My Job is to Make You Look Good
By: Alexandra Engrand
MtM Staff Writer
The subject of the headline was one of the main ideas was one of the main ideas Debra Johnson discussed in her presentation, Adding Value Where It Counts Most: Content Development Lifecycle/Workflow. Debra began by explaining the lifecycle of a document, complete with a handy, easy-to-follow chart of the 10 steps that make up the process. The process began with “Discover,” where information for the project is researched and acquired, all the way to the last step, “Maintenance,” which included updating and adjusting the published content as necessary.
Debra’s presentation focused on explaining the rest of the diagram to her attentive audience. Towards the end of the presentation, she shared the best way to perfect the “elevator pitch” for why technical writers matter. It essentially boiled down to “my job is to make you (and your company) look good” and “it is more than just making documents look pretty.” Technical writers add value to the work they do, help companies avoid liabilities, cut support costs, and offer a better overall experience for the customer.
