Technical Writing Infrastructure in India: A Market with Potential. Debopriyo Roy, University of Aizu, Japan

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1 Technical Writing Infrastructure in India: A Market with Potential Debopriyo Roy, University of Aizu, Japan Abstract: Outsourcing of Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) has taken the world by storm, and India is leading the pack with its skilled, inexpensive, and English-speaking labor force. The rate of outsourcing of technical writing projects to India is increasing rapidly, as never before with projects being outsourced or companies setting up new hubs. Yet, the realistic advantage behind this outsourcing of writing projects to India remains a controversial topic in corporate circles across the United States. While India s expertise and achievement when it comes to the use of English language is well documented and appreciated the world over, the fact remains that most of the technical writers in India receive on-the- job training and there is dearth of real technical writing academic program to support the industry potential. Whether the quality of output suffers as a result is something that still remains unanswered. 1. Introduction During my visits to India, people continue to ask me one question How Americans feel about outsourcing? It was difficult to have two thoughts on the possible answer. You can love it or you can hate it but you can t ignore it anymore. Whether it is outsourcing of information technology projects and business process outsourcing to India, Ireland or Israel, it is the new mantra of the business world. India saw the emergence of outsourcing in the early to middle 90s. One of the first services to be outsourced was medical transcription but outsourcing of business processes like data processing, billing and customer support started towards the end of the 90s. Some of the earliest players in the Indian market were American Express, GE Capital and British Airways. The outsourcing boom started with software and expanded to call centers. Now it is moving into other high-end services like engineering, HR, architecture, research, technical writing, creative writing and creative services ( 2. The Market Potential: Indian Viewpoints Theoretically, the Indian market seems to have a lot of potential, but comments from the Indian professionals working in the market, seems to suggest that it might be a few years before anyone get to see or really feel the true colors of this vast outsourcing hub. Gurudatt Kamath (1999), a leading technical writer in India has explored the growth pattern of technical writing in India (TC-forum). He reported that it was not long back when technical writing in India was considered as a marginal profession and number of experts available was much less when compared to some of the other professions like engineers, programmers etc. However, the trend has started to change although slowly. In recent years, many top multinationals are setting up offices in India and this has in turn led to the increase of technical writers in India. In some companies in Bangalore and Pune, one gets to hear of teams of 10 and 20 technical writers or even more. The excellence in technical writing in India comes from multinationals and large

2 organizations that employ experienced technical writers. They have had the benefits of seminars, STC Conferences, etc, and contacts with established technical writers. It is often felt that some of the best writers in the current technical writing industry in India are journalists, teachers and computer professionals. Although they have the writing skills, it is often without systematic training or a degree in technical writing (Kamath, 1999). Jeyaraj (2005) has explained the recent trend in outsourcing information technology projects to India. Technical writing is certainly coming of age in India. Nilanjana Biswas of the Sun Microsystems in Bangalore (India) reports that Technical Writing in India has experienced explosive growth in business volumes because of outsourcing. However, she mentioned that technical writing in India is still an assembly line and not an enterprise activity. Indian technical writing companies are good at handling routine jobs but the big picture is still missing. However, the turnover rate is high. Increasingly, technical writers are registering with societies like STC and TWIN. 3. Medical Transcription Outsourcing to India Let us explain a few words about medical transcription outsourcing to India as a case study. What is it that makes it such a lucrative outsourcing market? In the last few years India has shown amazing success in this field. The large pool of IT professionals, the internet revolution and the encouraging policy changes have catapulted India to a top position as a quality source of medical transcription services. Advantages of outsourcing medical transcription to India: There are several advantages in outsourcing medical transcription to India: * Language - India has a vast pool of English speaking resources. Medical transcriptionists are graduates and most of them are science majors. Their qualification teamed with fluency in the language makes Medical Transcription Training easier and the quality of results delivered is high. * Cost Savings- The wage levels of medical transcriptionists in India are considerably lower than those in the US or other developed countries. Indian companies can offer comparable services and streamlined Medical Transcription Processes at highly competitive rates. This translates into big savings for hospitals. Global medical transcription companies can bolster their bottom-lines by sub-contracting to Indian medical transcription companies. * Turnaround time - Turnaround time is critical in this industry. Since India is several hours ahead of America and Europe, Indian medical transcription industries can offer the natural advantage of quicker turnaround time ( 4. Legal Writing Outsourcing Legal firms have to look into every aspect of their client s case when handling their legal matters. Legal writing and research requirements come up in different situations when handling legal tasks. A lawyer may be right in the middle of a trial wherein they need case laws to support evidences and substantive points. They may need legal information to respond to post-trial motion. In other situation lawyers require legal information to make a decision on taking up a client s case.

3 As much as it is important to perform in-depth legal research and carry out concise, wellreasoned legal writing, in reality this is a cumbersome process involving lots of time and efforts. In addition to the need for good legal research and writing, it is also a costly to carry it out in-house. Such reasons make it a good option for legal firms to outsource their legal research and writing activities. The price for such outsourcing services is based on the number of hours spent in doing research and such costs are charged to clients. Outsourcing has effectively helped to cut costs because there is no need to maintain expensive subscriptions and full time staff. The cost involved in outsourcing is very less compared to the cost of doing it in-house. Outsourcing legal research and writing has been of tremendous help to both small and large legal firms. It is not just the cost-factor which is advantageous to them they also gain by way of quality work, delivered within expected schedules and according to their work requirements. ( 5. Research in the Indian Websites A couple of Indian websites called twin-india.org and timesofindia.com has pointed out several factors behind the emergence of the Indian market. It would be difficult to find another country with as much English speakers, such high level of English writing and editing skills combined with a literary and film history. The result is a large number of qualified people ready, willing and able to provide quality content for a variety of media and for a variety of global customers. The Internet has opened the world and flooded India with a lot of information from the West creating a perspective that is a merger of East and West. This bi-cultural global outlook gives Indians a keen insight into global trends and markets and makes their output uniquely valuable. An article in Times of India (2003), one of India s leading English language newspapers has rightly pointed out that the highest demand for technical writers in India is generated by the information technology (IT) industry. Most of the time, technical writers in India get on the job training while working on special projects. However, some academic departments like Pune university s department of communication and journalism is trying to provide workshops and certifications in technical writing to get students ready for the workforce in short amount of time (Times of India, 2004). 6. Business Processes and Technical Writing: Indian Viewpoints Udit Chaudhuri (1999) has adequately summed up the significant role played by technical writing in corporate development functions (TC-Forum). This gives us an idea of the scope of technical writing in India. Detailed techno-economic presentations and documentations for the government and other private sponsoring companies are generally made by MBAs, engineers and accountants. In addition, these types of jobs are often done by government liaison. This writing would need a thorough understanding of the manufacturing and business processes, licensing, export-import regulations etc. With

4 efficient collaboration with administrators and technocrats, these writing projects can often be outsourced to technical writers, or professionals in other fields can be trained to be in charge of these technical documentation. Often, Indian companies buy technical expertise from foreign collaborators who lays down stringent guidelines for transferring manufacturing knowledge and imposes quality control regimes. Chaudhuri (1999) mentions that this calls for cataloguing, standardization, re-adaptation, and control systems for access and issue of all drawings, data-sheets, procedure manuals, data books, standards, related reference books and periodicals. In India, engineers are trained in the relevant documentation techniques. Chauduri (1999) also observed that the profession of technical writing is showing increased specialization. He observed that there must be 500 well-organized technical documentation/standards departments employing 1500 to 2000 specialists in technical communication in all these industries together. Finally, there is also a large industrial and technical press in India with publications ranging from restricted-circulation journals, mostly from manufacturers, which cover technically specialized subjects. They too employ specialists from relevant fields to write and edit (Chaudhury, 1999). 7. Technical English in India Kamath (2002) argues that Technical writers in India often use subjective terms in technical documentations. Kamath (2002) argues that the problem seems to be that there are many Indianisms in English. If a technical writer in India were writing for a local audience, it would be well understood but if one is writing for a global audience the context and meaning would be lost in the process. There is no doubt that English curriculum in the Indian education system is geared to provide good English skills with highly trained academicians in the business and the rigorous nature of the coursework. In an article named The Future of Technical Writing in India by Dr. Pathak ( he argued that the primary reasons for Indians being good in English is that Indians had to pick up the language through study and usage and they never had the privilege of being born into it. However, Dr. Pathak goes on to argue that proficiency in the basic skills is not enough to get one to the top as a writer today's world of business and industry. The correct and appropriate training and practice in the various forms of communication in written and spoken English is also a required ingredient for success, and that is where the proper training and practice in Technical writing will make India a more advanced nation. Jayaraj (2005) explains how Indians grew up learning English. The current education system in India is largely a legacy of the British colonial system. The British taught English to Indians with the larger objective of serve well under the British colonial system. Jayaraj (2005) goes on to explain that this education system largely focused on the study of literature and grammar. Indian universities have been somewhat reluctant in changing the curriculum to suit today s needs in the business world and one possible reason for that might be owing to the inadequate expertise of the academia to teach wide ranging courses in Technical writing. Although things are changing for better, it would be a while before one can actually see a wide impact at the university level. Jayaraj (2005) takes an example of Madras University where thousands of graduates serve the outsourcing industry and even then, the English curriculum remains traditionally

5 literature oriented. The purpose of such a curriculum is geared more towards inculcating students with sophisticated and more creative usage of language both inside the literary traditions and for other professional writing situations. The problem with such an approach and viewpoint is that the knack of using sophisticated and creative language and unnecessary verbosity in literary context does not ensure that technical writing situations involving complex technologies and different fields of specializations would be analyzed equally well. The major problem as Jeyaraj (2005) rightly points out that in major Indian universities the English curriculum is designed such that there seems to be little effort to understand the user s culture and the complexities revolving its contextoriented application. Further, there seems to be little understanding under the current system that culture and language are intertwined and one cannot be explained and analyzed without the other. 8. Education System in India and Status of Technical Writing A major contributing factor to India s writing potential is its education system. Either missionaries or Christian organizations run good private schools and colleges or business houses that understand the global business scenario, enforce English as a first language, and set high standards of learning (George, 2005). Whether it is an elite private school or a small government school, English is one common medium of communication (Khokar, 2004). Now, let us be specific in terms of a degree in technical writing and see how Indians compare with their US counterparts. A survey reported in the STC-India publication Indus (2005) reported that Indians and American technical writers have similar standards of education background with 70% of respondents in both places having either a Bachelors or a Master s degree. However, a significant portion of the respondents in US has a formal degree in technical writing but a majority of their counterparts in India is qualified in science and engineering degrees. However, in India, the universities have not yet taken cognizance of the job market and the growing need of technical writers in the profession, though organizations like Society for Technical Communicators, India, and Technical Writers of India have been active in organizing academic training for working professionals and future prospects in the field ( 2004). Some major universities are slowly realizing the growing emergence of the profession. The University of Pune s department of Communication and Journalism is one such example. This is often in sharp contrast to what is seen in US. Many technical writing programs in US are often housed in the department of English and not Communication or Journalism departments. In India, the initiative is mostly seen either as part of Communications or in Engineering departments. 9. Conclusion To ensure that future and even currently working professionals in the field of technical writing have a systematic academic training geared towards the industry needs of the 21 st century, Indian education system has to grow of age and leave behind the colonial legacy that it is clinging on to so strongly. The technical writing lobby in India needs to convince the Indian universities of the growing needs of technical writing in today s industry and persuade them to start new courses throughout the country. Technical

6 writers with Indian lineage, both in industry and academics, working in USA has to take some responsibility to see that the potential in the Indian market is not lost in the process of unsystematic and random usage with its designation as only a marginal discipline. A couple of ways to start off the process as is already seen is to start with University level certificate/degree programs and to engage students with industry-oriented projects while completing the coursework. It would be a reasonable expectation that the change would be gradual and slow since this is still a relatively newer concept in the academic circle in India. References Kamath, G. R. (1999). Technical Writing in India. TC-Forum. Retrieved 15th July, 2008 from Jeyaraj, J. (2005). Technical communication and cross-cultural miscommunication: usability and the outsourcing of writing. Proceedings of the IEEE Professional Communication Conference. Issue, 10-13, pp: Limerick, Ireland. Demand for writers is high, 'technically' 13 Dec 2003, 0308 hrs IST, TNN. Retrieved 20th June, 2008 from Sachdeva, S.D. (July 8 th, 2004). India emerges as the hub for patent offshoring. Times of India. Retrieved 11th August, 2008 from Chaudhury, U. (1999). Comment on Tech Writing in India. TC-Forum. Retrieved 1st April 2008 from Kamath, G To Err in English. IT People. George, R. (2005, August 23). The Outsourcing History of India. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from Khokar. R. (2004). English in India? Retrieved 3rd August, 2008 from BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENTS Debopriyo Roy is an Associate Professor of technical writing at University of Aizu, Japan. He specializes in information design, usability studies, technical writing and webbased training. His research focuses on manuals and other kinds of information brochures to support readers spatial cognition during intricate procedural tasks. He has published extensively in international journals and other refereed conference proceedings. He also co-directs the elearning and Usability Laboratory at the Centre for Language Research. His contact information: droy@u-aizu.ac.jp

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