RE: This too is technical communication

["Lauren" <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu>]

Did I get lost here?  Arhitects, information or otherwise, create the
blueprint for some product, whether it is a building or a technology system.
The product does not exist until it is defined and built by developers.
Technical writers document the product that exists, after it has been built
by developers.  How can somebody who explains a product that exists also
define how the product should exist?  

Technical writers can be information architects if they are qualified, they
can be developers too, but being a technical writer does not qualify someone
to be an information architect.  A person can have an expanded role that
goes beyond technical writing, but technical writing is just technical
writing and the discipline does not imply an expanded role. Although,
technical writers are frequently given work that goes beyond technical
writing.

Developers, on the other hand, may have a greater qualification for being a
systems architect compared to technical writer because developers need to
build the product that the systems architect designs.  So developers have an
intimate understanding of how things work together.  This certainly doesn't
mean that a developer should develop content.  That's just silly.
Developers don't write.

Lauren
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com 
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On 
> Behalf Of Chris Borokowski
> Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 7:07 AM
> To: Beth Agnew; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: This too is technical communication
> 
> The STC really missed the boat in recognizing that
> technical writers are information architects and can
> have a more expanded role. From what I've seen,
> although improvement is occurring, the STC is stuck in
> 1989 with a WTFM outlook.
> 
> --- Beth Agnew <Beth -dot- Agnew -at- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca> wrote:
> 
> > The STC really missed the boat as far as taking
> > ownership of the field of
> > information on our behalf. By not stepping forward
> > and saying "information
> > online is within our purview" (until much later), it
> > allowed so-called web
> > designers and developers to be the ones to put
> > content online.
> 
> User Interface design blog
> http://user-advocacy.blogspot.com/
> Code::Design::UI::Consulting
> http://www.dionysius.com/
> 
> 
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