Since 1999 I’ve worked in a wide variety of technical environments including two global corporations, various software houses and a machine-vision engineering business. In these roles I’ve worked in a publishing group and also as a sole technical author, and both as a contractor and as a permanent member of staff. This experience is important for a number of reasons.

Firstly through this, I’ve gained familiarity with the processes involved in software and hardware engineering, thus enabling me to work comfortably with developers and with the development cycle. As a technical author, it’s important to fit in with developers because this greatly aids teamwork and furthermore, at the end of the day the development of documentation must be secondary to the development of the product itself.

Working in these environments has also accustomed me to a range of technologies and processes. These change from company to company, and no two development cycles are ever identical, however with experience comes knowledge and adaptability.

And lastly in terms of my own publishing skills, I’ve experienced both very good and very poor technical documentation. This has helped me to develop my own perspective on what works, and what doesn’t.