As technical writers, our main goal often is to write instructions so the end user will understand how to use the product for their specific needs. This sounds easier than it usually is in reality, because the end-user point-of-view is ephemeral and hard to maintain. Many of us are familiar with the argument the longer we spend documenting product, the harder it is to see it from the end-user perspective. On the other side is another argument, if we have no contact with users, it’s infinitely more difficult to write appropriately for them. So this begs the question: How close should a technical writer be to an end user to properly write instructions for them? Continue reading ...