news:kpj58j$mud$1...@dont-email.me...
Following this sidebar discussion, I haven't found this to be entirely true.
The effect is undeniable (crappy documentation) but I find the cause is
ignorance on the part of management. Not just documentation, the same is
true for the user interface of the product, and the user interaction with
the companies sales and support channels. Corporate management doesn't seem
to understand the importance of these interactions with the user base, and
simply delegate this stuff to however was unlucky enough to tasked with it.
Well, that's the good end of the spectrum. At the bad end are the companies
that have the hubris to think 'we'll tell our customers what they want',
which is what you've been dealing with from the sound of it.
We used to have technical writers on staff, so engineers could focus on
engineering and let the writers do what they do best. Now the documentation
chores are given to the engieneers, usually to the ones with the least
seniority, knowledge, and experience. And the results are predictable.
I'm stopping now before I go on a rant - sorry.
Sean