Winds of Change in Kerala

Tharun Unni, the Senior team Lead, Documentation, Face Time Communications, Bangalore briefly described the role of Technical writers in today’s world.

Tharun reiterated the fact that the job of a Technical writer is filled with challenges. Merely having a flair for writing is not enough. You need to have immense patience and perseverance. Your patience will help in accepting multiple changes in documentation.  You also need to be open for feedback. A technical writer contributes immensely to the product. Most often writers think from the user’s perspective.

Tharun addressing the audience

For example, a simple user's manual is not the one which tells what the software can do for the user, but what the user can do with the software. Tharun suggested that a holistic approach is required for technical writing and he also mentioned that technical writing is not everyone’s cup of tea. The best part of his presentation was, when he said that for a technical writer, respect, like money, must be earned and one has to strive really hard for it.

The following session was conducted by Ravishankar. This session was  extremely interactive. Queries from the audience ranged from how to be a good technical writer to how a technical writer can contribute to the organization. Ravishankar highlighted that the technical writers need to be a vital part of the team in the initial stages of the project. 

STC India Chapter Announces Scholarships for the Year 2005 The STC India chapter announces three scholarships for students pursuing courses in technical writing at degree/diploma/certificate courses in Indian universities. Look for details and application form at http://www.stc-india.org. Last date for receiving completed applications is July 15, 2005.

The third session was aptly named the Grammar Clinic. Think of the word Grammar and one would exclaim “it's so confusing and difficult”. However, on the May 21, 2005, things were very different.

That was the day when many aspiring technical writers realized that grammar was after all interesting. The session on grammar by Gururaj B.S, from Hewlett-Packard, was outstanding. This was a very interactive session where teaching was simply done through examples, without a single presentation slide. Active/Passive voice, verbs, articles, adjectives, hyphens, Mood

Grammar Clinic in progress

and Modality, these were just a few of the topics that the audience got to know in just 2 hours. It goes without saying that the session ended leaving the audience wondering whether a grammar session can ever be more interesting!

The next session was on “Setting Up a technical Documentation Team”, by Sajitha Jayaprakash, Team Leader, Technical Writing Services, Fluent India Pvt Ltd. It was a journey through the entire process of setting up a documentation team, right from recruiting  a team to  managing a team. The audience realized that getting the ‘right’ person to do the job, is not the only difficult task, but identifying the right person responsible for hiring prospective employees is also very challenging. Sajitha mentioned that it was not the best people who got the jobs but the right ones. What matters in the IT industry today is not technical excellence but the right attitude to work in a team.

The symposium was an enlightening and enriching experience. A round of applause to STC India chapter and Trivandrum volunteers who inititated the winds of change. The curtains have been raised and the stage is all set. Last but not the least the show should go on and will surely go on. This is the assurance with which the audience left the auditorium.

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