Yes, it has now become evident that the technical writers do not get enough recognition for their efforts. The nature of work the writers are involved with is not as visible as that of developers or testers. They can be usually described as a low profile bunch of individuals who are considered less important compared to others in an organization. Irrespective of how efficient a writer is in writing, he or she is not at all evaluated on the basis of the writing capability alone. Nor the level of expertise in the authoring tools contributes in anyway to evaluate the performance of a writer. The unfortunate reason behind all this is the complete unfamiliarity of other team colleagues and senior level staff with the writing process, tools, importance, etc.. The mentality of such individuals is also a culprit behind all this happening with writers. It has now become a permanent problem with writers in all companies, except a few ones. And the situation is not likely to improve in near future, though efforts are on to improve the condition of writers in real. But, we need not be discouraged; & think about positives/assets that only this profession provides us, such as not so strenuous routine work with a handsome package, good home-office time balance, regular interaction with customer/client, chance to become a domain expert, start freelancing work, and many more...

--Saurabh

A technical writer can be appraised:
- By allowing assessment of the documents created by the writer
- Asking users how the help system was useful for them
- Assessing how the technical writer adapted to new tools, methodologies
- Assessing how all the information of the project was captured in the documentation, how the information was structured from a user perspective

One more issue faced by technical communication community that makes technical writers on a lower rung is:
- People from medical transcription, BPO, Call Center are entering technical writing. They have to understand that Technical Writing needs talent.
- Although entering Technical Writing is easy (on a lower pay), getting ahead is purely on talent
- More technicaly savvy men have to take up this job. Tech writing is dominated by women, who are supposedly good at writing. This trend should change. Men who write well do not take up technical writing, they would rather do something else.

Companies having technical writers are distributed between two sides of a coin – a shiner side and a darker side. When we say that the field is blossoming on the shiner side with some of the good companies recruiting technical writers, the darker side describes the attrition factor. It is hard to believe that there are few companies with CMMI and ISO certifications and are not able to define or understand the role of a technical writer. A technical writer’s work is seasonal and should not be compared to that of developer’s contribution though both of them are paid almost equally in few companies. Imagine that in a small product based company, a technical writer’s work would only depend on a single product release which is not the same with bigger companies wherein he/she might be working on a user guide, release note and training documents simultaneously because of the business the companies deal with. According to the eyes of the management, all workers should be productive enough to retain their place in the company else companies research to find new methods of firing the employees. This principle should not be correlated with technical writers. After all, technical writers are endangered commodity. We need to harness them before this community’s presence is lost.

Regards,
Srip

I don't think that Technical Writers are not treated well in Software Companies. Lot depends on your own attitude. I am currently working in a reputed MNC and getting all the respect and appreciation that any professional (TW, SE, BA etc.) should get.
I think this feeling of not getting equal respect is somewhere within us. I believe that your profile cannot define how much respect you will get; it’s always your attitude towards your job (no matter what you are doing).
Work hard and be proud of what you are doing.

Dear Anonymous,
I wasn't planning to enter into this discussion, but your comments left me tingling with admiration - very succintly put! The feeling of not getting respect is really somewhere within us. It is fairly obvious that the comment written by tech-writes has some sort of background about which I know nothing, but it's also true that I've seen the office sweeper getting more respect than the Manager HR at times. Why? Because of the honest quality in one's work, and the desire to be unselfishly useful to everyone around us. I call it the total-quality-total-care paradigm. (Don't we all have an office chaiwalla or peon who gets love and respect from everyone whenever he appears?)

Frustration springs out of a clash of interests. Too often, our work is so oriented towards salaries, incentives, respect and recoginition that we forget the joy that is inherent in working for the love of work and the joy of being a contributing member of society. Maybe it's a cliche', but the old saying stares us starkly in the face at times:

"I used to complain I had no shoes, till I saw a man who had no feet."

We can only be exploited if we've left all the keys to our satisfaction at the mercy of others' behaviour. That's when we're begging to be robbed, and soon we're left emotional paupers.

Finally, in answer to the last question raized by tech_writes, yes, we should be discussing FrameMaker, wikis, and social networking extensively, because writers who are really skilled, both technically and in social etiquette never find themselves unwanted or disrespected in any environment.

Warm regards,
Tabir Mishra

Mr Tabir, if you know how your company evaluated the "quality" of your work, then it is very good and all the best to you.

I am worried about a majority who do not know and those who have not yet bothered to check how the management has judged them. In many occasions, tehnical writers do not know the expectations set for them and there is no "standard" by which they are judged. And those who are in the technical communication profession for quite a while know how tech writers are evaluated compared to the "technical people". It is also upto the individual whether he
or she wants to be "useful" to the whole office or company.

Tools do not matter if the technical writer does not know how to write well. You can teach FrameMaker to a technical writer, but not "writing".

Moreover, I do not feel that my experience is the end of the world.

Techwrite

Dear Techwrite,
1) Your concern for the technical writer community is laudable, and is reflected very well in your blog. I merely took the liberty of furthering your thoughts by pointing out how we can avoid frustration in our work environment - again in accordance with my personal experience only. It would be really useful to the technical writer community, if those who are in a position to judge their subordinates, reveal how they do so. Being in such a position myself, I have put forward my views without the slightest intention to contradict you; probably with a view to furthering your point.

2) Yes, it is up to the individual whether he or she wants to be useful or not, but then a decision to take a path leading to tension and then complaining about it cannot be called a sensible course of action. For example, if we are unhappy about the discrimination against us, maybe we could proactively think of a change in job, else a change in job profile. I've done so myself at a fairly senior age and senior position, so I can assure you that I know the kind of courage and struggle it entails. My continued gratitude to the members of the TWIN forum who helped me out at that critical juncture just a few months ago. My point is, that if we don't like getting wet, we don't complain; we open an umbrella!

Yes, our skills as Technical Writers are important, but to do well in a work environment one must be a good writer and also a good employee. What does this mean? Interpersonal skills, contribution to the overall work environment the ability to motivate others, the ability to take initiative in areas which are technically not ones domain to further the interests of the company, are skills that any employer or manager appreciates. Somehow I feel that the discrimination may not be so much against the Technical Writer. It sometimes boils down to a lack of team spirit. Again, these are just my views, I could be wrong.

3) I support your view entirely, that one who takes on the responsibility of being a technical writer must first know how to write well. Tools are important, but they can come later.

4) Your experience is valued, especially since you have chosen to share it openly on a forum such as TWIN. I hope I have not in any way belittled your views in my enthusiasm. If I have done so, please accept my apologies. I submit myself to being corrected in whatever way you deem fit! :)

Peace and joy be with us all,
Warm regards,
Tabir Mishra

I think, you need to be:
1. More proactive [especially while dealing with the documentation bugs filed by customers], anticipate what else the end-user might need and add it in the guide.
2. Gain more domain and product knowledge, so that your document is not superficial; it gives more technical information ["Enter name in the name field" is not enough]
3. Come up with innovative ways to present information/facts - one such example is using Flowcharts
4. Prepare new writers to be productive at the earliest

Hi Utpal, a software guide reflects the software. If the software is not user-friendly, then a guide cannot alone save it. The level of technical information depends on the audience. I do not think that users would keep on looking at flow diagrams to complete a task.

It would be interesting to know what the "enter the name in...really means. Did not quite get that part of your comment.

Regards,
Techwrite

Well I believe that first criteria to evaluate the performance of a technical writer should be a measure of how useful a document/set of documents written by the writer was to the target audience.

I say this because I believe that a document that does not meet the needs of the audience cannot be considered an effective document - no matter what technology or methodology was used to create it.

With this principle in mind, I think the following criteria should be used to evaluate a technical writer's performance.

• The number of technical errors - to find out how familiar the writer is with the product and the technology. The lesser the errors, the better the writer scores.

• The number of grammatical errors - to ascertain the writer's proficiency with the language. Again, the lesser the number of errors, the better the writer scores.

• The number of technical support requests that the customer support team receives for issues that could have been addresses in documentation. Again the lesser these errors, the better the writer scores.

• Adherence to deadlines - This is particularly important because this has an impact on the timelines of the entire release schedule of the product. Any consistent deviations from the schedule also increase the cost of the project - which might be viewed negatively by management.

My two pennies...

Feel free to comment.

Hi Techwrite,

It is obvious that you have experience in this field, have made valuable contributions, but somewhere down the line things are not as exciting for you now, largely let down by the "non-transparent" appraisal system, perhaps in your company. Just as you have put forth this topic for discussion in this forum, have you ever gone back to your appraiser and voiced your very valid concerns? If you want the system to be transparent, spell out the appraisal parameters, and ensure that it does justice to you and your work, then your review team should be faced with these questions.

There will be an element of bias in every aspect of your life, sadly it is taken to extremes in some instances, and you were right in saying that these are factors you cannot control. To answer your question as to how will techwriters ensure that they are evaluated fairly is an extremely hard question to answer. The fact that you have received numerous responses to it exemplifies it. It is also worth remembering that the job we do is more quality driven than quantity. Am glad it is quality as you have a real chance to stand out in the crowd (good or bad!). So instead of being disgruntled, please also raise this with your company, and if possible share the non confidential aspects of it with the community.

Cheers!
KS

I don’t think it is beneficial to intensify this debate further. We are living under the same roof and are passionate about our work. Every work has its own sheen and flavor and it is not right to compare between cross functional capabilities. Having understood that the debate is a hot topic, it is not right to argue among us to the maximum extent when we are labeled as technical writers. I understand that every member has the right to put forth their words but the situation looks like we are degrading ourselves and creating an inferiority complex. What we need to look forward is a system. A system, where there is a proper evaluation of technical writers during recruitment, proper understanding of a technical writer’s job and motivation for overall development. It is not right to compare with developers, when there are still loopholes in our field. Let us get these loopholes filled and then raise our voice if required.

Let us live in harmony and abide by the motto “Dignity of Labor”.

The salary survey link provided by one of our readers is not the latest one.
P.S: The latest salary survey is available in the link http://www.stc-india.org/activities/surveys/STC_India_2008_Salary_Survey_Results.pdf

Regards,
Srip

Hi guys, thank you very much for your excellent and thoughtful comments. It was a brilliant exchange of ideas.

Regards,
Techwrite