From the Trenches of Technical Writing: All Quiet on the Hardware Front

The Only Noise Comes from the Drone of Oilfield Equipment

So, working as a technical writer in the oilfield has its benefits (such as continuing to maintain paid employment during this protracted recession/lame recovery).  As oil climbs to $109/barrel, I am certain that conditions will become tighter for technical writers as more of all companies' resources become tied up by our need for energy.  However, since technical manuals are a resource often sought after by the one group that our employers must not ignore (our customers), technical writers must point out the benefit of providing good technical manuals.

A recent discussion on LinkedIn accented the link between quality technical manuals and good customer relations.

On the Software Front, Single Sourcing is Hot

In technical communication circles associated with software companies, single-source methodologies have taken center stage.  Although this new methodology requires the writer to write toward self-contained topics, concepts, references, or tasks, this methodology allows us to write text once and use it many times.

Please Forgive the Sporadic Posts

Because I am still working on my thesis, these posts will remain light and tight.