Scott S. McCoy wrote, “Most work I have seen done by those in the technical writing trade has been generally inadequate and unnecessarily verbose.”
Scott, I’m a technical writer in the software industry. Unfortunately, I have to agree to some extent with you. Unlike other professions, technical writing is not regulated, and enforcement of standards is not possible. Some ‘technical writers’ leave much to be desired. On the other hand, look around, and you will find some excellent tech writers.
I disagree with Sandeep, who wrote, “Tech writers looking for developers/engineers for help are kidding none but themselves…” These people love talking about their work, in my experience. Usually, they are extremely busy people, and if managers do no allocate time for them to interact with the tech writers, the time they do spend will be in addition to their other duties.
Wes James highlighted a common problem with documenting complex software. Everyone knows his or her bit in detail, but not the whole picture. Often, I find that different people give me conflicting information. That’s where technical writers add significant value to a company–we ensure that the ‘story’ that the end users receive is complete and consistent.