RE: Re: Fwd: Technical Writing - What's the catch?

["Radhika R Shankar" <rshankar -at- austin -dot- utexas -dot- edu>]

 How would describe it when the documentation is for hardware where the
concept is developed in the US and the product is manufactured in Taiwan
and the documentation is done in India? I would say that cost is the
bottom line.

Radhika Shankar
rshankar -at- austin -dot- utexas -dot- edu 

-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-211929 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-211929 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Susan W.
Gallagher
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 12:10 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Re: Fwd: Technical Writing - What's the catch?

> 
> Guy K. Haas commented:
> 
> [Sue points out that TW jobs go to India because the cost is less...]
> 
> I agree with most of that, with one addition: when the code is being 
> developed in India, having the writing done by people who sit among 
> the programmers CAN be superior to having it done by more-practiced
people half a world away...

I absolutely agree here; it is always easier to write about software
when you have direct contact with the development staff. The ability to
ask one question based on another, to evesdrop in the hallways, and to
"do lunch" with the devs often allows a writer to capture nuances that
can easily be missed in a distance relationship.

And that starts me wondering whether, in cases where the entire
development effort has been offshored, there is less of an eagle-eye on
the bottom line and more opportunity for innovation and improvement. One
would hope so, but the view from my particular trenches indicates that,
for most of these projects, economic considerations trump all.

>...More than a dictionary is called for, though.  There is a field of 
>study termed  in the U.S. "English as Second Language (ESL)."  It uses 
>the tools of  linguistics as well as grammar and vocabulary to improve 
>the idiom of persons  who were not taught English by Americans (or
Brits or Aussies or Kiwis)...

Thanks for providing this insight as well, Guy. Is there an online
source for this type of study or does it require personal instruction?
I'd be interested to learn what techniques you use to improve your
remote teams.

-Sue Gallagher
(and this time, I remembered to click "Reply All"!!! <g>)




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