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Subject:Re: Client woes: a question to ask yourself... From:Jean Weber <jean -at- wrevenge -dot- com -dot- au> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 08 Jan 2002 13:05:46 +1000
Another good reason for techwriters to know something about business is
that many of us are writing about products that are used in businesses for
business purposes. It's often as useful to know something about the
industry that's using those products as it is to know something about the
technology that makes those products work. In a way it's part of your
audience and task analysis. If your main user audience is accountants, or
warehouse workers, or automobile designers, or whatever, understanding what
they do and why (and how what they do fits into the workflow and the
balance sheets of the companies they work in) can help you write. In fact,
I think such knowledge is as important for the writer as for the business
analyst and the software or hardware designers and other members of the
development team -- and especially important if you're writing other stuff
like marketing materials, white papers, policies and procedures.
So even if you don't have to cope with dealing directly with clients
(because you're not self-employed), knowing about business is important --
and in many cases it can improve your chances of getting a well-paid job,
simply because you have those extra skills.
Win Day, among others, brings up some other good reasons to know about
business.
And I'm finding this thread interesting because of the coincidence of its
timing, mere days after I started outlining a new section for my editors'
website, on business issues. (I'm taking notes!)
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