Re: Dividing the Tech writer job

Subject: Re: Dividing the Tech writer job
From: "Bergen, Jane" <janeb -at- ANSWERSOFT -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 17:49:23 -0500

Ouch...you're going to catch some heat, Melissa, for the "Documentation
girls" (as well you should). I haven't heard that vocabulary since the
60s. Let's call them "typists" as that's what they DO, not their
physical nature (and they're probably women, not girls, anyway).

As for training them to be tech writers, please don't try....not unless
they're really eager for it AND willing to take some classes. The last
thing our profession needs is more untrained typists who think that
because they can run spell-check and use a tool like Frame, they can be
tech writers. Typists do not "grow into technical writers."

That said (I'm climbing off my soapbox now, and being creative), I've
had many times when I wished I could pass off a finished document to be
proofed and edited for generic typos (commas that should be periods, two
spaces that should be one, "two" that should be "to," etc.). These kinds
of things are seldom caught by a word processor. But I think having two
typists to support one or even two technical writers is a bit of an
overkill.

Personally, I would think that it might be more efficient in the long
run to replace the two typists with a single technical writer. Can the
typists maybe be transferred to another department? Otherwise I think
you'll have an imbalance in the workload...yours and theirs.

Jane
Jane Bergen, Technical Writer
AnswerSoft, Inc.
Richardson, TX (972)997-8355

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Melissa Conniff [mailto:mconniff -at- CSC -dot- COM]
>
> My department just got reorganized--in this case it's a good
> thing! We are
> creating a documenation department from the ground up.
> Currently, in this group
> there is me, the tech writer, and two Documentation girls who
> do not have any tech
> writing background.
>
> Here is the problem. The Documentation girls are literally
> typists. The practice
> (snipped)
> included adding more tech writers!!! ;-> BUT, I am at a loss
> as to how to
> structure a work flow with these two girls. I'm used to
> doing everything myself.
> I work in Frame and these girls don't yet know Frame (they
> are going to go to
> classes! ;-> I've tried to teach one of the girls, but she
> is having a difficult
> time grasping some of the basic concepts--such as multiple
> master pages and
> different text flows. So I do not have high hopes that these
> girls would be able
> to grow into tech writers within the next year or so.)
>
> We are trying to devlope a plan in which definitive roles are
> established so that
> everyone knows what their jobs are.
>
> Can anyone help me? I remember reading from other postings
> (snipped)
> Any suggestions would be extremely helpful!!!
>
> Thank you!!!
> Melissa

From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=




Previous by Author: Re: Certification...
Next by Author: Re: Dividing the Tech writer job
Previous by Thread: Re: Dividing the Tech writer job
Next by Thread: Re: Dividing the Tech writer job


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads