Month: November 2012

Journalling

About a year ago, maybe more, I started writing (sporadically) in a journal and I’m quite surprised that I’ve kept it going, even though how I use it has changed.

I’ve always enjoyed the process of writing, this blog is testimony to that, but even before there was this place called the internet which I could pollute with the detritus of my mind I’ve always had a fondness for the written word. I can remember spending an evening with a girlfriend where we wrote down questions and answers for each other, passing sheets of paper back and forth. Even then, as a naive teenager, I realised that I preferred that form of communication over, say, actually telling someone what you thought.

Of course I’ve grown up a bit since then, not much mind you, but I still fall back on the written word and the process of writing as a way to get a handle on things I don’t really understand.

  • Why do I get so annoyed when plans change?
  • What was it that happened that makes me cringe when I have to get my hands dirty?
  • Am I inherently lazy and selfish or is there more to me than that?

The last few years have been amazing and I’ve learned so much about myself, about who I am (rather than who I want to be), and where my life may be heading. I’ve written a lot in my journal, not all of it has been positive, sometimes I wrote in anger, letting the emotions drive the words knowing that that flash of emotion would fade quickly, sometimes I paused to recognise just how many blessings I have to count, and sometimes it’s good to reflect on how lucky I am. The over arching theme remains though, it’s a place where I dump my thoughts so they can stew for a while.

More recently I’ve been looking back over what I’ve written, seeing the change in tone and in emphasis as I start to understand things better. I can see that I’ve made steps to put myself in a better place, some of which I’ve mentioned here, and that even in the past six months things have, once again, changed for the better. Of course it’s not all about how wonderful my life is (it is pretty fucking wonderful to be honest), and there will always be days which are challenging but, as I learnt recently, there is no such thing as a good day or a bad day, they are all just days and there is always a tomorrow, a new day, lurking around the corner.

With those realisations I notice that I’m now using my journal much more as a memory store. I’ve started feeding in other data, not just the random wanderings of my brain, but the photos I take, the places I’ve been, the music I’ve listened to, and I’m finding that has value as well (not just because my memory is awful!).

In fact it’s occurring to me now that, whilst I’ve struggled to instil new habits in other parts of my life, my journal has been a constant companion for a few years now. I wonder what it’ll feel like to look back on it in another year or two. Where will I be then? WHO will I be then?

For once I don’t really care about the answers to those questions, I will be wherever I am and I’ll be whoever I’ve become, but I do know I’m really looking forward to finding out.

November 6, 2012

Why seems to be hardest word

I was chatting to a new colleague, an experienced technical architect, the other day to give him an overview of my team and what we produce. He asked what type of information we provided, was it the “clicky clicky” type or something more useful that explains how our product works.

I assured him that we covered more of the latter type of information, but also provided “clicky clicky” (procedural) information when appropriate. For his type of role, that audience persona (experienced and highly technical), that form of information is exactly what he wants. For other parts of our product, used by inexperienced staff often with a high turnover, we try and help keep the costs of training down by providing more of the “clicky clicky”.

It’s all about the audience after all, right?

Thing is, as I walked away from that conversation, there was something in the back of my mind that wasn’t sitting right, something was irking me and it wasn’t until a couple of days later I realised what it was.

Within the team, there is one question we try and answer, one question that we find useful when trying to understand the latest greatest features of our product. Why?

We ask it of technical architects, product managers, software engineers and business analysts. We ask customers and our professional services staff. Hell if we can we’ll ask our Chief Technical Officer.

  • Why are we building this?
  • Why did we build it this way?
  • Why didn’t we build it that way?
  • Why should our customers use it?
  • Why should I use it this way and not that?

The list goes on…

And yet, walking away from that conversation I started to realise the one place we don’t ask it often enough. Within the team, of ourselves, we need to be asking one question more often; Why are we writing this piece of content? It’s a simple question but should allow us to follow on with further reasoning.

  • Who asked for this?
  • Who will use it?
  • Why am I WRITING this, would it be better as a video?
  • Does this piece of functionality even need any supporting information?

As the team continues to grow, and we start to take on more work from other parts of the organisation, we will need to keep these internal challenges in our minds.

This notion also fits, loosely, to a general theme that has been in my head since TCUK12 the idea of lifting your head, getting out of the default position of “write content” that many of us fall into. Whilst that’s a good default to have, as the world of Technical Communications continues to change it will benefit us all to spend a little bit more time asking why.

Challenging presumptions and changing attitudes towards our profession is not easy, but asking why can help.

Our profession is largely focussed on product, we understand that there are users of the product, we understand that those users vary in skill level and knowledge. Asking those why questions tells everyone else that we are thinking at a higher level, that we are trying to do better, that we want to contribute value to our organisation, this is particularly of value when you bear in mind that we tend to have a different view of our products from many of our counterparts.

As a technical writer, we touch all levels of a product, from the conceptual information all the way through to the technical detail of the implementation itself. We understand the business requirements, the use cases, and the end functionality. Not many other departments share that view so when we ask why, we can ask it from a position of knowledge and, increasingly, authority.

Too often I hear people say that they feel frustrated, that they don’t get the information they need, or struggle to get people to understand what value they bring to a company. Maybe the questions we are asking are partly to blame? Asking why is a soft way of challenging, of gently nudging people to a different view, if you are persistent and consistent the people you work with will start to anticipate your questions, raising their game to meet yours and that’s where the value lies. Not only does asking why get you more of the information you need, allowing you to make better decisions about your work, it’s also provide a link between parts of your organisation.

So be that person, be the central resource that asks why. It may take some time but stick at it and, along the way, you’ll have opportunities to promote what you do and others will start to place more value on the information you produce and the value you provide to the company.

And that, to me, is a perfect example of a win-win situation.

November 6, 2012

Censored

Have you noticed anything different here? Maybe not, but those of you who have been reading for a while (thank you!) may have noticed that I’ve been managing to post here a couple of times a week recently.

Don’t worry if you didn’t notice, there is no test at the end.

I’ve been pushing myself to write to try and get my blogging mojo back, partly because I enjoy the process and the fact that it helps me keep in touch with what’s going on in our wider profession, and partly because there is a lot going on and I like to capture some of it.

But I can’t capture it all.

Looking back at this blog, there are some posts which hint at some things which ended up coming to pass. The signs are subtle and obviously I’m more tuned in to them than anyone else as I wrote it but they are there. It’s not that I want to be cryptic, more that I know that a sensible level of awareness and self-censorship are one of the most important skills to learn as a blogger. Whilst the opinions stated here are mine, and mine alone, I simply can’t post things which might compromise the company I work for in any way shape or form.

And so, as I started to pull together some notes with a view to publishing them on this blog I realised I wouldn’t be able to, not at the moment.

Suffice to say that the next few months could see some interesting challenges and changes, and as soon as I can I’ll be discussing them here (and my Twitter feed is likely to be reduced to a serious of exasperated noises). I am feeling excited, nervous and ready for what lies ahead and hopefully as we learn lessons here, I can share some of them with you.

That said, if there is anything you’d like me to tackle, any questions to ask, please get in touch. Always happy to help.

 

November 2, 2012