Technology Transfer Mediations of Technical Writers: Perspectives from the Philippine Software Industry

In their attempts to communicate innovation, technical writers produce what Everett Rogers calls "technology-embodied information," per the Diffusion of Innovations theory. This study focuses on technical writers working for multinational software firms in the Philippines and seeks to explain their function as gatekeepers in the information traffic between development centres and software users. The practices of technical writers-representative of eight software companies-are collected, described, and analysed according to qualitative design. The study uses the focus group discussion as its primary research tool, triangulated by portfolio and process documentation analyses. Key themes are presented in step-flow. The study illustrates technical communication tasks such as user profiling, knowledge capture, and information delivery within the framework of technology transfer.