What is a TW...

[Heidi Martin <hmartin -at- MICRON -dot- COM>]

David Manney wrote:
<This may sound somewhat trivial, but I could really could use a good
answer.  Our company is in the midst of restructuring and the silliest
argument came up. What really defines a TW?>

I have to believe that this question is not a bit trivial.  I think it
is quite necessary for TW's  to make it clear to "the powers that be" at
our organizations that we are a group of specialized professionals who
offer an important service to our customers.

<My department manager would like to believe that a good, experience TW
would be able to look at a pile of components and intuitively know how
to
assemble and then operate a given product, then write the appropriate
instructions.

It's been my experience, albeit not as long as most, that that is not
the
case. I need to learn about something before I'm able to write about it.
I
mean, how would I already know about something that hasn't existed yet?>

I think it is preposterous to assume that a technical writer should know
everything there ever was and will be about _anything_.  We should be
like a blank slate when we document a product or a process:  we should
learn as we document, and document as we learn.  How else will we ever
be able to identify with and communicate to our audience:  the end
user?!?



These opinions are my own.

Sincerely,
Heidi Martin
Technical Writer
MCMS
hmartin -at- micron -dot- com