Re: An interview question

["Peter Neilson" <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>]

Indeed, this is the point I would like to discover from the question. Does  
the company see documentation as a necessary evil at best? Or is there at  
least a slight realization that the activity improves the bottom line?  
Again, the amount of time and effort taken to answer can reveal how  
well-considered their belief is.

I once worked at a company where the (printed) manuals were recognized  
both a direct source of revenue and as a sales tool. Customers frequently  
remarked that the manuals were far better than the competition's.

At another company where I interviewed, the publications manager told me  
how proud he was that his writers worked together with the (software)  
customer-service staff to solve customer problems.

Treating docs as a cost rather than a profit center has its advantages for  
the writer--there's no pressure to "show a profit or else." And indeed,  
trying to track profit in documentation precisely is really artificial and  
possibly stupid.

On Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0400, Lynne Wright  
<Lynne -dot- Wright -at- tiburoninc -dot- com> wrote: