By Angel Belford | Senior Member
Throughout my technical writing career, one thing has remained constant in any position in which I have worked—always learn new skills and adapt to changes in technology.
During my undergraduate college experience, I was an intern at the campus computer lab. Our advisor taught us Web design basics, including writing HTML in a text editor. I am grateful for this experience and it has served as a foundation for Web knowledge. It was important to learn this backbone of building Web pages and not just learn a software application. We went on to learn FrontPage during my internship, and then years later I taught myself Dreamweaver during my work experience. But my foundation of skills in HTML helped me in whatever software program I used, whether it was Dreamweaver, a Content Management System (CMS), or a text editor. Tools change over time, so I have learned it is important to have a foundation you can apply to any software program. Don't get stuck creating Web pages in one application. Branch your skills so you can create Web pages in any software that is needed within your organization or for a client.
Having a Web background early in my career has served me well working with SMEs. My first writing experiences include producing documentation for end users of internal company applications. It helped that I understood how the internal applications were developed in my interactions with SMEs. Yet, I still experienced challenges working with coworkers while creating documentation. One of the struggles that I encountered was the lack of understanding of the technical writer role. Several team members and SMEs expected documentation to be completed at the last minute in the project process. It is challenging to work through the documentation team being treated as an afterthought and not given the proper notice in the project process. Other challenges I encountered include working with those who don't follow any project management process and just expect documentation or website creation “to happen.” Several coworkers have told me that most of what I do is copy and paste from other materials, so my work should be quick and easy.
Throughout the project process, it is important to become an advocate for communication between departments. I am often surprised by the lack of interaction between departments. I'm not sure if managers assume other departments have been informed of project changes or if they are so involved in their own department's role that they aren't seeing the larger picture. I consistently notice gaps in communication. I think it is important to politely remind the project lead to send updates that aren't being communicated to other team members or volunteer to do this for the project. Hopefully, this will inspire the project team members to regularly communicate and will affect the project outcome in a positive manner.
Even though all projects have their challenges, it is important to remain positive and to continually emphasize to project leads/managers that technical writing team involvement early in the process is beneficial to the successful outcome of the project. I like to meet with project team members at the beginning of the project and discuss lessons learned from similar projects. Even if all details aren't finalized, I can still offer advice in the project process and begin planning the documentation needs and determine what type of output is needed—Web pages, print, PDF.
To wrap up, my experiences have taught me:
-
Adapt your skills with changing technology. Take initiative to learn new skills and don't resist change just because you are comfortable with your current tool set. If you aren't familiar with social media, get started on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Your contacts can help you find clients (if you are a consultant) or ideas for employment (if you are looking for a new job).
-
Don't expect your current employer to provide all your software training. Learn new skills during your own time. You don't have to buy expensive software. Download versions of open source software and explore tools such as WordPress and Drupal (website creation) and become part of their communities.
