Re: technical background

[Kris Olberg <KJOlberg -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

In a message dated 95-09-18 11:43:16 EDT,
Steve_Jong/Lightbridge*LIGHTBRIDGE -at- NOTES -dot- CREDTECH -dot- COM (Steve
Jong/Lightbridge) writes:

>When a technical writer tries to
>document something without having the time, taking the time, or at least
>making
>the effort to learn the subject, the results, as I suggested in my earlier
>posting, can be useless.

This brings up an interesting issue, which is:

     How do we resource-load writers who are specialists in only one thing?

I've found that writers sometimes need to manage several projects at once.
This is often the result of having to resource-load writing personnel with
enough work to keep them busy 8 hours each and every day. (With only one
project, what does the writer do when it's out for a 2-week review? Most
managers can't cost-justify this "downtime," even if it is used for
education, training, etc.)

Several projects may involve different subject matters. For example, I worked
for a large bank once. My responsibilities included supporting documentation
for a CD/retirement application, a sales tracking application, the Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act application, a security application, and on and on.
It was not possible for me to become a pseudo-SME about all of these
applications. They're all complicated and vary greatly from each other.

Regards...Kris