Engineer vs Seasoned Technical Writer?

Make no mistake; engineers are a key component to turning out quality documentation for your end-users, but are they the best resource? An age-old question that many companies have dealt with for many-a-moon.

Now, to be clear, technical writing incorporates a few basic concepts. First, the writer must have the ability to digest and understand the “technical” information and jargon presented to them; usually by engineers. Secondly, the technical writer should be able to regurgitate that technical information in the form of clear, concise documentation. Lastly, the technical writer must ensure that all documentation meets a standardized set of rules (to ensure all documentation leaving the company has the same look, feel and branding). Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?

More often than not, engineers are tasked with writing their own procedures, manuals, reports, etc., for “their” own project. Now imagine a company with 5 engineers, 50 engineers or even 1,000 engineers. Each engineer is responsible for putting out their own documentation. This could potentially mean that your company is now represented 1,000 different ways with information presented in multiple formats. Each documentation set incorporating each engineer’s vision for quality documentation.

Engineers are not writers and if you asked most of them how they like writing, I’m confident that most would reply, “I hate it.” Furthermore, engineers have trouble at times writing to their audience’s level and understanding that the folks using their documentation may not have their level of education. Engineers enjoy designing new concepts and finding solutions to problems. In short, engineers do not aspire to be writers and most that I have met in my 25+ years absolutely hate writing!

Seasoned technical writers, on the other hand are worth their weight in gold if they genuinely know their stuff and can provide assistance without the need for constant hand-holding. Let’s face it; there is no substitute for experience, plain and simple. Seasoned technical writers have experience in their chosen industry and can actually speak intelligently about the industry they work in.

Seasoned technical writers should be able to take the engineers information and develop (with the end-user in mind) clear, concise documentation that truly benefits the reader instead of leaving them surrounded by a shroud of doubt and uncertainty. Of course, there will be times when technical writers and engineers must interact but that time is precious and shouldn’t be wasted on hand-holding. Becoming a Subject Matter Expert (SME) is key and mastering the content is paramount!

So…Engineer or Seasoned Technical Writer?

I suppose, at the end of the day that depends on what outcome you want. A seasoned Technical Writer will leave you with professionally developed documentation that checks all the boxes and adheres to a standard set of formatting rules. An engineer, could possibly achieve the same results but at what cost? There’s a good chance the engineer will have to set aside their core competency to provide the documentation. If you can afford to reassign your engineers then I can only say “carry on.” If you’d prefer to save time, money and headaches then I suggest using a Seasoned Technical Writer!