Re: A technique to get on development's good side

[Bill Swallow <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com>]

> In terms of the TW/Developer divide, this is manifested in the assumed
> roles of TWs and Devs as a whole: the TW is an advocate for the user,
> the Dev is responsible for implementing functionality.

I always have an issue with this, because most writers I talk to have
no idea who their users are or what they should be advocating! A tech
writer is not a user advocate any more than a developer is or a tester
is or a marketeer is or a tech support rep is. That is, we should all
have the same approach to and understanding of user advocacy. You
can't develop good products, test them correctly, document them well,
market them to the right people, or support them, without knowing what
users need and how they need to use it.

I don't like it when tech writers beat the "user advocacy" drum. I
feel that those who do are missing the point entirely and are just
grasping at buzzwords to justify their reason for having a role in
their company.

Just my $0.02.

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