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Subject:Re: Andrew on engineers From:Walter Crockett <walter -dot- crockett -at- informix -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 22 Nov 2000 09:02:26 -0600
Andrew really hit it on the head with this one. Absolutely correct. It bears
repeating.
Andrew Plato wrote:
While some engineers are like this, honestly, most engineers do respect the
need for decent documentation. The problem is that many engineers feel like
the
writers have zero interest in really understanding what the engineers do.
Engineers LOVE to talk about their work and demonstrate their knowledge.
But,
there is an entry fee to get this knowledge. You have to have *some*
technical
capability and be able to talk shop with them. If you show with a "I don't
need
to know those technical things" attitude, of course they will think you're a
waste of time. You're not helping make their product look better.
If you can't or won't engage SMEs in a thoughtful technical conversation,
then
they aren't going to trust you to adequately communicate the design of their
system. Imagine if somebody walked up to you and said they were going to
write
a detailed user manual on FrameMaker, but had NO idea how to use the product
or
even what it could do (and had no intention of learning). Would you trust
this
person to write such a manual?
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