Watson Laughton

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