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