There's more than one way to wire that: when assembly workers are technically writers

ABSTRACT

While technical writing is becoming a more obvious part of undergraduate education, it is not uncommon for an engineer to face the task of writing documentation without much training in the craft of communication. Other members of production teams may have received even less training, and yet have an equal or greater need to have a say in how documentation is produced and what it contains.In this paper, we will examine a situation in which an assembly worker, or system integrator, demanded the opportunity to document the appropriate ways to assemble complex Test and Measurement systems (for evaluating the electronic components of products such as PC's, cars, and cellular phones), and the effects her change in roles has had on the production processes for both systems and their documentation.

REFERENCES

• 1: Dautermann, J. (1997). Writing at Good Hope: A study of negotiated composition in a community of nurses.
• 2: Bernadette Longo, Knowledge production from different worlds: what can happen when technical writers speak for engineers, ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation, v.22 n.4, p.45-53, Nov. 1998 [doi>10.1145/307287.307318]
• 3: Maimon, E.P., Belcher, G., Heam, G., Nodine, B., & O'Connor, F.W. (1982). Writing in the arts and sciences. New York: Little Brown, Inc.
• 4: C. Hugh Marsh, The engineer as technical writer and document designer: the new paradigm, ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation, v.23 n.2, p.57-61, May 1999 [doi>10.1145/311147.311159]

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.7 Distribution, Maintenance, and Enhancement
          Subjects: Documentation

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES

  J. Computer Applications
  J.1 ADMINISTRATIVE DATA PROCESSING
      Subjects: Manufacturing

General Terms:
Design, Documentation, Human Factors, Management, Measurement, Performance, Theory