Fwd: This too is technical communication

["Raj Machhan" <raj -dot- machhan -at- gmail -dot- com>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Raj Machhan <raj -dot- machhan -at- gmail -dot- com>
Date: Jun 6, 2007 2:36 PM
Subject: Re: This too is technical communication
To: Chris Borokowski <athloi -at- yahoo -dot- com>

In my opoinion the demand for quality technical writers is in for a quantum
jum in the coming years. I will tell yuou how:
There are generally two types of corporates: First, we have the "smart'
companies. These are the companies that realize the importance of quality
documentation and take pains to ensure that the customer gets nothing but
the best.
In the second category we have what I term as the 'dumb' corporates. These
companies generally consider documentation as an unnecessary add-on and do
not pay much attention to quality of their manuals, fact sheets etc. (Now
you know how the "idiot writers''  get to make a living).
The smart companies realize that product quality alone is not enough to push
sales in highly competitive markets. This because quality and pricing are
fast losing ground as the main differentiatiors between products. Corporates
now have ready access to latest technologies, which means that the products
in a particular price range do not differ much in terms of quality
and features. Now this is where the quality of user guides, help
files, installation guides etc assume importance, especially in software.  I
think of software documentation as the 'face' of the product. What does one
do before/after buying an application CD-ROM? Yes, one generally flip
through the user manual or other documents explaining the product. A shoddy
document reflects poorly on the overall appeal of a product. On the other
hand, top-quality documentation sends out a strong message about a company's
concern to deliver the best to its customers. Smart companies continue to
raise their standards of documentation - to a point where the
documents alone are enough to sell a product.



On 6/5/07, Chris Borokowski <athloi -at- yahoo -dot- com > wrote:
>
> When I write instructions to anyone, no matter how
> intelligent, I design for a clueless ingenue stumbling
> onto the scene. Why? Documentation is read in a hurry,
> scanned for data, and often is used in the midst of
> utter chaos. It's not insulting their intelligence to
> make it crystal clear, so long as you give
> information. It is insulting their intelligence to
> dumb it down, and hide away useful information because
> it doesn't fit into a simplistic interface. (This was
> why using MacOS 9 and Windows 3.1 was so painful.)
>
> --- "Pinkham, Jim" <Jim -dot- Pinkham -at- voith -dot- com> wrote:
>
> > If part of being a "professional clueless idiot"
> > implies my editor's
> > point of view -- assume that if there's any
> > possibility readers can
> > misconstrue a piece of writing, some definitely will
> > -- then Mike is
> > right on track. We certainly should be masters of
> > clarity and lack of
> > ambiguity. At the same time, as Stuart correctly
> > indicates, we should
> > not assume inferior intelligence or inability on the
> > part of our readers
> > to understand a concept clearly and comprehensively
> > conveyed.
>
>
> User Interface design blog
> http://user-advocacy.blogspot.com/
> Code::Design::UI::Consulting
> http://www.dionysius.com/
>
>
>
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printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
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True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
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