Tech Writing Manager? So What?

One of the 'tech writing managers' wrote on the TWIN list about this 'exclusive' Google Group he'd created for 'tech writing' managers. Here's what I wrote in response:

One of my very good friends runs a small software product company in Chennai. When I walked into his new office for the first time, I was stunned: plush interiors, air-conditioning, and a 'CEO' cabin! I was impressed.

I visited him again after a few months and noticed that he was sitting 'with' the team. The cabin was empty and I found a huge couch in the place of the Teak wood table.
The girl next to him was watching a movie. The guy next to him was chatting on G Talk. And our CEO stood up and ushered me into the 'cabin'. I asked him 'you don't sit here any more?' He smiled and said, 'I realized that if I sat 'with' them they'd feel I am 'one of them' and that's key to the success of an R&D environment.' I couldn't agree more.

I asked him, 'What's with that couch?' My friend's smile stretched till his ears as he said, 'When one of us are tired or spaced out, you know? We go and take a nap in that former CEO cabin.'

Bravo! I am sure you'll hear about him and his company very soon. There's no way this company can NOT succeed! Anyway...

I am just curious:

How are management issues different in technical writing? Management is management, right? You hire and manage people. You supervise project execution. Um, oh! you motivate people. You take the team to the next level. whatever that means? What else? Every manager, be it managing a snack bar in Domlur or a NASA lab, does that.

Don't you think you are flouting a key management principle by announcing your exclusivity to the green (and not so green?) world? I meant 'Work with them not 'on or away from them'

I could be wrong in assuming a whole bunch of things. Don't get me wrong! However, I'd appreciate a few responses: from ladies, gentlemen, and managers of the TWIN list. :-D

Come now, sense of humor is required for a manager. Especially tech writing managers.

Your thoughts?

Write to me: Sumank[at]gmail[dot]com

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Use it before you write it.

From the Nikkor ED 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D VR Review (emphasis is mine):
[quote]Here's the warning in the manual: "When the camera is pointed down, be careful not to hold the lens at the very end as indicated by the black marks in Fig. F, because the zoom ring or focus ring may rotate and pinch your fingers."

Huh? The camera doesn't have to be pointed down for this to happen, so I don't know what Nikon's crack manual writers were on when they wrote that. Worse still, your fingers will often be in that position because this is a heavy lens and you're likely to be trying to balance it by holding it near the front. The first time the camera racks focus on the lens from near focus to infinity at 80mm and your fingers are in the way, you'll get a rude shock as you think your fingers are about to be crushed by the receding front elements (at longer focal lengths, the front elements are further out and pinching is not likely). Fortunately, there's a small ramp on the bezel that tends to push your fingers out of the way, but it's still possible to get seriously pinched, especially if you have fat fingers.[/quote]

OUCH! Very rarely they read what we write and we get caught. So an embarrassed me quickly glances around, ensures no one's watching, and gets off the bus.

Write to me: Sumank[at]gmail[dot]com

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The Zoho CRM User Manual

I admire and respect Zoho a lot. These guys walk their talk on usability. These guys adopted blogging and wikis with a vengeance and I am sure it is paying off.

So, when the cat called curiosity bit me, I downloaded their PDF manual. And, I am sad when I say this, I screamed in my head 'you too Zoho!?' I could see actual content only after 14 pages. That my friend is a sin. And, the bookmarks do not appear on the left-pane. It is bad enough that you offer PDF manuals: you don't zip them; refuse to tell me the size of the file or how long it'd take to download IN TO MY GODDAMNED BROWSER without my permission! Why can't people just zip the PDF! PDF is for print. Not for online consumption.

No, don't say 'everybody does it!' That is not the point. When you as a company set out, embraced, and made usability central to your product(s), why the hell would you treat your user manual like you would a homeless bum?

That said, Zoho's wiki-based documentation seems cool. But PDF... WHY!? gaawd! Why? For a Saas product that too!


Write to me: Sumank[at]gmail[dot]com

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My STC India Annual Conference 2007 Slides

Contingency design does not figure much in conversations amongst technical communicators. In these conversations, the emphasis is usually on the almighty manual. However, oftentimes, customers read error messages before they even think of opening a product's manual. In this presentation, Suman Kumar introduces the key area of contingency design and answers questions like 'How do we design for contingencies?', 'Can you use error messages to boost customer experience and loyalty?', and 'How does effective contingency design help in reducing support costs?'

Find out:
Contingency%20Design.zip (2.28 MB)

Write to me: Sumank[at]gmail[dot]com

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I will be talking at the STC Annual Conference in Goa

Contingency design does not figure much in conversations amongst technical communicators. In these conversations, the emphasis is usually on the almighty manual. However, oftentimes, customers read error messages before they even think of opening a product's manual. In this presentation, Suman Kumar introduces the key area of contingency design and answers questions like 'How do we design for contingencies?', 'Can you use error messages to boost customer experience and loyalty?', and 'How does effective contingency design help in reducing support costs?'

Read more on the STC Website.

Another interesting paper is by Rachna and Shilpa of Cadence: Test plans as a source of improving documentation quality.

Sweet.

Write to me: Sumank[at]gmail[dot]com

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Citibank Online Banking: Bad Example

There's a service called RTGS in Citibank. If you have a Suvidha account and you use the online facility, chances are, you must have seen it on your screen. Now, here's an example that borders on stupidity. The Citibank website says:

RTGS transfers allowed only for amounts between Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 2,00,000
Please do not include spaces or characters. For example, Rs.7,800.00 should be entered as 7800.00

Did you say 'So, what's wrong with that example?' Hmm?

Write to me: Sumank[at]gmail[dot]com

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How often...

...have you clicked OK without reading the message?

Write to me: Sumank[at]gmail[dot]com

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