Editing Technical writer (section)

==History of the profession==
According to the [[Society for Technical Communication]] (STC), the professions of [[technical communication]] and technical writing were first referenced around [[World War I]],<ref name="stc-psc.org"/> when technical documents became a necessity for military purposes. The job title emerged in the US during World War II,<ref>O'Hara, F.M. (2001). A brief history of technical communication. In ''STC’s 48th Annual Conference Proceedings'' (pp. 500–504.) Arlington, VA: Society for Technical Communication.</ref> Although it was not until 1951 that the first "Help Wanted: Technical Writer" ad was published.<ref>History of technical writing. [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.proedit.com/history-of-technical-writing/</ref> In fact, the title "Technical Writer" was not added to the US Bureau of Labor Statistic's Occupational Employment Handbook until 2010.<ref name="stc.org">Malone, E. A. (2011). The first wave (1953–1961) of the professionalization movement in technical communication. ''Technical Communication,'' 58(''4''),285-306. Retrieved from https://www.stc.org/techcomm/</ref> During the 1940s and 50s, technical communicators and writers were hired to produce documentation for the military, often including detailed instructions on new weaponry. Other technical communicators and writers were involved in developing documentation for new technologies that were developed around this time. According to O'Hara:<ref name="O'Hara, F.M. 2001 pp. 500">O'Hara, F.M. (2001). A brief history of technical communication. In ''STC’s 48th Annual Conference Proceedings'' (pp. 500–504.)Arlington, VA: Society for Technical Communication.</ref> {{Blockquote|War was the most important driver of scientific and technological advance. The U.S. Army Medical Corps battled malaria in the jungles of Panama, the Chemical Corps pushed chemical advances in explosives and poisonous gases (and defenses against them), the Manhattan District of the Corps of Engineers literally made quantum leaps in the understanding of physics, and the Air Corps pioneered aviation design.}}

Since the early days of the profession, technical writers have worked in teams with a pool of other technical writers. To this day, most organizations still employ a team to produce and edit technical writing for an assigned product or service. As a member of a team, technical writers work independently to research their assignments. Regular one-on-one meetings with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and internal research references (e.g., mechanical drawings, specifications, BOMs, datasheets, etc.) provide the technical writer with the necessary checks to ensure a document's accuracy. Once the accuracy of a document has been reviewed and approved by the assigned SME, technical writers rely on their writing team to provide peer reviews. The peer review focuses exclusively on content format, style, and grammar standardization. The goal of the team's peer reviews are to ensure an organization's [[technical writing]] "speaks with one voice". 

During World War II, one of the most important characteristics for technical writers was their ability to follow stringent government specifications for documents.<ref name="O'Hara, F.M. 2001 pp. 500"/> After the war, the rise of new technology, such as the computer, allowed technical writers to work in other areas, producing<ref name="O'Hara, F.M. 2001 pp. 500"/> "user manuals, quick reference guides, hardware installation manuals, and cheat sheets." After the war (1953–1961), technical communicators (including technical writers) became interested in "professionalizing" their field.<ref name="stc.org"/> According to Malone,<ref name="stc.org"/> technical communicators/writers did so by creating professional organizations, cultivating a "specialized body of knowledge" for the profession, imposing ethical standards on technical communicators, initiating a conversation about certifying practitioners in the field, and working to accredit education programs in the field.

The profession has continued to grow—according to O'Hara, the writing/editing profession, including technical writers, experienced a 22% increase in positions between the years 1994 and 2005.<ref name="O'Hara, F.M. 2001 pp. 500"/> Modern day technical writers work in a variety of contexts. Many technical writers work remotely using [[VPN]] or communicate with their team via [[videotelephony]] platforms such as [[Skype]] or [[Zoom (software)|Zoom]]. Other technical writers work in an office, but share content with their team through complex [[content management systems]] that store documents online. Technical writers may work on government reports, internal documentation, instructions for technical equipment, embedded help within software or systems, or other technical documents. As technology continues to advance, the array of possibilities for technical writers will continue to expand. Many technical writers are responsible for creating technical documentation for mobile applications or help documentation built within mobile or web applications. They may be responsible for creating content that will only be viewed on a hand-held device; much of their work will never be published in a printed booklet like technical documentation of the past.

=== Technical Writers and UX Design ===
Historically, technical writers, or technical and professional communicators, have been concerned with writing and communication. However, recently user experience (UX) design has become more prominent in technical and professional communications as companies look to develop content for a wide range of audiences and experiences.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Verhulsdonck|first1=Gustav|last2=Howard|first2=Tharon|last3=Tham|first3=Jason|date=2021-09-21|title=Investigating the Impact of Design Thinking, Content Strategy, and Artificial Intelligence: A "Streams" Approach for Technical Communication and User Experience|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00472816211041951|journal=Journal of Technical Writing and Communication|volume=51|issue=4|language=en|pages=468–492|doi=10.1177/00472816211041951|s2cid=240552938|issn=0047-2816|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The User Experience Professionals Association defines UX as “Every aspect of the user’s interaction with a product, service, or company that make up the user’s perception of the whole.”<ref name=":1">{{Citation|last1=Baxter|first1=Kathy|title=Acknowledgments|date=2015|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-800232-2.09986-7|work=Understanding your Users|pages=xxxiii–xxxiv|publisher=Elsevier|access-date=2021-11-07|last2=Courage|first2=Catherine|last3=Caine|first3=Kelly|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-800232-2.09986-7|isbn=9780128002322|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Therefore, “user experience design as a discipline is concerned with all the elements that together make up that interface, including layout, visual design, text, brand, sound, and interaction."<ref name=":1" />

It is now an expectation that technical communication skills should be coupled with UX design. As Verhulsdonck, Howard, and Tham state “...it is not enough to write good content. According to industry expectations, next to writing good content, it is now also crucial to design good experiences around that content."<ref name=":0" /> Technical communicators must now consider different platforms such as social media and apps, as well as different channels like web and mobile.<ref name=":0" />

As Redish explains, a technical communications professional no longer writes content but “writes around the interface” itself as user experience surrounding content is developed. This includes usable content customized to specific user needs, that addresses user emotions, feelings, and thoughts across different channels in a UX ecology.<ref>Redish, Ginny. (2020, September 30). ''UX Writing - A New Role for Technical Communicators? The MasterClass in TechComm for Society for Technical Communications'' (Washington DC and Baltimore). [Apple podcast]. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ux-writing-a-new-role-for-technical-communicators/id1534090690?i=1000493180560</ref><ref name=":0" />

Lauer and Brumberger further assert, “…UX is a natural extension of the work that technical communicators already do, especially in the modern technological context of responsive design, in which content is deployed across a wide range of interfaces and environments."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lauer|first1=Claire|last2=Brumberger|first2=Eva|date=2016|title=Technical Communication as User Experience in a Broadening Industry Landscape|journal=Technical Communication (Washington)|volume=63|issue=3|pages=248–249}}</ref>

UX design is a product of both technical communication and the user identity. Effective UX design is configured to maximize usability according to unique user backgrounds, in a process called design ethnography.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hodgson |first=David Travis, Philip |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.1201/9780429430787/think-like-ux-researcher-david-travis-philip-hodgson |title=Think Like a UX Researcher: How to Observe Users, Influence Design, and Shape Business Strategy |date=2019-01-25 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-429-43078-7 |location=Boca Raton |doi=10.1201/9780429430787}}</ref> Design ethnography closely analyzes user culture through interviews and usability tests, in which the technical writer directly immerses themself in the user environment and gathers UX information from local users.