by Jesika Giron
When considering the future of technical communication, many professionals agree that in order for the field to have a future, things will have to change. This is discussed by Barbara Giammona in “The Future of Technical Communication: How Innovation, Technology, Information Management, and Other Forces Are Shaping the Future of the Profession.” Giammona interviewed “seasoned practitioners” of technical communication, including senior-level professionals from large and small corporations located across the United States and in Canada, the U.K., India, Austria, Japan, and the Republic of China. Through these interviews, she found that the role and importance of technical communication is changing, and in order for the field to survive, technical communicators will have to become more than solely writers – they will have to become product usability experts (351).
Today, a technical communicator is anyone whose job involves technical communication, which can include technical writing, editing, illustration, and web design, among other things (Giammona 350). Kenneth Kistler defines technical communication as “the translation of the language of the expert into the language of the novice” (349). Marta Decatrel describes technical communicators as “the anthropologists of the technical world for their ability to be participant observers in the efforts in which they are involved” (350). Currently, the most important skill to technical communication is writing. Professionals agree that although technical skills may get you the job, they won’t make you excel. Writing will. Also important is the ability to recognize what information is needed to make a document accurate and complete, but not overly detailed. So is instructional design, big-picture and project orientation, and understanding how people read, use, and understand documents (350). All of these things are important to success in the field today.
In the future, however, these skills might not be enough to keep the technical communicator in demand on the job market. According to former technical communication business owner Judy Glick-Smith, if technical communicators don’t recognize the impact of the current environment, they will die out and business analysts and product designers will take over (Giammona 351). Since the year 2000, the field has been facing hard times, with many losing their jobs and technical communication departments being shut down or cut down. Technical communication is no longer seen as vital to an organization (351).
In many firms, technical communication is seen as a service function and not as a main contributor, and technical communication managers have little political power (Giammona 352). JoAnn Hackos, director of the Center for Information Development Management and a well-know author, suggests that managers in the field work to remove the stigma of “service function” from their positions and make their departments more main-stream (352). Technical communicators are often viewed as introverted people who work alone in their cubicles, but in order to ensure the future of the field, this must change. They must get out of their cubicles and into the big picture, becoming involved in teamwork within the organization and becoming more technical. According to Neil Perlin, technical communicators need to become more involved in company operations and strategic direction setting and “start thinking ‘content’ rather than ‘technical writing’.” The future role of technical communicators needs to include taking part in product development, making themselves of economic value to businesses, and of technical and social value to those they work with (352).
Within this new “strategic contributor role,” writing will still be a base skill, but new skills such as negotiation and strategy will also be required to move technical communication “into the realm of user experience design,” says Andrea Ames, technical writer for IBM (Giammona 353). “To ensure our future role, we need to be flexible and not resist change,” says Donna Timpone. Technical communicators have to keep up on new tools and capabilities, and keep themselves and their skills in front of management, she says (353). According to Saul Carliner, they need to learn how a business is run so as not to be viewed as “comma chasers.”
This change in the profession has to begin with leadership, or, as JoAnne Hackos puts it, a leadership that is “politically savvy, aware of arguing for the right values, focused on usefulness for the customers, willing to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, and able to stand with other middle managers” (Giammona 353). Another change that should take place is that of the skills that technical communications possess. Skills needed include the same basic skills of writing well, being a good investigator, and being able to learn tools quickly. Today, however, the ability to learn and adapt quickly, a tolerance for change, hands-on technical skills related to documentation and experience in the industry you’re working in are also important, says Jack Molisani (354).
When hiring, Giammona suggests that managers look for “a solid overall personal package and not just a set of specific tools and experience” (354). Beyond being able to write will, this package includes a professional demeanor, good project management skills, good self-management skills such as time management and multi-tasking, good verbal communication, being a team player, being technically qualified or teachable, and being able to enhance the positive image of your department in the firm (354).
To be above average in the industry today, technical communicators need to have business savvy or industrial experience, or have a technical background. “The days of the arts major going into technical writing are numbered,” says Darren Barefoot (Giammona 357). In teaching technical communication students, there needs to be an emphasis on business skills to prepare them for work in the real world (357). Hackos says technical communicators need to be more extroverted, able to make a business case for their work and hold their own with senior managers. However, one point of general agreement was that despite the changes in the field, there still needs to be an emphasis on writing. New technical communication curricula might include HTML, information design, and publishing, but they should still always include writing, says Cheryl Lockett-Zuback (357).
Other factors that have influenced change in the role of technical communicators in the United States are internationalization and off-shoring technical communication work. JoAnn Hackos states that a global focus is essential to the future of technical communication, and will mean “working closely with information developers in many languages and from different cultural perspectives” (Giammona 355). This means extending our customer analysis outside of the US. Furthermore, the current trend of sending technical communication work offshore to cheaper paid workers in locations such as Ireland, Chile and India, calls for more technical communicators in the U.S. to become project managers and editors (356). Saul Carliner, who visited the Society of Technical Communication in India, suggests, “Here in the U.S., we need to learn to be more productive. If you are providing communication services in the U.S., show how you are adding value” (356). Beyond preparing to be project managers and editors, in adapting to these changes, we should also work to prove the value technical communication work done in the U.S. to keep some of the work in our own country.
Also contributing to change in the field of technical communication is the effect that advancing technology has had on communications. According to Cheryl Jenkins, former Hewlett Packard employee who now manages projects for Microsoft, customer-driven content is the next wave in our field. Online communication methods such as chat rooms and community groups allow customers to have immediate input and help write the content themselves (Giammona 355). Also becoming popular in the age of multi-media communications is single sourcing, or using one document source for multiple document outputs, such as different forms of print and internet publishing. Content management systems are used to “store content in a database separately from the templates that control its appearance, so content can be updated or reused in various contexts without anyone changing the content” (Giammona 358). As technology changes communications in these ways, new skills are being required of technical communicators, like web skills such as having an analyst’s mindset, editing, and web development (358).
Giammona’s interviews found a general consensus among technical communication professionals that for the future of the field, the role of technical communicators will have to change. However, most expressed optimistic views about how this change could take place. Technical communicators need to become more involved in the large-scale workings of the company, contributing not only technical documents, but ideas about project development. Managers need to become more politically savvy in their leadership, and elevate themselves to the level of other managers in the corporation. New technical communicators need to be able to learn quickly and adapt to change to acquire the technical skills related to the documents they are writing. More than solely writing documents, they need to know the industries in which they work. They need skills of project management, self-management, verbal communication, and a team attitude. They need to understand how current technology is changing their field, and work into these changes. Little by little, as all of these changes take place, the role of the technical communicator will be re-written, and the future of technical communication as a field will be preserved, and full of success.
Ames, Andrea. “Transforming Your Career… with the Economy and the Industry: Moving from Commodity to Strategic Contributor.” STC 50th annual conference Presentation.
Giammona, Barbara. “The Future of Technical Communication: How Innovation, Technology, Information Management, and Other Forces Are Shaping the Future of the Profession.” Technical Communication.
Kistler, Kenneth. “What is Technical Communication: Definitions by Members.” Metro Voice. November/December. http://www.stcnymetro.org/metro_voice/ mv_12203/mv_12203.htm.
Molisani, Jack. “Tools or Talent, What it Takes to be a Good Technical Writer.” 1999. http://www.writerssociety.com/writers/molisani2/html.