Categories: Communication Design
Summary and Citations:
Pringle and William's article briefly outlines the history of technical communication, current professional practices, to demonstrate that the profession "has arrived" and will continue to be "characterized by a tension between employing sophisticated rhetorical and analytical skill to create effective communications at the same time those skill relied on technology for their implementation and demonstration (Pringle & Williams, 2005, p. 362).
After reviewing the history and the current practices, the authors shared the results of an observational study of ten individuals in the profession. They found that technical communicators define their practices as "audience analysis, communicating, writing, designing, editing, using technology, and managing" (Pringle & Williams, 2005, p. 365), but when they observed the participants in practice they recorded them "communicating/interacting with co-workers, editing, reviewing documents or other deliverables, conducting research, managing projects, and writing" (Pringle & Williams, 2005, p. 366). The participants also recorded their own work of "writing, managing, designing, and communicating" (Pringle & Williams, 2005, p. 366).
They predicted that "the field will continue to subordinate technology to information design skills ... [the field] will continue to practice and to teach those information design skills ... technical communicators will continue to be heavy users of technology [and they] predict that because our values place the audience first, we will begin participating more frequently in the development cycles of technology" (Pringle & Williams, 2005, p. 367).
Ten years later, their predictions continue to hold water. Helped by agile teams, waterfall models, and forward-thinking professional communicators, those engaged in this work continue to push the field's boundaries while remaining attached to technology and teaching others.
