Odd survey (includes links to requestor)

[John Gough <gough -at- AUSTIN -dot- ASC -dot- SLB -dot- COM>]

Jack, I appreciate your inquiry into technical writing
but your questions lead me to believe that you have formed
a number of broad opinions w/out adequate research.

My opinions:

I agree that insufficient time is spent researching
the user's point of view and the problems they are
trying to solve. That is largely a project management
issue. Sometimes it reflects deliberate decisions
about product timing, mostly it reflects a lack of
understanding of users' documentation needs or
deficiencies in a company's project management practices.

I agree that often the people stuck in documentation
roles are often not trained professionals. That's
a hiring problem, and it isn't universal.

>"technical writers" have unreasonably placed their faith in software
>packages --

Hiring managers, makers of corporate software standards,
and contracting agencies are far more guilty of this
than practicing professionals (I believe).

The assertion that "nothing resembling a methodology exists"
reflects an astounding ignorance of what is taught in
technical communications and what is practiced in
many corporations. I suggest you perform some basic
research before posting again. Start with the
curricula of undergraduate and master's degrees in
technical communications (often offered through English
departments). Try Carnegie-Mellon and Rensselaer Polytechnic
for starters. Look at http://www.stc.org/.
Review back issues of "Technical Communication" for reports
of methodologies used in corporations.

You offer consulting services in administrative systems
and profess to be an expert in documentation--in fact,
you assert a lot of conclusions on your web page
that you seem to be researching in your "survey,"
which might be better characterized as "trolling
for sound bites."

http://www.radiotower.com/ssi-can/

While your personal history and career at
http://home.istar.ca/~ssi_can/
are impressive and interesting, you really
need to research our profession more carefully.

You do not have permission to publish my name
or opinions.

John

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