What AI Actually Changed About Technical Writing
The prediction was that AI would make technical writers unnecessary. A few years in, that hasn’t happened. What has happened is that the slow parts of the job got considerably faster. Research, note taking, first drafts, restructuring, and reformatting. All of that used to take hours. Now it takes minutes, which is a real change […]
Why Technical Writing Feels Less Draining Than It Used To
Most conversations about AI in technical writing focus on speed. How much faster a draft comes out, how many hours a week get saved. That’s measurable, so it gets the attention. The change I notice more is harder to put a number on. By the end of a long documentation day, there’s more left in […]
How to Get Time Poor SMEs to Give You Information, Then Actually Review the Document
Every technical writer hits the same wall eventually. The document is 90% done. It just needs 1 subject matter expert to confirm a few details, then sign off. That expert is a senior engineer with 40 meetings a week, a system outage to manage, plus 3 other projects asking for the same thing. Your document […]
Why People Skills Matter More Than Technique for a Business Analyst
You can learn the technical side of business analysis in about 6 months. Requirements templates, process notation, user stories, traceability matrices, gap analysis. It’s all learnable, all documented, all fairly consistent from one organisation to the next. What takes years is the other part. Getting a room full of people who disagree to tell you […]
Creating and Managing Effective Documentation in High-Pressure Environments
Clear and effective documentation is at the core of any successful organisation, especially when working within regulated industries or fast-paced projects. From writing and revising standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensuring training manuals meet specific change control requirements, the process requires a blend of technical expertise, collaboration, and time management. In my experience, working on […]
SMEs Rhymes with “Please” – Getting Time with Busy Subject Matter Experts
One of the biggest challenges for technical writers is getting time with subject matter experts (SMEs). They’re busy, stretched across multiple projects, and often don’t have the time—or the patience—to sit down and explain things. Some are happy to help but just don’t have the availability. Others see documentation as a low priority and put […]