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Subject:Re: SME vs. Audience From:eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com To:twriter01 -at- mindspring -dot- com Date:Tue, 9 Sep 2003 13:44:00 -0400
twriter01 -at- mindspring -dot- com wrote on 09/09/2003 01:35:15 PM:
> As a technical writer, I would like to be the SME and "one with my
> audience." However, that is not always the case. If you
> have to pick one
> path, which would you choose: be "one with your audience"
> and interview
> your SME for information that you know your audience
> needs, or become an
> SME, and then write for the intended audience, or do
> something completely
> different?
Why on Earth do you see it as a one or the other choice? That said, SME is
a vague term. SME in what? From what view point? I would think it is the
techwriters obligation to become an SME in the product's target domain
from the audience/user's viewpoint. In other words, if given the product
and asked to perform a user task, you should be able to understand the
task and be able to perform it with the product.
If you see becoming the SME as becoming the same sort of SME as your
designers or developers, what purpose does a techwriter serve?
