The perfect technical author

by ellis on Tuesday, 16 June, 2009 · 5 comments

in Technical Author,Technical Authors,Technical Communicators

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The perfect technical author can:

  • act as a novice user member of the target audience of the product
  • be an expert in understanding all aspects of the product
  • be technically adept in the technologies needed to deliver the information to users
  • create content in a way that is organised & repeatable, managed & sustainable, while working in a environment that is often ad hoc and chaotic
  • manage and deliver projects on time, relying on colleagues who do not report to them
  • round up all the useful and relevant content written by others about the product and then present it in a meaningful and useful way
  • write clearly and unambiguously in many languages, and
  • can measure the value of the work they produce (to the organisation and the users).

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Gordon June 16, 2009 at 12:42 pm

I’d maybe swap “novice user” for “member of the target audience”. Domain knowledge is key here, no?

2 David Farbey June 16, 2009 at 1:02 pm

If technical authors can do all of that, or even just most of that, why do IT recruiters still ask us whether we can write code?

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