Connecting Paradis and Doheny – Farina

Both of these research articles discuss writing in the workplace. Similar concepts discussed in each articles are the writing process of documentation in the workplace, specifically the relationship of writing and the company organization and the technical writers’ process of developing documentation.

Paradis mentioned that it is important to determine the technical writers’ role in the process of documentation in the workplace. It is important for technical writers’ to write adequate instructions for the general operator, but it is difficult to determine who can decide this information. If the experts are streamlining the information for an operator manual how can technical writers’ make sure that this information is comprehensible for general users? I think it is crucial for technical writers to be involved in the testing of the documentation. The only way the technical writers’ can determine the accuracy of the documentation is to test the procedures themselves. We must ask questions throughout the procedure and think about how the general operator will be using the documentation. Experts generally want us to document how to complete the procedure. But as technical writers we need to document how the general user can complete the procedure if things go wrong or if there are problems.

Doheny-Farina discussed how the relationship between writing and organization in a company affects the documentation. This article also shows the affect of gatekeepers on the documentation. The process of how technical writers develop their documentation and what factors affect their ideas for the final product is important. Technical writers need to decide how to incorporate gatekeepers, experts, and company standards into a product that will serve as a useful manual.