The paradox of the handoff document
Why is writing a handoff document so hard? A big part is “the paradoxical nature of knowledge”
#TechWriting #TechnicalWriting #KnowledgeManagement #technology
techwriting
![Ink drawing of items a person might have on a chaotic desk. A no smoking sign, a mug of tea, a yorur (not yogurt) jar, a notebook with a spoon on it, a bar chart labeled only THINGIES, a report that says Itemize-Used for bird specifications and rouge[sic] animals, a bottle of pills with some lying next to it. Own work 2023.](/proxy/post_attachment/218969/1748970f3c.jpg "Ink drawing of items a person might have on a chaotic desk. A no smoking sign, a mug of tea, a yorur (not yogurt) jar, a notebook with a spoon on it, a bar chart labeled only THINGIES, a report that says Itemize-Used for bird specifications and rouge[sic] animals, a bottle of pills with some lying next to it. Own work 2023.")
Dear Geeks:
A friendly #TechWriting reminder. Just because YOU have a big vocabulary doesn't mean all your readers do.
Some people are young, or haven't had the opportunities to encounter as many words.
Some people don't have YOUR language as their native language.
All user facing strings _must_ be written with that in mind.
Here's an example of how NOT to do it. How many young coders or people new to English do you think know the meaning of "obsolescent" ?
How many native adults?
