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You'll no doubt get a lot of advice about how to coax information
out of people who have product knowledge, but IMO, until you
can develop product knowledge of your own, you will be in this
situation forever. You need to be able to not only gather previously
gathered information together and know "what a manual should
look like," but also what content one should contain. Your objective
as a technical writer is not to "get a document out of" others, but
to be able to produce it yourself.
OTOH, if your "unique situation" is that you aren't actually a
technical writer at all but have just had the work dumped on you
because you're all there is, you should have every expectation
that the rest of the development team will will carry some of the
load and your manager should be out there getting you the help
you need to get the job done.
Gene Kim-Eng
----- Original Message -----
From: <sonjam -at- dhsolutions -dot- co -dot- za>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 4:04 AM
Subject: Expectations too high?
>
> Im not entirely new to technical writing but landed in a rather unique
> situation,
> Im supposed to write all the help files, user manuals, training docs for 5
> x custom developed software programs,
> but Im sitting in a office on the other side of the building. I don't get
> included in any of the project meetings,
> and have no idea when the latest releases takes place or what is in them.
> The developers think I have to write
> the manuals out of my own knowledge, on my own steam, but I don't know the
> products. Anyone else facing the
> same situation?
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