Out of the ivory tower and into the trenches: the writer joins the development team

The author describes how having a writer on the development team helps the developers, the company, the customer, and the writer. In addition, she presents some suggestions for writers who want to be an effective part of a development team. She notes that, at most large companies today, technical writers are clustered into a publications group. In years past, such groups have been necessary so writers could share scarce resources, such as expensive printers, illustrators, and computers. With the tools available today, however, a multitalented technical communicator can write, design, format, and illustrate a technical document. It is concluded that putting a writer on the development team clearly has advantages for everyone concerned in a development project: the company shortens its development cycles, the developers spend their time developing, the customer receives a better product, and writers get to explore new territory and broaden their skills