RE: Request of Advice

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr
-l.com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin.mclauchlan=safenet-> inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of John Posada
> Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 5:31 PM
> To: Dan Goldstein
> Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Request of Advice
> 
> I don't agree.
> 
> Bad software and complex tasks are two different things.
> 
> You think that the best designed online help application is going to
> let off-the-street with 1 year of experience convert, adapt, and
> produce a 600 topic online help system in XML/DITA?

But how well is an _experienced_ TW who's done years 
of book-style docs with FrameMaker and Word, and years 
of CHM and WebHelp with RoboHelp and Flare (not to mention 
hundreds of photo-tweaks in GIMP/Photoshop/Paintshop, and 
illustrations in Visio, Illustrator, etc.) but who has 
never before _met_ DITA going to do? 

What if the inexperienced TW learned about DITA at 
school, but has no exprience with a particular tool, 
while the experienced writer has overall experience 
and specific tool experience... but no history with 
DITA?

How well is an experienced TW who's done years of 
varied work with various tools and methodologies 
going to fare when s/he's dropped headfirst into 
the deep end of mil-spec writing? 

A serious paradigm or niche shift is going to set 
any writer back on his/her heels. Sure, some are better 
than others at bluffing, and faking 'til they make it. 

I just want to be sure we make a fine distinction 
between somebody who's had only a year or so of 
total on-job experience and somebody who has simply 
had no experience with tool, and somebody who has 
had no experience with an entire genre or field 
(non-related experience notwithstanding).

On the fourth or fifth hand (whatever hand I'm up 
to by now) if you are an el-cheapo sweat-shop that 
hires inexperienced newbies, or just anybody who 
can type, all the time, then you deserve the repercussions. 

Instead of stiffing your stable of juniors by hiring 
an "expensive" pro to come in and save the day, why 
not hire a contractor to train your existing staff up 
to speed, while they keep doing reasonably good work 
that they've managed to do over the year or two that 
you've had 'em?

 - K

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