What tools to buy?

Subject: What tools to buy?
From: Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>, wawelsmok <wawelsmok -at- o2 -dot- pl>
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 09:34:29 -0400

Pete wondered: <<My boss came into my office yesterday with the following question: Do you have any hardware/software requests for the coming year?>>

I suppose an overstuffed armchair and espresso machine would be out of the question? <g>

<<I am one of two tech writers for a pretty large software company. The only experience we both have in tech writing is with this company. The only two software packages we use is Microsoft Office and RoboHelp. If your boss came to you with that same question, what would you say? What are the must-have software packages in a Tech Writing department?>>

The correct answer to the question depends on what you need to accomplish. If Office and Robo are meeting all your needs efficiently, the politically astute answer is "our current tools are adequate, Boss, so we don't feel any huge need to change, but we'd like to budget for new computers and upgrades to all our software in 2 years, once the bugs have been shaken out of the new releases of both programs". This sends the message that you're not looking for handouts, but rather paying careful attention to your real needs and the always inadequate budget.

If you see opportunities to expand your role in the company, and have time to do so, consider asking for tools such as Dreamweaver or whatever your company uses to develop its Web site. Sometimes you can get an interesting chance to diversify your job by stretching into other areas of the company's operations. I made this an ongoing part of my workplace strategy, and ended up getting to know everyone in the company and wearing so many hats I needed a separate office just for my hat rack. <g>

If you're encountering specific problems, such as an inability to effectively capture and edit graphics, you may want to invest in tools such as SnagIt and Photoshop; if Word is running out of horsepower and you want to do serious single-sourcing, look into Frame or supplement Word with WebWorks for Word. In short, purchase new tools to solve a problem, not just to pad the bottom line of Adobe and Dell and help your manager spend all their budget. <g>

If you do consider new software or hardware, make sure to add a line item in the budget for training, and make sure to budget a few months for mastering the new tools.

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Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca

(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)

www.geoff-hart.com

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What tools to buy?: From: wawelsmok

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