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With some amusement I have read the thread about how
the TW profession is going to go through (endure?) a
massive change.
Additionally, how there are companies that now believe
that 'not all features have to be documented' and
there is no need for a manual because no one reads
them anyway.
Perhaps this is the way that software TW'ing is
headed, but I work for a company that manufacturers
medical devices and sells internationally.>>
Regarding the second paragraph, y'all young whippersnappers amuse me.
I've been a technical writer since 1984 and this paragraph describes how
technical writing *was* back then. That *was* old fashioned technical
writing. When I graduated with my degree (in technical writing) in 1984
there were only 2-3 B.S. programs for technical writing in the U.S.A.
When I interviewed with and worked for various software concerns,
manuals were usually second thoughts, created at the tail end of the
development. Due to the commercial pressures that popularizing
computing brought to bear, some but not all development shops, both
external and internal began to change. However, those old fashioned
ideas continued to live on in curmudgeonly managers and developers...
today they are experiencing perhaps a resurgence based on the economic
pressures of our times.
As for me, I like, Leo, am driven in my current job by laws and
regulations. Both Sarbanes-Oxley and the pressure to improve IS
performance are driving process improvements within the IS department
here. I, as the lone technical writer in a process improvement
department, have been detailed to model processes, write work
instructions, create training, and coordinate efforts for such.
Rose A. Wilcox
Center for Process Excellence, CHQ 8th Floor
602-250-3195
Rose -dot- Wilcox -at- aps -dot- com
'Fire-fights, bug hunts, big body counts... yeah, I could use a break.'
Riley
"MMS <apsc.com>" made the following annotations.
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