TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: HR versus Tech writing From:Mark Baker <mbaker -at- OMNIMARK -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 10 Aug 1998 16:16:28 -0400
Marie McHarry wrote:
>If you are trying to write a manual to explain how a
>device works, it actually helps if you don't have the foggiest idea about
it.
>I have absolutely no background in electronics, but I can sit down with
>engineers who've designed a product and get them to tell me what I need to
>know to make it work--and then write a manual for the non techies who are
>actually going to be using it.
You need to be a little careful here. You don't have to know how to build
something in order to document it, but you do need to know how to use it.
While consumer electronics assume little prior knowledge or skill, this is
not true of all products. I require the writers I hire to have a mastery of
at least one programming language. Why? Because our main product is a
programming language. If you don't program you can't document a programming
language.
The knowledge level required of a technical writer is not determined by the
knowledge level of the developer, but by the knowledge level of the user --
which may be very high, and very technical.
---
Mark Baker
Manager, Corporate Communications
OmniMark Technologies Corporation
1400 Blair Place
Gloucester, Ontario
Canada, K1J 9B8
Phone: 613-745-4242
Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- omnimark -dot- com
Web: http://www.omnimark.com
