The Technical documentation expert’s competence lies in his expertise to write concise, comprehensive, focussed and usable documentation that communicates directly to his core audience. The ability to get complete information about the system from the subject matter experts coupled with an inherent or learned attitude towards new trends, developments in his domain does make his job easier.
But off late, the technical writer’s task paradigm has grown exponentially taking into account variables like information design, content management, process analysis, research, new authoring tools etc. All these developments invariably add more froth to to the eternal debate of being a specialist vs generalist as far as job roles define. Well, assuming all things being equal, what are the eternal attributes of the quintessential tech writer?
The list down below tries to bridge the gap between a tech writer’s primary skillsets and the market expectations.
- Consistent terminology and style in documentation
- Editorial focus on formatting,layout,indexing,style, tone, grammar and punctuation
- SDLC, HTML/XHTML,CSS, XML
- Knowledge of ethics in technical communication
- Ability to adapt to change
- Understanding team work and knowledge sharing
- Third party skill assesments – certifications
- An inherent love for writing
The above are just a few pointers in the general direction. Tech writers as a tribe have to grow diverse,wear multiple hats and add more value to the job on hand. For technical writing is not just a case of writing manuals but a defined approach to solving problems with words..