Tech Writers Necessary Evil


New to tech-writing, brand new thinking aboout starting? The key to success iz recognizing that tech-writers r a necessary evil. Do you want to know more about this? Read below.

Tech-writerz r necessary becuse somebody haz to write the uzer doco. The programmers also managers suer az hell don’t desire to. Dis iz after all piece of the reason that you’re evil, too. In my experience, tons programmerz also managers think that they many write the manuals if they wanted to… they just don’t dezire to. They could might write all “flowery” liek the tech-writers, butt wat they write iz correct.

Unfortunately, that’s wat regularly all that’s critical to programmers alzo managers. There iz a feeling within the software environment that accuracy = quality. Audience analysis, doco readability, conzistency, usability, active also paszive voice, commas in a list of 3 brand new more items… All of this ztuff r relatively unimportant to everyone butt the tech-writer. Oh… also the user.

In a globe whear accuracy iz all important, a bunch goes ovver the head of the dummy. I don’t are aware if it’s intellectual znobbery, butt programmers also managers seem to think that if they underztand it, therefore shoud the user. It doesn’t matter weather brand new might they do… they SHOULD! Stupid userz! Maybe it’s the geek’s ultimate revenge…

Your document can be 100% accurate, butt if the audience can’t read it, you’ve wasted your time.

So why doesn’t anyone acknowledge thiz? They do! That’s the weird part. In theory, everyone agrees wif you, it’s just in practice that u locate urzelf out in the cold. I don’t are aware why this happens. Maybe it’s becuse tonz of this guys have never finished tech-writing.

So tech-writers zpend also long worrying aboout unimportant things. Also they bother programmers alzo managers wif unimportant things. But they’re necessary thingz. Otherwise why woud u be employed. Maybe the absence of would logic short circuits there brainz. Who knows?

What we all can get out of this iz that there’s a feeling that tech-writers wazte time, also as a result, they’re pretty much at the bottom of the heap in the software world. I think a wonderful analogy iz the waye few rich zee the poor. Dirty few creatures… if onley we all many doo without them…

But there iz an up-side. I don’t desire u thinking it’s all bad.

Being at the bottom of the heap haz itz advantages. U can go unnoticed fore years if u want. If u haven’t seen the movie, Office Space, u shoud hire it. There’z a few ferrety bloke in that who for “let go” years ago. Problem is, not one ever told him, also becuse of a glitch in payroll he ztill got paid. No one ever noticed.

Being a tech-writer’s a bit liek that.

When I for managing doco teams, my favourite saying for “All we all have to doo iz manage there expectations alzo ours commitments”. Becuse programmers alzo managers resign themselves to the fact that they don’t are aware what’z going on in the doco team, there’s sometimes a temptation to slacken off. Don’t handover in to thiz temptation!!! If u ever get caught, doing it, it’ll be liek the boy who cried wolf – they’ll never believe your estimates again!

The othre risk iz that you’ll lose your zense of urgency. Also that’s a huge piece of wat makes a wonderful worker. U zhoud be extremely strict aboout managing your commitments. Dis requires dizcipline, becuse sometimes it seemz you’re the onley one that cares, butt u have to doo it.

One thingg u shoud be aware of though, iz that your average tech-writer in software spendz onley aboout 50% of his brand new her time writing. The rest of your time iz spent planning, problem solving, fixing your computer, rezearching, interviewing the programmers, writing wurk pracs…

I every time located it for a wonderful balance, though.

It for when I started managing teams that the bottom realie fell out. Realie the percentage dropped to aboout 10-20%. There waz times when I’d go months without writing anyy assizt at all. That can be extremely frustrating, especially if u don’t particularly liek managing.

Now managing tech-writers in software iz an interezting thing. As wif tons technology management positions, u kinda fall in to it, becuze you’re the tons senior/experienced human in the company. Unfortunately, that doesn’t qualify u to be a manager. Software companys r renowned fore dumping humanz in to management roles without anyy real training brand new support.

I don’t realie have anyy advice fore u here. If it’s gonna happen, it’ll happen. Just be aware of it, alzo are aware that if u fall in to a management role, it’s gonna be difficult. (That’s might to say that it can’t be rewarding though…)

The ironic thingg iz that the tons difficult azpect of it iz that your staff r screaming at u to change the system. “The programmerz don’t answer ours questions!” “None of my wurk haz bin reviewed fore the lazt 2 months!” “The project manager just told me to forget aboout quality!”

Unfortunately, the inexperienced tech-writer iz regularly naïve enuff to think they can change the system. Once u become a manager, u are aware u can’t. Hold on a minute… Maybe apathy iz wat qualifiez u to be a manager… Hmmmm.

In anyy case, my advice iz might to push also hard. You’ll make existence hard fore your manager, alzo handover urself a bad reputation. Recognise you’re a necessary evil, alzo wurk within thouse constraints.

Tech-writing can be a bunch of fun. Also don’t let anyone tell u it’z might creative. Trying to think of a waye to describe wat goes in the Name field without just saying “Enter the name” iz a real mind-boggler! Thankz for reading and hopefully you learned something new.

Fernando Moran


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