On Writing, Technical Communication, and Information Technology: The Core Competencies of Technical Communication
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/stc/tc/2001/00000048/00000002/art00005
  access restricted (by the publisher) to members/subscribers/customers only
  peer-reviewed

Hart-Davidson, William
Technical Communication Online
2001

Abstract:

This article contributes two arguments to the disciplinary conversation of technical communication with the aim of exploring leadership opportunities our field has in the field of information technology. The arguments assert that 1.) Writing is the core technology in any IT system, and all IT systems attempt to leverage the core strengths of writing to make these systems more valuable. 2.) Technical communicators have a central role to play in IT systems consonant with our core competencies: we attend to the balance of situated as opposed to generalized strategies and the balance of appeals to identity in writing about the practical use of technology, and we are well prepared to attend to these balances in other important arenas of IT discourse. Together, these two arguments are meant to begin or continue conversations—in workplace and academic contexts alike—that bring the issues of IT development and the future of technical communication closely together.