Blog Posts | Steve Arrants

When the Docs Are an Afterthought

By Steve Arrants

Posted on August 12, 2024

Documentation has changed since I started in the 1980s. From print to online to interactive aids, the delivery has changed, but the need hasn’t. Good documentation is critical to make your product successful, no matter how intuitive and friendly the software, hardware, or service is. [Read More]

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documentation

Twenty Questions for Interviews

Getting the most out of your job interview

By Steve Arrants

Posted on June 17, 2024

You’ve talked to the recruiter, and now you’re talking to the manager or senior staff members. It sounds like it is going well. How can you show that you’re the best person for the job? Ask questions. Listen to and engage the other people in the conversation. The questions let... [Read More]

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job hunting

Dysfunction Junction

Acquisitions can bring out the worst.

By Steve Arrants

Posted on June 6, 2024

In over 40 years, I’ve worked at startups and established companies. I’ve worked for big, I’ve worked for small. Some have been exciting, nurturing places that “got it right.” Others stumbled through without a clue. Here are some tell-tale signs that you’re in the wrong place. [Read More]

Tags:

acquisition

Your Documentation Project Plan

Doing the necessary

By Steve Arrants

Posted on June 3, 2024

I’ve been at this documentation thing since the mid-1980s. This document is due in no small part to the work I’ve participated in at Compaq, Microsoft, and Autodesk in the 1980s and 1990s with great people from whom I’ve learned a lot. In those early days, we made it up... [Read More]

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Hold That Thought!

What not to say to a technical writer

By Steve Arrants

Posted on May 27, 2024

If I had the time, I’d write it myself! Go ahead. And we’ll be here to edit and rewrite it to corporate standards. There is more than opening Word. What we do is called writing, not typing. [Read More]

Tags:

tech writing