Shanghai Tech Writer

According to Wikipedia:

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) is a person who is an expert in a particular area. In software engineering environments, the term is used to describe professionals with expertise in the field of application but without technical project knowledge.

Technical writers work closely with the SMEs, also known as the content experts, as they write documentation for a product. SMEs provide all the information technical writers need. If there are any questions or ambiguity regarding any function, feature, or spec, SMEs are the go-to person to ask. Developing a good working relationship with the SMEs, maintaining good communication, and working closely together are necessary to producing quality documentation. Sitting in close proximity with the SMEs certainly goes a long way in making the documentation process easier.

Tom Johnson at I’d Rather Be Writing mentioned in a previous post about his top 10 workspace configurations. One of his most productive setup is sitting in close proximity with project managers and project team members.

“… proximity to people with key project information is one of the best ways to get the information you need. If you’re remotely located, or if your project team is scattered across different floors and department buildings, camaraderie and communication will go downhill. In contrast, proximity opens up the channels of communication.”

Obviously, not all technical writers and SMEs sit closely together, not to mention working in the same office, company, or even, country. Many companies today are outsourcing technical documentation and often times, technical writers have to work with remote SMEs, or vice versa. But that’s another topic for another day.

Today, I want to share about my experience working with the SMEs at my company. Recently, I started working on a 1.0 project, a new toolkit for LabVIEW. I moved to a cubicle near the project team members so I could work closely with the team. The team members include a project manager, a tech lead, and three engineers. As I’m writing documentation for the new toolkit, I have a lot of questions about the toolkit’s functionality as well giving my own feedback on the toolkit’s usability. Sitting near the team, I’m able to go to any of the team members to ask for help. If I find a bug, I can report to them immediately. I also get the latest scoop on bugs and updates. Overall, I find it extremely helpful sitting near the SMEs. However, there are a few issues that get in the way when I sit near the SMEs, so I go back and forth between my desk and my temporary desk.

Advantages of Sitting Near the SMEs

1. Ask questions. I can ask questions and get answers right away. I find that questions keep coming up as I’m exploring the new product and writing documentation. I’m able to fill in the “missing piece” during the “brain dump” stage of writing.
2. Give feedback. I can immediately offer feedback on usability and report any bugs I’ve discovered. If something crashed or produced an error, I can immediately show SMEs my screen without the hassle of taking screenshots and writing lengthy emails explaining the issue.
3. Stay in the loop. I get to hear about new changes and updates right away. Project managers and SMEs should keep technical writers in the loop about all the changes and updates, but often times, technical writers get left out in emails and meetings. Sitting near the team, I don’t have to wait to hear or read about these changes. I hear them as they discuss the issues!
4. Build team rapport. Sitting together with the team helps to build team rapport. I’m able to work closely with the team and get to know the team members better, with a few occasions to do some chit-chat.

Disadvantages of Sitting Near the SMEs

1. Remote desktop. I use a desktop PC, so when I sit near the project team, I have to use another desktop PC that’s already there. I use Windows remote desktop to connect to my desktop because I need access to all the tools and resources that are not installed on the temporary computer. Remoting to another computer is a bit slow and occasionally the (temporary) computer freezes. Also, the temporary PC has a smaller monitor so I’m able to fit less on the screen. I don’t have the luxury of having a dual-monitor configuration.
2. Access to other resources. All the technical writing resources sit near where the technical writers sit. Test machines. Reference books. Style guides. Snack table. Sitting away from my desk, I don’t have immediate access to the resources I refer to frequently. I have to go back to my desk to access these resources.
3. Bogged down by details. I have so many questions and feedback that I spend more time resolving questions/issues than writing! While I am an excellent candidate for usability testing, I find that I get bogged down by the details of software and bugs that I’m not able to work on the documentation part. When I sit in my own desk, I get a lot more work done but I have to keep track of all the issues/questions on a piece of paper to ask the SMEs later.
4. Moving back and forth. I have other non-project-related tasks that I work on that require sitting back at my desk. These includes meetings, training, and miscellaneous tasks. Moving back and forth can be annoying as I’m always looking for my notepad, pens, printouts, and mug.
5. Gender ratio imbalance. Gender ratio here at NI R&D China is a little imbalanced. The technical communications group (technical writers and localization/translators) is pretty balanced at close to 1:1, but outside of our group, I’d say 80-90% of the folks at the R&D center are male. Sitting near the project team, I have to say I am treated very well being one of the very few females on the floor. . . but gosh, the entire floor is pretty sterile. Few (and dying) plants, very little decoration, and all is silent except for the sound of keyboards and engineers glued to their dual/triple monitors coding and coding and coding away. NISH tech comm is a much livelier group.

For the time being, I settle for moving back and forth between my desk and my temporary desk near the project team. I prefer sitting at my desk just because I am able to access everything, but at this stage in documentation, I need to sit near the SMEs as much as I can. Once I get all the main content down, I can go back to my desk and stay there.

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