You're making an assumption that the market is driven by quality. It
is not, though that's certainly a factor. The market is driven even
more by good marketing.
At 10:58 AM 10/19/2007, Technical Writer wrote:
And yet people still buy it. If they did not, issues of quality
would be irrelevant; only the "quality" items would be purchased,
the "crap" would languish on the dealer shelves, and we would be
working rather than having this
discussion.http://www.tekwrytrs.com/Specializing in the Design,
Development, and Production of:Technical Documentation - Online
Content - Enterprise Websites
Subject: RE: radical revamping of techpubsDate: Fri, 19 Oct 2007
10:55:33 -0700From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED];
framers@lists.frameusers.com
I have seen enough bug reports in my time to know that quality is
not subjective. If the software generates a mile-long list of bugs
reported by customers and QA people, the software application is crap.
Thank you,
Gillian Flato
Technical Writer (Software)
nanometrics
1550 Buckeye Dr.
Milpitas, CA. 95035
(408.545.6316
7 408.232.5911
* [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Technical Writer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday,
October 19, 2007 10:52 AMTo: Flato, Gillian;
[EMAIL PROTECTED]: RE: radical revamping of techpubs
The same could be said of pacemakers, missile control systems, and a
host of others. That does not change the fact that in most software
applications, perceptions of quality are highly subjective.
Subject: RE: radical revamping of techpubsDate: Fri, 19 Oct 2007
10:09:42 -0700From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED];
framers@lists.frameusers.com
>>Quality is primarily a subjective opinion;
>>Similarly, whether a product is crap or not is again an opinion,
not an objective evaluation that can applied in all cases.
When you work in the semi-conductor industry making high-tech
instruments that are used in fabs (chip fabrication plants), quality
is not subjective. If the tool stops running after a few thousand
cycles or a part on the tool fails after only a few months of
running, then it's objective. A part broke, the Tool shutdown,
quality is crap, that's not subjective.
TechWriters in my field document the software that runs on these
types of tools. If you go to a fab, you'll see the type of tools I
am taking about.
BTW, why don't you identify who you are? You act so sanctimonious
yet you hide behind a moniker. Have some cohones and tell us who you are.
Thank you,
Gillian Flato
Technical Writer (Software)
nanometrics
1550 Buckeye Dr.
Milpitas, CA. 95035
(408.545.6316
7 408.232.5911
* [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Technical Writer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday,
October 19, 2007 9:37 AMTo: Flato, Gillian;
[EMAIL PROTECTED]: RE: radical revamping of techpubs
And I know of a CEO who used to either get there first, or let the
wannabes struggle over the crumbs. Name of Bill Gates. Quality is
primarily a subjective opinion; witness the 90+% of the population
of the planet using Windows, despite the occasional Blue Screen of
Death, or necessary re-booting orre-installing required. Similarly,
whether a product is crap or not is again an opinion, not an
objective evaluation that can applied in all cases. The Debian
flavor of Linux is considered "the best" by some, and "the worst"
by some. The opinions are subjective. Everyone TW wants to believe
that he or she is producing quality documentation that creates a
warm fuzzy in the user, and makes customers-for-life of the company
that produces whatever is being documented. I simply suggest a
reality check may be more useful. If the TW is documenting
software, perhaps he or she should change fields to one with a
slower pace of life (and writing). The option is to accept the
realities of the marketplace, and how those influence and constrain
the production of technical documentation. In a world in which
dynamic onlne help files are rapidly replacing hard copy documents,
it seems more useful to focus on developing a skill set that
enables high-volume production of acceptable quality content,
rather than obsessing over trivial (to most users) details of
grammar, construction, or voice. In that direction may lie the
future of TW--get it written, get it online, and concentrate on the
Pareto principle of satisfying the needs of the majority of users
rather than obsessing over the subjective opinions of the
minority. < From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]; framers@lists.frameusers.com> > ...or similar
biggies realize that time-to-market is everything, > >
Time-to-market is not everything if you sacrifice quality. If
you're first on the market but your product is crap, the fact that
you were first on the market is irrelevant. > > I know a CEO who
got fired because all he cared about is being first on the market
but his products were crap and failed often. Other company's that
were slower to market but turned out quality products, stole
marketshare from that company. The company almost went under until
the board of Directors wisely fired him and put a new CEO at the
helm.> > > -Gillian> >
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