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In recent years I have attended a number of conferences here in Australia, talked with colleagues in the technical writing field and joined a few technical writing associations and one question that has often come up is What makes a good technical writer? | What I am seeking are the views and opinions of others who may be technical writers, employ writers or who use documents produced by technical writers as to what your views are on what a good technical writer should be and what you would expect from a good technical writer. |
The key driver behind this question is the growing demand for people to undertake technical writing projects. A demand seemingly created through Government legislation; a need for industry to become more efficient in work practices, not to mention the safety issues, and of course the growth in the IT industry. Talking about the IT industry, one of the biggest misconceptions I find is that when I mention to people that I am a technical writer, often the first response that one gets is "Oh, you work in computers!". It seems the modern conception is that the only thing technical in this world that we live in today are computers. We first need to dispel that belief as almost everything that we use today, be it our motor cars, Sound Systems, TV sets and the dreaded video/DVD recorders come with some sort of operating instructions, some much better than others. I have often heard comments about the instructions that comes with flat packed furniture which can sometimes bring households close to the divorce courts. Jokes aside all these documents require the efforts of a technical writer of some sorts. The key focus of DS Techwrite at this time is very much on heavy transport, mining and other manufacturing industries. We use computers as tools, we do not write about them so much not to say that we would not, or could not, write IT manuals if the opportunity arises. Not just to produce operating and maintenance instructions for manufactured equipment, we have also undertaken projects to develop work instructions and operation procedures for process manufacturing. If one was to take time to think about what the role of a technical writer is you might think along the lines that to be effective, a good technical writer must: - provide all relevant information to the end user of the documentation and the item(s) he or she is writing about;
- educate the end user of the equipment or the process worker in how things are to be done;
- ensure that any procedures and processes recorded in the documentation are accurate and safe;
- protect the interests of the manufacturer and/or employer;
- present the information in a clear and concise manner; and
- be able to work effectively and collaboratively with all other stakeholders to gather and prepare the documentation.
I would appreciate hearing back from anyone who may have valid views and comments to make about what does in fact make a good technical writer. Cheers for now Dennis
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I too have worked in places where it has fallen entirely upon myself, and those who work with me, to gather the necessary information. In fact I have been in places where the technical/engineering staff have been more of an obstruction rather than provide a supporting role and actively tried to sabotage the whole process. In that instance it is up to the technical writer to develop strategies to overcome or circumvent the obstruction. One would also expect that if an organisation were to expend what can be a considerable sum of money to fund a writing project, then there would be some organisational support at some level.
I have also worked in places where there was seemingly only one subject matter expert and, when push came to shove, it was revealed that he really knew 65% of the subject.
Given the above, the question on what makes a great subject matter expert?, it may be that no such animal exists. I can say from the experience of DS Techwrite that in many cases, the writer has become that expert and it has not been an unusual situation where the writer eventually has a greater knowledge of the plant and processes than those who create, manage and operate the same.
For that reason, I see one of the greatest skills of a technical writer is to be able to gather data from a variety of sources be they engineering and operation staff, management, OEM's documents, engineering drawings, existing operators and maintenance staff and also use their own powers of research, observation, reasoning and deduction to answer many questions and hence to produce the final document(s). That includes gaining the confidence and support of others. A good technical writer does much more that simply regurgitate the thoughts and beliefs of others.
I do not believe any writer can rely on a single subject matter expert. The writer must question all information gathered and determine the legitimacy of it. That aside, the technical writer may also have to rely on other people and/or processes to review and validate the final document(s) produced.
Write in active voice and imperative mood (when appropriate)
Write grammatically correct sentences with correct spelling and punctuation
Ability to communicate in the English (or another) language
Too many "technical writers" write instructions in passive voice, write grammatically incorrect sentences, etc.
There is a whole range of knowledge and skills that make up a good technical writer that go well beyond a command of language, be it English, or any other as you suggest.
I for one have been guilty on many occasions of writing in passive voice to the point of almost becoming "tongue tied" so to speak and have seen many others do the same.
I also take the point about punctuation. Throw in common issues like spelling, use of words in the correct context and many other such skills then it does become a minefield.
One the other hand, if a technical writer is a subject matter expert, be it in IT or any of the mechanical or electrical trades, then the writer may not be so skilled in language. If such people are then backed up by an editor or support staff, who do have the necessary language skills, does it then become such an important skill if the main intent is to get the information into print in the first place?
Sometimes it is better to consider 'horses for courses'.
I am not sure where you are, but here in Australia I firmly believe that our respective state educations systems have let us down in the development of language skills in recent generations. Couple that with the decline in skills and knowledge that will occur over time, through a lack of application and use of such skills and knowledge, which often does result in a 'technical writer' having some difficulty in the 'proper' use of language.
We could also continue this discussion further to include sentence and paragraph structure, readability levels and so on.
Thank you for your comment.
Dave
PS It especially helps to have a trade background - you have to know what you're writing about. It's dead giveaway when you read something written by someone who has no clue about the subject.
Also as Nancy pointed out the incorrect use of active and passive voice is quite disturbing and I believe that it points out a failing in the strategic planning of documentation and its use. I believe that it is at this point, where a writer would define the appropriate communication styles to avoid such issues.
With respect to Dave's comments about SME's (Subject Matter Experts); I started my project career as a SME and my involvement was limited to providing information about my (then) area of expertise; referring to my colleagues for other detail as required to provide comprehensive information as needed. I agree that as a technical writer, one must be able to know when one source is not enough and this gets back to the document or information planning phase. Scoping of what is to be covered is vital, as is the intelligence to know when you have correct information, enough of it or not.
My own comments are about the collaboration between technical writers. I have been unfortunate to have been the only technical writer on my assignments and as such have felt that I could have done more or better if I had someone to bounce ideas off.
I always like to explore new ways of working; from the approach right through to the delivery of information.
I also believe that an essential trait for any writer is being able to identify with your audience and understand their information needs as well as their preferred communication styles; although much of this requires the support of the business.
Chris
There seems to be no place in the game for novices, aspiring technical writers.
The number of years gives you guys wisdom, increases your vocabulary, speeds up project development times, but nothing beats the committment and the exceptional drive of a novice writer to learn new tools.
Please helps the young fellows. We need your most redundant and most boring projects to build up our portofolios. We will apply the highest level of professionalism and confidentiality.
We need your mentorship. CV available on request.
adama.bakayoko@yahoo.co.uk
Trainee Information Developper.
Very pertinent comments indeed.
Those that really stand out for me are:
Firstly the comment about it being difficult to get the required information for a writing task from the people involved in the design, construction, installation and commissioning of systems. In this instance it is, from my experience, very fruitful if you make the prime contractor responsible for the provision of all necessary data. Whilst it still may fall upon the writer to chase it up and collate it all. The advantage for the prime contractor may be the ability to withhold some funds until all data is provided. This does of course need to be communicated to the respective sub-contractors prior to commencing the tasks.
The second of Dave's comments is the advantage of a trade or engineering background. I agree whole-heartedly as it is necessary to have the background knowledge to understand technical concepts and principles. I once met a fellow who wanted to use journalists as technical writers and my response to him was that I saw the use of journalists as totally unacceptable as technical writers as there is much more to a technical writer than an ability to 'put words on paper' so to speak.
Dave also made a comment about being able to extend one's knowledge in his industry. How true that is. I found that in a short space of time, I had built up a high level of general knowledge across a range of industries all because I had to do the research and write about them despite the fact that the actual content I was writing still involved mechanical and electrical principles and concepts.
Thank you for your comment.
The first is the need for a technical writer to be able to work independently and research the subject at hand. It is not unusual that very little support is given by design and maintenance engineers for example. For that reason, one needs to develop the people skills and strategies necessary to assist you to get that data you need. In one particular case, I found a huge amount of reluctance to provide me with data I needed. It was interesting to note that when I produced a draft document and circulated it based on what info I had, I was very quickly taken aside and told where I was wrong! It did not take long after that to get what I really needed!
It is alway good to have someone to bounce ideas off, always makes the task that much easier.
In regards to your audience, very important to know who will be using the documents that you write and how to assess the readability level of your documents and knowing what readability level is applicable to your target audience.
Thank You for your comment.
Interesting comments on the dilemna facing aspiring technical writers.
Given the apparent shortage of good technical writers, certainly in this country, there is a need to develop people into this role. The difficulty is that the development of technical documents is usually the last thought in any project manager's mind and it is often a task left to the last minute, hence the need to find people with the necessary experience.
Opportunities do exist within DS Techwrite from time to time for us to employ and develop aspiring technical writers. There is a looming opportunity coming up in the mechanical trades. If anyone has an interest in this, you are welcome to contact us via email.
I am guessing Adama that you are located in the UK purely by your email address and it would seem that you are working in the IT industry. Thank You for your comment
An experienced Technical Writer has the ability to forge through reams of information, some possibly dating back to the 1930's, just to find the information to insert in the manual. They must also have the patience and temper of an angel to put up with the obstacles thrown at them (as mentioned by Dennis), whether this be by Engineers or Operations staff who may feel that the reason for the writing of a manual is to take over their position in the company.
I think most Technical Writers would have experienced this.
One of the major attributes that a Technical Writer must posess is the ability to write a document that is not boring, and if possible to involve the "end-user" in the content.
Finding this common 'voice' during the interviewing/researching stage can be critical in keeping the reader/audience interested and engaged as they deepen their understanding.
Really we're 'telling a story'. This 'story' has a beginning, middle and end like any other. By putting it in their own 'voice' and situational experiences it minimises any resistance to new concepts and ideas.
The greatest compliment that any of us can receive is to have readers think 'One of us wrote that'.
Dennis, I live locally to DS Techwrite, but work on the other side of town. I drove past your premises yesterday and thought - we should chat ; )