The Profession

 

Roadmap from Writer to Communicator

By Mike Murray
STC Board of Directors

 

There's been discussion at the STC annual conference, in the pages of STC publications, and on the STC Forum regarding job titles. Are we technical writers or technical communicators? And why does it matter? (For background, see “Technical Communicator, Your Time has Come” by STC Executive Director Susan Burton, as well as other articles on the subject.)

For me, this discussion has a very personal dimension. For the past twenty-eight-plus years, I have been employed by Lockheed Martin, the largest aerospace contractor in the world. My experience there has been, borrowing the eloquent phrase of economist Rick O'Sullivan, "a roadmap from writer to communicator."

Let me walk you down that road....

The 1980s

In 1982, I had already been working at Lockheed Martin—first as a computer operator then a customer service rep—when I made the switch to technical writer. I began with (literally!) a pad of paper and a pencil. Some of the other seventeen employees in my department (called Technical Information Services) had the responsibility of (1) keying what I wrote using the Script programming language, (2) creating [crude] graphics, (3) coordinating hardcopy output and tracking revisions, and (4) supervising the whole process.

In 1985, the department was disbanded. Having earlier seen the writing on the wall, I was able to secure a technical writing position in the data center operations area. I recall that I had one of the first two Macintosh computers in the company. (Macs were introduced in 1984.) About 25 percent of the projects that were produced by my previous department of seventeen were eliminated, while I was able to easily accommodate the remaining 75 percent in this brave new world of desktop publishing.

Even as early as 1985, it was easy to see that I would have to be more than "just" a technical writer. I had to learn the new Microsoft Office suite, including page layout and design. I found myself doing less writing and more creative design work. More important, the new technology provided me the means of using my creativity to develop entirely new communications tools and processes. As I have been a member of STC since 1984, the Society publications told me that, indeed, things were changing, exactly how they were changing, and that I was on the right track in evolving my job functions. I had the confidence to move on.

New Millennium

In terms of "macro" trends, the next one that hit me the hardest became obvious just after the beginning of the new millennium. My business area (Enterprise Information Systems) supplies the information technology products, services, and support for all of Lockheed Martin Corporation. The Corporation's business areas and business units are our customers.

My department develops and delivers marketing collateral for all of these products and services. As the department grew and employees came on board with marketing experience, my manager ensured in advance that they would also have some solid writing experience. They do the majority of their own writing today. In addition, by the nature of their jobs, these marketers have direct contact with our customers. This contact means that they are free to use their creativity in best serving these customers, which has resulted in several new creative communication processes (e.g., setting up SharePoint sites that have the look and feel of a Web page). They have, in fact, BECOME technical communicators!

The Future

So where does this leave me—the guy who was once THE department technical communicator? It simply means that I have to accept the situation and rethink and refocus my place in the department. In essence, I have to reinvent myself. While there is certainly some stress/emotional pain involved in having to rejustify my position, at the same time it is strangely exciting and invigorating.

Just think of the possibilities! As cancer survivor and Olympic cyclist Lance Armstrong once said, "Cancer taught me a plan for more purposeful living, and that in turn taught me how to train and win more purposefully. It taught me that pain has a reason, and that sometimes the experience of losing things—whether health or a car or an old sense of self—has its own value in the scheme of life. Pain and loss are great enhancers."

Technical writing has never gone away; it has simply become part of something bigger. It has evolved, and we must evolve with it.