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Re: credibility (longish but IMO worth reading)

Subject: Re: credibility (longish but IMO worth reading)
From: Peter Neilson <neilson -at- alltel -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:50:06 -0400


We're not the only ones with a problem. My wife's a quality engineer.
QA is seen as "absolutely necessary" as long as it doesn't get in the
way of production and shipping. If the customers complain about the
bad quality that got shipped over the objections of the QA manager,
the solution is to fire the QA manager. (She's done there and been
that.)
 
All that we tech writers ever get is bug reports for the software
that was changed after the manual was finished. Or it was a six-week
writing contract (writing finished before beta, but not before the
after-beta GUI redesign), and there's nobody to blame at all.
 
Oh, am I ever cynical today!!!
 
On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:03:48 -0400, Mike O. <obie1121 -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:

Goober Writer wrote:
If someone with your skills and know-how needs to
trade money for credibility, then there is something
tragically wrong with our profession.
 
There is. We have been venting about it for years on this very list.
Employers either neglect documentation work or hold it in active contempt.
Employers don't understand documentation work, and documentation doesn't
appear on their radar screen unless painfully forced by a customer. Rational
business priorities, or pathological arrogance? After all this time I still
don't know. Depends on the employer, I guess.

[rest of Mike O's good stuff omitted]
 

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