Re: Certification...

["Bergen, Jane" <janeb -at- ANSWERSOFT -dot- COM>]

OK. Now I'm jumping into the mash, too. This is long and I edited out as
much as possible.

Certification will never work if we have only one designation:
"Technical Writer." There are too many types of writers/industries
(software, online help, hardware, medical, proposal, high-tech
marketing). To lump all these types of writers together and come up with
a common set of skills would be meaningless. Instead, we need to
distinguish the types of certification and a writer could be certified
in one or more areas.

> From: Mary McWilliams Johnson [mailto:mary -at- SUPERCONNECT -dot- COM]
>
> I knew some senior tech writers (making top dollar) whose
> grammar and
> punctuation skills were quite poor. Although they were
> excellent writers
> and really turned out the stuff quite rapidly, they couldn't
> work as lone
> practitioners because they needed a good editor to clean up
> after them.
>
> - What organization or government entity does the
> certification? Apparently
> the STC doesn't want the responsibility.=20

STC would almost have to be the catalyst and the certifying
organization. In the past, STC has indeed considered certification but
because of the clamor of writers who know they couldn't pass
certification, they gave up.

> - Even if we could find an appropriate "judging"
> organization, how do we
> know that the individuals who judge our abilities will not be
> swayed by
> their own biases?

We just have to base certification on concrete principles. Just as any
school exam is. Sure there will be some bias. No test is without some
bias, whether racial, cultural, gender, etc. You just do the best you
can.

> - How will they know how good we are? What kinds of tests
> could they give that would reveal our talents and skills?

There are plenty of measurable standards for technical writers. Just
look at some really bad documentation, for example, and you can tell
right away what some of the problems are. We're not necessarily talking
theory, although I would hope that theory would be a part of it.
Unfortunately, we have a real void currently in scholarly study for
technical communication.

> - How often would we have to be re-certified? Obviously technology is
> advancing so fast that yesterday's knowledge and skills just

I don't see technology being so much the issue as skills. For this
reason, it shouldn't be too necessary to be recertified very often.

> - What criteria will be judged on?=20
> - Grammar, punctuation, and syntax?=20
> - Ability to organize material in a user-friendly manner?=20
> - Ability to phrase our text in a manner suitable to
> the target audience?
> - Our ability to work with SMEs and extricate good
> info from them?

All of the above.

> - Our desktop publishing skills? (Or more
> particularly, specific programs
> like Word or FrameMaker?)

Tools may or may not be a part of it. You can currently be certified in
a tool, but that doesn't mean you can use it for technical writing.

> remember when a job shop called up and asked if I were a good
> writer. No,
> they ask if I know Word, Robo-Help, or FrameMaker.

Job shops use the only criteria they have. Knowledge in these tools is
somewhat measurable. Being a "good writer" is not. Certification would
alleviate some of this hassle. As for asking "are you a good writer,"
how subjective is THAT? Do you honestly think a writer would say, "Well,
no, I'm not a very good writer but I still want the job."

> Anyway, I'm sure this has all been said before, so why am I

Yes it has. And it always arouses a "lively discussion" -- just as does
discussing the requiring of technical writing degrees. But it's still
useful....and I believe it's inevitable. The plain fact is that there
are lots of writers out there who are pretty bad and who give our
profession a black eye.

One other consideration for certification is this: over the past few
years, documentation has improved somewhat. This improvement may be due
to the fact that more and more technical writers now have taken courses
in technical writing in schools (colleges, community colleges,
continuing ed, or whatever) and it's beginning to bear fruit. Just look
back over some of the job bank listings at the increased demand for
degreed writers. The reason is simple...it's measurable. It gives
employers a peg to hang their hopes on. Writers can choose whether to go
through the certification hassle, just as they can choose whether to
further their education. Employers can choose whether to take a chance
on a certified writer or whether to take a chance on a non-certified
writer. Guess who will get the job most of the time? If a non-certified
writer thinks his or her work ought to stand on its own, then fine. It
will.

Jane
Jane Bergen, Technical Writer
AnswerSoft, Inc.
Richardson, TX  (972)997-8355

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