Steve Arrants Article Review: When Documentation is an Afterthought

Welcome to episode 121 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews an article from The Old Tech Writer (Steve Arrants) that is entitled "When the Docs Are an Afterthought" and was published on Medium on August 22, 2024.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this educational article from Arrants and his seven signs that you're working in an environment where documentation is an afterthought. These signs include a lack of standards, no collaboration, and no planning or project management. Writes Arrants: " Documentation has changed since I started in the 1980s. From print to online to interactive aids, the delivery has changed, but the need hasn't. Good documentation is critical to make your product successful, no matter how intuitive and friendly the software, hardware, or service is."Working for a company that treats documentation as an integral, crucial part of the product is great. But I’ve also worked at big and small companies that treated documentation as an afterthought. How do you tell you're in that environment? Here are some signs."The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Arrants article: https://tinyurl.com/5n6ke5d6>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 120 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from professor Ethan Mollick at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania entitled "15 Times to Use AI, and 5 Not To" that was published on December 9, 2024. Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this educational article from AI expert Mollick and what it teaches technical writers and documentation specialists about the pros and cons of using AI in their work. Writes Mollick: "Knowing when to use AI turns out to be a form of wisdom, not just technical knowledge. Like most wisdom, it's somewhat paradoxical: AI is often most useful where we're already expert enough to spot its mistakes, yet least helpful in the deep work that made us experts in the first place. It works best for tasks we could do ourselves but shouldn't waste time on, yet can actively harm our learning when we use it to skip necessary struggles. And perhaps most importantly, wisdom means knowing that these patterns will keep shifting as AI capabilities evolve, and as more research comes in, requiring us to keep questioning our assumptions about where it helps and where it hinders."The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Mollick article: https://tinyurl.com/mvwrj6w8>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 119 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from writer and editor Diana Wolf Torres entitled "When Logic Meets Language: Can OpenAI's Reasoning Engine Make You a Better Writer?" that was published on LinkedIn on February 8.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of Torres' educational article and her exploration of the differences between OpenAI's o3-mini and GPT-4 in terms of how they can help writers do their job.The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Torres article: https://tinyurl.com/3u6xxy72>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 118 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article entitled "Visualizing the Turing Machine" from programming visualization guru Sam Rose. The article includes the history of the Turing machine concept and its profound influence on modern computing and everyday life.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of Rose's article and thorough exploration of the Turing machine concept (it is a theory, not a physical machine) introduced by mathematician Alan Turing in 1936. They explain what a Turing machine can do, what it can't, and what it means to be "Turing complete."The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Rose article: https://tinyurl.com/mr2hn9tb>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 117 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from Aiver Ilaya entitled "How to Succeed as a Technical Writer in a Collaborative Environment" that was published at Aliso Digital on February 10.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of Ilaya's article and his investigation into what works and what doesn't work in the world of collaborative technical writing and documentation. They discuss the best approach for success and some of the tools and services that embrace collaboration and allow technical writing teams to create quality documentation.Topics discussed include the importance of research, the role of clarity, why feedback can contribute to success, and the skills that are most important for technical writers to possess.The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Ilaya article: https://tinyurl.com/4tken589>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 116 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from information engineer and content strategist Sachin Shenoy entitled "Three Superpowers of Exceptional Technical Writers" that was published on LinkedIn on December 19, 2024.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of Shenoy's article and his definition of exceptional technical writing. They discuss the three critical attributes of an exceptional tech writer, including 1) ability to explain, 2) subject matter knowledge, and 3) mastery of the medium (including writing and tools).The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Shenoy article: https://tinyurl.com/y9pneyue>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 115 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from Alex Blair entitled "How to Write Technical Blog Posts & Articles Using AI" that was published on February 8 on LinkedIn.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this insightful article and its advice for technical writers. Blair discusses a number of ways in which documentation professionals can leverage AI in the writing process, including for brainstorming, outlining, draft generation, and editing.The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Blair article: https://tinyurl.com/3ushmwzf>> Read the Curt Robbins article "The Ninth Technical Writing Pillar: AI": https://tinyurl.com/3vn26fay>> Read the Robbins article "AI-powered Image Generators for Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/45k5v4mu>> Read the Robbins article "Comparing AI Frontier Models: ChatGPT, Claude, & Gemini": https://tinyurl.com/5n7t69br>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 114 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from veteran technical writer Bob Watson entitled "A look at the past to see the future of technical writing" that was published on the Docs by Design blog on March 18, 2024.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this article and its advice for technical writers. Watson uses the analogy of an Air Force training manual from 1952 and explores how leading edge tech such as artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how technical writers and documentation specialists do their jobs.The hosts consider the skills that will be most valuable to technical writers going forward in a world of AI, recommending that those who want to succeed must be willing to engage in lifelong learning.The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Watson article: https://tinyurl.com/spacysdh>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Read the Robbins article "Docs-as-Code": https://tinyurl.com/8bsjrsvc>> Read the Robbins article "Understanding DITA for Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/35vxfnmd>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 113 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from senior technical writer Steve Arrants entitled "Advice for New Technical Writers" that was published on LinkedIn.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this article and its advice for technical writers. Arrants' advice in a nutshell: Speak plainly, be precise, be clear and concise, be stingy with courtesy, use second person, use active voice, consistency of terms, use of visuals, practice localization, and SOA (spell out acronyms), and use lists.The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Arrants article: https://tinyurl.com/me7k5h8d>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Read the Robbins article "Docs-as-Code": https://tinyurl.com/8bsjrsvc>> Read the Robbins article "Understanding DITA for Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/35vxfnmd>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 112 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode! Today’s episode dives into a video interview with author Mark Baker entitled "WTD Episode 17: Structured Writing with Mark Baker" from the Write the Docs Podcast (link below). The video includes Tom Johnson from Google. Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited analysis of this informative video interview with Baker that focuses on defining structured content and exploring some of the tools available to technical writers to create and maintain structured documents. The hosts explore XML, DITA, and Markdown as a few ways in which documentation specialists can approach structuring their documents and content. They explain this and other topics from Baker's book Structured Writing: Rhetoric and Process. The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround. >> Watch the original video interview with Baker: https://tinyurl.com/msm2u9w4 >> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw >> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v >> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb >> Read the Robbins article "Docs-as-Code": https://tinyurl.com/8bsjrsvc >> Read the Robbins article "Understanding DITA for Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/35vxfnmd >> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn