Talking tech pubs with JM – new tech pubs roles

03Dec08

So when JM and I talked about the changing landscape for tech pubs, the internal and external drivers that surfaced in our conversation, namely; reduced demand for traditional ‘book’ format and formal deliverables, increasing emphasis on speed, a growing number of content sources and channels through which audiences want to access knowledge, increased opportunities for granular content reuse, globalization and localization requirements, and contractual and compliance issues, indicated opportunities to expand the traditional tech writer role.

Many tech writers wear multiple hats these days, for example by specializing in tools and content engineering, graphics, or editing and proofing on a peer basis. However, the additional value derived from these activities is not usually visible or appreciated much beyond the tech pubs department itself.

In contrast, some additional roles indicated by the current tech pubs landscape have the capability of boosting the profile of tech writers and tech pubs groups, which can in turn create even more opportunities for recognition and reward within the organization. Note that most of these functions are being performed within tech pubs groups today to some degree; I’m not claiming any innovation; my goal is simply to organize some information and hopefully stimulate some thought. The most significant new roles that J and I discussed were:

• Content Aggregators

A content aggregator monitors and promotes, and probably collects or ‘aggregates’ valuable content from multiple sources. J cited an example of a popular tech writing blog that aggregates content from 3rd parties.

• Content Architects

This is a specialized position that already exists in some depts; J stressed the importance of defining this role as strategic, rather than tactical, as in the case of an information architect who is focused on the tactical information design for the current release.

As strategists, content architects need to understand and promote content architecture that meets both internal tech pubs requirements and meshes with enterprise-wide content strategy. Many organizations have yet to articulate a high-level content strategy, which is an opportunity for tech pubs groups to develop leadership and expertise and become valued partners in enterprise content strategy and implementation.

• Knowledge Managers

Knowledge managers ensure that valuable content is properly structured, stored, and identified so that it can be located and used throughout the organization. This could mean managing content to maximize it’s effectiveness across multiple repositories and metadata schemes. To be successful, KMs need subject matter expertise in the domain under their control, an understanding who uses the content, the patterns of knowledge creation and flow, as well as it’s lifecycle. The KM plays what will be the crucial role of transforming information into knowledge as an asset that can truly be leveraged over the course of its existence.

• Data Analysts

JM points out that some groups she knows of do this already; develop skills within the group to analyze whatever metrics and data are available. J and I agreed that this is an area with real growth potential in demonstrating ROI for tech pubs, and also for contributing valuable business intel to other groups within the organization. As personalization and collaboration increases on the web, robust analysis of who users are, and how they are interacting with content can support decisions within tech pubs, and also within product marketing, customer support, etc.

• Content Brokers

This is a term I coined for a role that is related to the Aggregator and KM roles, maybe it’s a combination of both. It basically consists of assisting all stakeholders in locating relevant content whether created by their org or elsewhere, so the person in this role might be blogging, researching, aggregating, monitoring or even moderating online communities; in short, a type of knowledge gadfly, who is reaching out to facilitate knowledge creation, and who also acts as a central point of contact for it’s dissemination.

• Facilitators of ‘Communities of Practice’

Communities of practice are not new, but are emerging as a distinct area of focus, thanks to the community-building tools that exist now on the web. Communities of practice organize themselves within a defined domain, and are focused on goals, tasks, and skills that are relevant to that domain.

Organizations that want to harness the power of the web to support, and foster the exchange of knowledge about their products and services need to understand how to build and sustain these types of communities; J and I agreed that technical writers and tech pubs groups already have many skills that are relevant to this role, and what’s more, that the technical content that is our traditional area of expertise is a logical foundation around which communities of practice can develop.

A final note: neither of us were overly sanguine about technical writers embracing expanding roles – tech writers as a group have earned a reputation as detail-oriented introverts, and overcoming that tendency will be a significant challenge that perhaps only a minority of those currently in the field be able to meet.

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